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• What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples

What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples

Published on 4 April 2022 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on 30 January 2023.

Qualitative research involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research.

Qualitative research is the opposite of quantitative research , which involves collecting and analysing numerical data for statistical analysis.

Qualitative research is commonly used in the humanities and social sciences, in subjects such as anthropology, sociology, education, health sciences, and history.

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Table of contents

Approaches to qualitative research, qualitative research methods, qualitative data analysis, advantages of qualitative research, disadvantages of qualitative research, frequently asked questions about qualitative research.

Qualitative research is used to understand how people experience the world. While there are many approaches to qualitative research, they tend to be flexible and focus on retaining rich meaning when interpreting data.

Common approaches include grounded theory, ethnography, action research, phenomenological research, and narrative research. They share some similarities, but emphasise different aims and perspectives.

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Each of the research approaches involve using one or more data collection methods . These are some of the most common qualitative methods:

• Observations: recording what you have seen, heard, or encountered in detailed field notes.
• Interviews:  personally asking people questions in one-on-one conversations.
• Focus groups: asking questions and generating discussion among a group of people.
• Surveys : distributing questionnaires with open-ended questions.
• Secondary research: collecting existing data in the form of texts, images, audio or video recordings, etc.
• You take field notes with observations and reflect on your own experiences of the company culture.
• You distribute open-ended surveys to employees across all the company’s offices by email to find out if the culture varies across locations.
• You conduct in-depth interviews with employees in your office to learn about their experiences and perspectives in greater detail.

Qualitative researchers often consider themselves ‘instruments’ in research because all observations, interpretations and analyses are filtered through their own personal lens.

For this reason, when writing up your methodology for qualitative research, it’s important to reflect on your approach and to thoroughly explain the choices you made in collecting and analysing the data.

Qualitative data can take the form of texts, photos, videos and audio. For example, you might be working with interview transcripts, survey responses, fieldnotes, or recordings from natural settings.

Most types of qualitative data analysis share the same five steps:

• Prepare and organise your data. This may mean transcribing interviews or typing up fieldnotes.
• Review and explore your data. Examine the data for patterns or repeated ideas that emerge.
• Develop a data coding system. Based on your initial ideas, establish a set of codes that you can apply to categorise your data.
• Assign codes to the data. For example, in qualitative survey analysis, this may mean going through each participant’s responses and tagging them with codes in a spreadsheet. As you go through your data, you can create new codes to add to your system if necessary.
• Identify recurring themes. Link codes together into cohesive, overarching themes.

There are several specific approaches to analysing qualitative data. Although these methods share similar processes, they emphasise different concepts.

Qualitative research often tries to preserve the voice and perspective of participants and can be adjusted as new research questions arise. Qualitative research is good for:

• Flexibility

The data collection and analysis process can be adapted as new ideas or patterns emerge. They are not rigidly decided beforehand.

• Natural settings

Data collection occurs in real-world contexts or in naturalistic ways.

• Meaningful insights

Detailed descriptions of people’s experiences, feelings and perceptions can be used in designing, testing or improving systems or products.

• Generation of new ideas

Open-ended responses mean that researchers can uncover novel problems or opportunities that they wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

Researchers must consider practical and theoretical limitations in analysing and interpreting their data. Qualitative research suffers from:

• Unreliability

The real-world setting often makes qualitative research unreliable because of uncontrolled factors that affect the data.

• Subjectivity

Due to the researcher’s primary role in analysing and interpreting data, qualitative research cannot be replicated . The researcher decides what is important and what is irrelevant in data analysis, so interpretations of the same data can vary greatly.

• Limited generalisability

Small samples are often used to gather detailed data about specific contexts. Despite rigorous analysis procedures, it is difficult to draw generalisable conclusions because the data may be biased and unrepresentative of the wider population .

• Labour-intensive

Although software can be used to manage and record large amounts of text, data analysis often has to be checked or performed manually.

