Abstract:

The paper looks at the fundamental issues involved in competently conducting qualitative research on an international scale. No attempt is made to gloss over the basic problems which can, and do, exist, in favour of expanding the niceties of recently developed sophisticated techniques. It is intentionally hoped that the points raised will promote discussion during the period following the presentation of the paper. Each stage of the qualitative research project is examined, from the initial client brief to the action taken by the client following presentation of the findings, and at each stage it will be seen that there are areas of potential difficulty which need to be considered.