Qualitative research explores and provides descriptive insights into real-world problems. Instead of collecting numerical data like quantitative research, qualitative research gathers participants' experiences, perceptions, and behaviors. It answers the questions of how and why, instead of how many or how much.
Tenny, S., Brannan, G. D., Brannan, J. M., & Sharts-Hopko, N. C. (2017). Qualitative study. https://europepmc.org/article/NBK/nbk470395#free-full-text