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to test a hypothesis by systematically collecting and analysing data, while qualitative methods allow you to explore ideas and experiences in depth.

There are five common approaches to qualitative research :

• Grounded theory involves collecting data in order to develop new theories.
• Ethnography involves immersing yourself in a group or organisation to understand its culture.
• Narrative research involves interpreting stories to understand how people make sense of their experiences and perceptions.
• Phenomenological research involves investigating phenomena through people’s lived experiences.
• Action research links theory and practice in several cycles to drive innovative changes.

Data collection is the systematic process by which observations or measurements are gathered in research. It is used in many different contexts by academics, governments, businesses, and other organisations.

There are various approaches to qualitative data analysis , but they all share five steps in common:

• Prepare and organise your data.
• Review and explore your data.
• Develop a data coding system.
• Assign codes to the data.
• Identify recurring themes.

The specifics of each step depend on the focus of the analysis. Some common approaches include textual analysis , thematic analysis , and discourse analysis .

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Why use video in qualitative research.

10 min read If you or your team are running qualitative research, you may wonder if it’s useful to use video as a data source. We give you insights on the use of video in qualitative research and how best to use this data format.

What is video in qualitative research?

One of the major challenges and opportunities for organizations today is gaining a deeper and more authentic understanding of their customers.

From concerns and feedback to approval and advocacy, uncovering customer sentiment , needs and expectations is what will empower organizations to take the next step in designing, developing and improving experiences.

Most of this starts with qualitative research — e.g. focus groups, interviews, ethnographic studies — but the fundamental problem is that traditional approaches are sometimes restrictive, costly and difficult to scale.

Free eBook: The qualitative research design handbook

The challenges of traditional and disparate qualitative research

Slow: Long time to value while teams or agencies scope, recruit, design , build, execute, analyze & report out on studies. It also takes a long time to sift through qualitative data (e.g. video) and turn it into insights at scale.

Expensive: Qualitative methods of research can be costly, both when outsourcing to agencies or managing the process in-house. Organizations also have to factor in  participant management costs (travel, hotels, venues, etc.).

Siloed: Data and research tools are outdated, siloed and scattered across teams and vendors, resulting in valuable data loss; no centralized approach to executing studies and incorporating customer/market insights across teams to support multiple initiatives. It also makes it hard to perform meta-analysis (e.g. perform analysis across multiple studies & methods) .

Hard to scale: Requires a lot of manual analysis; lack of in-house research & insights expertise due to cost of hiring/maintaining internal teams; heavy reliance on expertise of consultants to deliver quality insights; data from studies only used for initial research question, when it could be used by other teams.

Of course, while some organizations are using qualitative research, most rely heavily on in-person methods, manual work and a high degree of expertise to run these studies, meaning it’s near impossible to execute on data without these three things.

Alternative options that many organizations rely on:

• Agencies: Services-dependent with either an in-person or digital collection process, usually performed in a moderation style. Are slow, expensive, and result in loss of IP. Recruitment for interviews and discussion/diary studies can take a couple weeks or more. Reporting takes another couple weeks.
• In-person: Results in loss of efficiency & IP; data can’t be leveraged in concert with quantitative data easily; data can’t be reused. Very labor intensive to review and analyze all content.
• Point solutions: Technology providers for collecting synchronous or asynchronous video feedback. Can be either moderated or unprompted. Disconnected from other research and teams that could benefit from data and insights.
• Traditional qualitative studies: Organizations typically depend on traditional studies like, focus groups, personal interviews, phone calls, etc.

The reality is that the world has changed: the pandemic, coupled with the emergence of widespread remote and hybrid working, has forced researchers to move their efforts online.

Consequently, many organizations have turned to video feedback, a cost-effective type of qualitative research that can support existing methods. And it’s paying massive dividends.

History of video in qualitative research

Video in qualitative research is nothing new, and organizations have been using this response-gathering method for years to collect more authentic data from customers at scale.

