Qualitative Methods for Data Scientists

This paper reflects on the potential value of qualitative research methods for data scientists and data science researchers. Specifically, this paper discusses four qualitative methods that could support the work of data scientists and enhance the quality of data analyses: interview/focus group, observation, document analysis, and ethnography. In addition to supplying a definition of each approach and identifying some key resources to learn more about them, this paper explores how these qualitative methods may be implemented by data scientists by supplying examples of real-world scenarios. This paper highlights the necessity of data scientists to learn more about qualitative methods and consider how they can be integrated to support their work, in particular through collaboration with information scientists and information science researchers with domain knowledge and experience in this area. This review is intended to support the work of professionals in all fields who work extensively with data and could advance that work through the incorporation of qualitative approaches.