It’s long been viewed as a medium through which an audiovisual record of everyday events, such as people shopping or students learning, is preserved and later made available for closer scrutiny, replay and analysis. In simple terms, video offers a window through which researchers can view more authentic and specific situations, interactions and feedback to uncover deeper and more meaningful insights.

But with the rapid shift to digital, video has quickly become a popular type of supplementary qualitative research — and is often used to support existing qualitative efforts. Plus, the growing ubiquity of video recording technologies (Zoom, Skype, Teams), has made it even easier for researchers to  acquire necessary data in streamlined and more effective ways.

The reason it’s so effective is because it’s as simple as using a mobile phone to record audio and video with just a press of a button. Plus, the affordability of high-quality technical equipment, e.g. wearable microphones, and superior camera quality compared to other forms of digital recording has made video a strong supplementary component of qualitative research.

As a result, video provides respondents with the freedom and flexibility to respond at their leisure — removing any issue of time — and with smartphone technologies that are increasingly of high grade, helping to mitigate costs while increasing scale.

And the best part? Organizations can get more insightful and actionable insights from data around-the-clock, and that data can be utilized for as long as necessary.

Types of video qualitative research methods

In 2016, university researcher, Rebecca Whiting, in ‘ Who’s Behind the Lens?: A Reflexive Analysis of Roles in Participatory Video Research ’, described the four types of video research methods that are now available:

• “Participatory video research, which uses participant-generated videos, such as video diaries,
• Videography, which entails filming people in the field as a way to document their activities,
• Video content analysis, which involves analysis of material not recorded by the researcher, or
• Video elicitation, which uses footage (either created for this purpose by the researcher, or extant video) to prompt discussion.”

What’s increasingly clear is that as technology advances and cloud-based platforms provide video streaming and capture services that are increasingly accessible, researchers now have an always-on, scalable and highly effective way to capture feedback from diverse audiences.

With video feedback, researchers can get to the “why” far faster than ever before. The scope of video in qualitative research has never been wider. Let’s take a closer look at what it can do for organizations.

Scope of video in qualitative research

There are several benefits to using video feedback in qualitative research studies, namely:

• More verifiability and less researcher bias – If a video record exists of a conversation, it’s possible to review.
• More authentic responses – in an open-ended survey, some participants may feel able to describe their views better in film, than by translating it down into text. This often results in them providing more “content” (or insight) than they would have done via a traditional survey or interview.
• Perception of being faster – The perceived immediacy and speed of giving feedback by video may appeal to people with less time, who otherwise may not have responded to the survey.
• Language support – The option for people to answer in their own language can help participants open up about topics in a way that writing down their thoughts may not allow for.
• Provides visual cues – Videos can provide context and additional information if the participant provides visual cues like body language or showing something physical to the camera.
• Video has some benefits over audio recordings and field notes – A working paper from the National Center of Research Methods found three benefits: “1) its character as a real-time sequential record; 2) a fine-grained multimodal record; and 3) its durability, malleable, and share-ability.” [1]
• Empowers every team to carry out and act on insight — With video responses available for all teams to view and utilize, it becomes significantly easier for teams to act on insights and make critical changes to their experience initiatives.

How can Qualtrics help with video in qualitative research?

Qualtrics Video Feedback solution is a for-purpose benefit to the Qualtrics products that help businesses manage their video feedback and insights, right alongside traditional survey data types.

It brings insights to life by making it easy for respondents to deliver their thoughts and feelings through a medium they’re familiar and comfortable with, resulting in 6x more content than traditional open feedback.

As well as this, Qualtrics Video Feedback features built-in AI-powered analytics that enables researchers to analyze and pull sentence-level topics and sentiment from video responses to see exactly how respondents feel at scale.

Finally, customizable video editing allows researchers to compile and showcase the best clips to tell the story of the data, helping to deliver a more authentic narrative that lands with teams and key stakeholders.

Qualtrics Video Feedback provides:

• End-to-end research: Conduct all types of video feedback research with point-and-click question types, data collection, analytics and reporting — all in the same platform. This means it’s easy to compare and combine qualitative and quantitative research , as well as make insights available to all relevant stakeholders.
• Scalability and security: Easily empower teams outside the research department to conduct their own market research with intuitive tools, guided solutions, and center of excellence capabilities to overcome skill gaps and governance concerns.
• Better, faster insights: As respondents can deliver more authentic responses at their leisure (or at length), you can gather quality insights in hours and days, not weeks or months, and at an unmatched scale.

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Video in Qualitative Research

• Christian Heath - King's College London, UK
• Jon Hindmarsh - King's College London, UK
• Paul Luff - King's College London, UK
• Description

Heath, Hindmarsh and Luff consider the ethical and practical issues that arise in recording and gathering data as well as how video enables new and distinctive ways of presenting insights, observations and findings to both academic and practitioner audiences. The book is illustrated throughout with a wide range of case material drawn from the authors own research projects, and these cases serve to situate the practical and methodological guidance offered by the book into real research scenarios.

Video in Qualitative Research is an invaluable guide for students and researchers across the social sciences thinking of using video as part of their research.

Christian Heath is Professor of Work and Organisation, Kings College London

Jon Hindmarsh is Reader in Work Practice and Technology, Kings College London

The book’s strength lies in its practicality, both in the way it can be used and in the way that the authors approach the subject matter. Each chapter takes the reader through a different stage of the research, is

clearly laid out and provides useful tips at appropriate points throughout the text. There is some recommended reading and a summary of the key points at the end. But it is the way that the authors draw on their extensive experience in the field to provide clear and accessible advice that makes the book stand out. They highlight

the particular challenges that are associated with using video while providing illustrations of the ways in which

these challenges can be approached; their emphasis is on collaboration and experimentation and, above all, clarity on the purpose for which the data is being collected....whether you are interested in the ‘minutiae of human conduct’ or in the use of video recording as part of your research, this book will be a valuable addition to your library Dr Rowena Passy Social Research Association News

The authors successfully strive to deliver a text to introduce and guide those new to video based research through potential dilemmas, hazards and pitfalls... Video in Qualitative Research: Analysing Social Interaction in Everyday Life is a well-constructed and useful introduction for Undergraduate students who wish to undertake video based projects for the first time. The key strength of the manuscript lies in the detailed analysis of transcripts and the case studies presented in chapter 4. As such, whilst the manuscript would be beneficial to Undergraduates from a variety of disciplines, those seeking to use video in conjunction with conversation analysis methods, and those wishing to use video to assist in the observation and study of workplace environments will find it the most useful. This body of work offers considerable insight into the complexities of engaging with a video based qualitative research project. Qualitative Methods in Psychology

The major strengths of this book [are] that it provides a history of this methodology, an examination of routine problems and challenges, and clear guidance for conducting video research, particularly for collection, analysis, and presentation of data... We think this text, on the whole, is quite brilliant. It is thorough, thought-provoking, and generally accessible. It promises to guide a whole new generation of researchers to better use video in qualitative research. Mary Rice and Stefinee Teacher Development: An International Journal of Teachers' Professional Tevelopment

Overall, Video in Qualitative Research is a much-needed guide for the CSCW research community as it provides keen insight into the challenges and opportunities provided by video technologies. Luckily for those who are not as well versed in qualitative research, the authors clearly spell out all of their arguments without relying too heavily on previous understanding of the value and use of such research. The plain and unassuming way in which the authors write is appealing; it is as if they are simply conversing with you as they walk you through the necessary steps to use video in qualitative research. While some may read this book and find it best suited to an entry-level audience, it is truly a comprehensive guide that will be a relevant and insightful read for anyone looking to employ video recording methods. Behzod Sirjani Springer

Used other text.

Great introduction for everyone interested in videoanalysis. Covers the important aspects ranging from data collection to analysis and presentation. One can see that the authors have developed this book in daily practice.

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Video in Qualitative Research

• Christian Heath - King's College London, UK
• Jon Hindmarsh - King's College London, UK
• Paul Luff - King's College London, UK
• Description

Video in Qualitative Research provides unprecedented opportunities for social science research, enabling the fine-grained analysis of social organization, culture, and communication.

Video in Qualitative Research is the first book to provide practical guidance for students and academics on how to use video in qualitative research, how to address the problems and issues that arise in undertaking video-based field studies, and how to subject video recordings to detailed scrutiny and analysis.

The authors consider the ethical and practical issues that arise in recording and gathering data as well as how video enables new and distinctive ways of presenting insights, observations, and findings to both academic and practitioner audiences. The book discusses a range of video-based projects including studies of control centers, operating theatres, medical consultations, auction houses, and museums and galleries.

Video in Qualitative Research is a valuable guide for students and researchers across the social sciences thinking of using video as part of their research.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

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The book’s strength lies in its practicality, both in the way it can be used and in the way that the authors approach the subject matter. Each chapter takes the reader through a different stage of the research, is

clearly laid out and provides useful tips at appropriate points throughout the text. There is some recommended reading and a summary of the key points at the end. But it is the way that the authors draw on their extensive experience in the field to provide clear and accessible advice that makes the book stand out. They highlight

the particular challenges that are associated with using video while providing illustrations of the ways in which

these challenges can be approached; their emphasis is on collaboration and experimentation and, above all, clarity on the purpose for which the data is being collected....whether you are interested in the ‘minutiae of human conduct’ or in the use of video recording as part of your research, this book will be a valuable addition to your library Dr Rowena Passy Social Research Association News

The authors successfully strive to deliver a text to introduce and guide those new to video based research through potential dilemmas, hazards and pitfalls... Video in Qualitative Research: Analysing Social Interaction in Everyday Life is a well-constructed and useful introduction for Undergraduate students who wish to undertake video based projects for the first time. The key strength of the manuscript lies in the detailed analysis of transcripts and the case studies presented in chapter 4. As such, whilst the manuscript would be beneficial to Undergraduates from a variety of disciplines, those seeking to use video in conjunction with conversation analysis methods, and those wishing to use video to assist in the observation and study of workplace environments will find it the most useful. This body of work offers considerable insight into the complexities of engaging with a video based qualitative research project. Qualitative Methods in Psychology

The major strengths of this book [are] that it provides a history of this methodology, an examination of routine problems and challenges, and clear guidance for conducting video research, particularly for collection, analysis, and presentation of data... We think this text, on the whole, is quite brilliant. It is thorough, thought-provoking, and generally accessible. It promises to guide a whole new generation of researchers to better use video in qualitative research. Mary Rice and Stefinee Teacher Development: An International Journal of Teachers' Professional Tevelopment

Overall, Video in Qualitative Research is a much-needed guide for the CSCW research community as it provides keen insight into the challenges and opportunities provided by video technologies. Luckily for those who are not as well versed in qualitative research, the authors clearly spell out all of their arguments without relying too heavily on previous understanding of the value and use of such research. The plain and unassuming way in which the authors write is appealing; it is as if they are simply conversing with you as they walk you through the necessary steps to use video in qualitative research. While some may read this book and find it best suited to an entry-level audience, it is truly a comprehensive guide that will be a relevant and insightful read for anyone looking to employ video recording methods. Behzod Sirjani Springer

Used other text.

Great introduction for everyone interested in videoanalysis. Covers the important aspects ranging from data collection to analysis and presentation. One can see that the authors have developed this book in daily practice.

Preview this book

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Chapter One

Chapter Two

For instructors

Select a purchasing option, related products.

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The experiences and needs of older adults receiving voluntary services in Chinese nursing home organizations: a qualitative study

• Qin Shen 1 &
• Junxian Wu 1  

BMC Health Services Research volume  24 , Article number:  547 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Older adults living in nursing home organizations are eager to get voluntary help, however, their past experiences with voluntary services are not satisfactory enough. To better carry out voluntary services and improve the effectiveness of services, it is necessary to have a deeper understanding of the experiences and needs of older adults for voluntary services.

The purposive sampling method was used to select 14 older adults from two nursing home organizations in Hangzhou and conduct semi-structured interviews, Collaizzi’s seven-step method was used to analyze the data.

Older adults in nursing home organizations have both beneficial experiences and unpleasant service experiences in the process of receiving voluntary services; Beneficial experiences include solving problems meeting needs and feeling warmth and care, while unpleasant service experiences include the formality that makes it difficult to benefit truly, lack of organization, regularity, sustainability, and the mismatch between service provision and actual demands. The needs for voluntary services mainly focuses on emotional comfort, Cultural and recreational, and knowledge acquisition.

Older adults in nursing home organizations have varied voluntary experiences, and their voluntary service needs are diversified. Voluntary service needs of older adults should be accurately assessed, and voluntary service activities should be focused upon.

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Introduction

As a result of advancements in medical technology and improved sanitation conditions, the average life expectancy of Chinese people has increased significantly from 60 years in 1970 to 77.3 years in 2023. However, this has led to a growing number of older adults in China. According to the seventh population census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, there are now 260 million people over the age of 60 living in the country [ 1 ], The aging population in China is growing, and population balance is becoming a core challenge for the country in the long term. The increasing aging population has posed significant challenges and burdens to the state and society [ 2 ], China’s aging population challenges the current security system, requiring significant efforts from the state and society for improvement [ 3 ].

There are three main modes of old-age care in China: family old-age care, community old-age care, and institutionalized old-age care. Family old-age care is the most traditional form of old-age care in China, due to the reduction in family size and the formation of the “4-2-1” family model - which consists of four older adults, one couple, and one child - the traditional family model is no longer able to meet the growing demand for older adults care [ 4 ]; China’s community old-age care is still in the exploratory stage, facing challenges such as slow construction, insufficient staff, and lack of professional knowledge. As a result, it cannot provide meticulous care services for older adults [ 5 ]. Against this background, institutionalized older adult care has gradually become popular, it refers to older adults in social service organizations such as senior citizen apartments, welfare homes, and homes for older adults to spend their later life [ 6 ]. The challenges of population aging and the inadequacies of family and community support for older adults have resulted in a growing number of older adults opting to reside in nursing home organizations. This has undoubtedly placed additional burdens and challenges on these nursing home organizations. Due to multiple challenges such as late start, low quality, and lack of professional and technical talents, China’s nursing home organizations are still a long way from meeting the comprehensive needs of older adults in terms of health management, skilled nursing care, rehabilitation training, cultural and recreational services, psychological counseling, and social interaction [ 7 ]. To tackle the issue of an aging population in China and ensure that older adults have a high quality of life when choosing nursing home organizations, it is necessary to enhance the quality of older adult care services by engaging social forces, such as volunteer teams [ 8 ]. Voluntary services refer to the voluntary, unpaid public service offered by individuals, organizations, and voluntary service organizations to society or other organizations. The forms of voluntary services are diverse and can be either formal, planned, and long-term, or informal, spontaneous, and intermittent [ 9 ]. At present, volunteer groups in China’s nursing home organizations are mostly informal and consist of university students, healthcare workers, art workers, social workers, and others. These groups are invited by nursing home organizations or come to these institutions on their initiative to provide services for older adults. These services include a wide range of activities such as haircutting, cultural performances, spiritual comfort, hobby learning (e.g., paper-cutting, flower arranging), organizing festive activities (e.g., making rice dumplings on-site at Dragon Boat Festival, making mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival, etc.).

Voluntary services are a crucial aspect of long-term care and greatly complement the resources provided by the government,these nursing home organizations welcome volunteers who perform various non-medical activities associated with the daily lives of older adults [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Volunteers offer additional assistance and companionship to residents, provide support to employees such as nurses, nutritionists, and physical therapists, and potentially improve the overall quality of care, in China, these services have become increasingly popular and play a crucial role [ 13 , 14 ]. However, some problems have emerged in voluntary services, The voluntary services provided by volunteer organizations for older adults have certain functional defects and efficiency dilemmas, such as an unsound volunteer management system, high mobility of volunteers, and lack of a corresponding volunteer training system, which leads to the inability to provide high-quality services [ 13 ]. The above problems have undermined the effectiveness of voluntary services and affected the regular operation of nursing home organizations [ 15 ].

For effective services for older adults, it’s critical to understand the needs and experiences of older adults in nursing home organizations, there have been limited studies on how older adults feel about receiving voluntary services and if such services are suitable for their actual needs. One qualitative study documented the experiences of older adults who were helped by volunteers, but it was mainly focused on the volunteers themselves [ 16 ]. Another study looked into the benefits and experiences of receiving voluntary services, but it specifically focused on older adults who were confined to their homes [ 17 ]. There is no research available that sheds light on the emotions and requirements of older adults who receive voluntary services in nursing home organizations. To bridge this gap, we conducted interviews with older adults who have been accepted for voluntary services in two nursing home organizations in Hangzhou. The objective of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the actual needs and experiences of older adults and use this information to guide promoting the effective growth of voluntary services and establishing a voluntary service system that is suitable for older adults in nursing home organizations.

This study adopts a qualitative descriptive approach to examine the experiences and expectations of older adults in nursing home organizations when receiving voluntary services. This study aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the actual experiences and needs of older adults residing in nursing home organizations regarding receiving voluntary services and explore the types of voluntary services that are most suitable for the needs of older adults. To ensure accuracy and transparency, the authors followed the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines when reporting their findings [ 18 ].

Participants

During June-August 2023, the authors used purposive sampling to sample older adults residing in two nursing home organizations in Hangzhou, the inclusion criteria for the interview subjects were as follows:

they had to have resided in the nursing home organizations for more than a year;

they had to have received voluntary services;

they had to be conscious and able to express themselves effectively;

they had to have given informed consent and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study.

The number of people participating in the study was decided based on information saturation, this means the interviews were conducted until no new topics emerged and responses were repeated, the data from the twelfth interview indicated that saturation had been reached as confirmed by the other two interviews. This research principle was based on previous qualitative research studies [ 19 ]. A total of 14 older adults, coded N1-N14, were included in this study. All older adults who participated in the study agreed to the interview process, and none withdrew during the study. Detailed information can be found in Table  1 .

Interview outline

We developed an interview outline after thoroughly reviewing the literature sources and consulting with the research group [ 20 , 21 ]. We selected two older adults living in nursing home organizations to conduct pre-interviews, we adjusted the interview outline based on the feedback we received from the pre-interviews.

The interview will cover the following topics:

Please describe the voluntary services you have received in detail. How do you feel about receiving these services?

Are you satisfied with the voluntary service you have received? What aspects of the service make you satisfied?

What are your dissatisfactions with the voluntary service? Why do you feel that way?

What are your expectations and needs for the voluntary service’s content, form, and volunteers?

Is there anything else you would like to add to the discussion?

Data collection

A semi-structured interview method was utilized to gather data for this study. The main researcher, (a master’s degree nursing student) has been trained in qualitative research methods and has mastered the semi-structured interview techniques required to conduct interviews independently. Additionally, the researcher has participated in various volunteer activities in nursing organizations and has established a trustworthy relationship with the interviewees. Before conducting the interviews, the main researcher explained the study’s purpose and methodology to the interviewees and, after acquiring their consent, scheduled an appointment in advance. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the respondents in a quiet, private, comfortable conference room. During the interview, the researcher recorded the entire process with the respondent’s consent without interrupting the respondent unnecessarily. The researcher confirmed the key concerns and the content that the respondent could not express clearly by repeating, asking follow-up questions, and asking rhetorical questions. The researcher also promptly recorded the respondent’s non-verbal information, such as movements, expressions, and tone of voice. Each interview lasted 30–45 min, and after conducting 14 interviews, no new information was obtained, indicating data saturation and ending the interview process. At the end of the interview, each interviewee was given a small token of appreciation.

Data analysis

The audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed into text within 24 h of completion, non-verbal information was noted in the transcript at relevant places. The transcribed information was then entered into the NVIVO 11.0 software (QST International, Cambridge, MA, USA) for data extraction, coding, and integration. Two researchers independently analyzed and coded the data, and the results were compared to identify common themes. Any discrepancies were resolved after the research team had discussed them to ensure that the data was complete and the analysis was accurate. Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis method was used to refine the themes from the interviews, which involved the following steps [ 22 ]:

Carefully read all the transcriptions of the interviews.

Analyze the significant statements made by the interviewees.

Code the recurring and meaningful ideas discussed in the interviews.

Gather the coded ideas and form the theme clusters.

Define and describe the themes from the coded ideas.

Identify similar ideas and sublimate the theme concepts.

Return the results to the interviewees for verification, and revision, and add the results based on the feedback from the interviewees. For detailed coding results, please see Table  2 .

After the data analysis was summarized, two main themes were identified: Experiences and Needs for volunteerism.

Theme 1: experiences

Beneficial experiences, solving problems and meeting needs.

Many older adults currently reside in nursing home organizations that are situated far away from their children and friends, they often face difficulties in getting help promptly when they encounter problems, which can affect their daily lives. For instance, in today’s rapidly developing society, many older adults own smartphones but lack the necessary knowledge to use them effectively. This, in turn, reduces their social participation and increases their sense of isolation. However, voluntary services have been instrumental in assisting them in overcoming these hurdles and leading a more fulfilling life.

N11: “When the volunteers come to teach me how to use computers, I ask them something that I don’t understand, and the teacher will explain it to me immediately.” N1: “I don’t know how to buy things online. Volunteers taught me little by little, and after a few teaching sessions, I learned how to do it so I don’t have to bother the caregiver every time. I can also do online shopping by myself, and I feel that life is much more convenient.”

Some respondents stated that volunteers could fulfill their needs. Professional volunteers also taught older adults Chinese medicine and health care and assisted with self-care.

N12: “I’m interested in Chinese medicine health care knowledge, and when students from the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine come over, and I ask them What are the functions of different acupoints, they tell me how to press them to make them work.”

Feel warmth and care

Many older adults live in nursing home organizations, away from their familiar environment and social network. This isolation can generate a sense of loneliness, making them more eager for emotional support. Volunteers provide services to add joy to the lives of older adults so that they feel cared for. Interviewees have mentioned that being taken care of on their initiative makes them feel warm and touched, increasing their overall sense of well-being.

N10: “I am delighted when I participate in volunteering, I feel that I have a group life again, I am pleased, I feel that someone cares about us.” N8: “Volunteers come to serve us, feel that people still care about us older adults, and now the country also cares about us, and society also cares about us, I am thrilled.”

Some respondents said that having someone to talk to and greet them would make them feel happy and that they were willing to communicate with young people and accept their new ideas.

N2: “As soon as I see you young people, I am happy, I feel the atmosphere of youth, my mood is different, I feel less lonely.”

Unpleasant service experiences

A formality that makes it difficult to benefit truly.

According to the interviewees, there are certain formalized phenomena in the domain of volunteering. Some volunteers engage in volunteering activities to obtain a certificate, such certificates can help them get extra points at work. Some volunteers participated in volunteering based on the mentality of the herd under the organizational arrangements of their schools or enterprises. These volunteers lack initiative, violate the principle of voluntarism, and cannot provide services that genuinely benefit older adults due to their single-mindedness and formalism during the service process. As a result, older adults have a poorer sense of experience.

N7: “Some volunteers are asked to serve by their companies, and they have to finish the job; some just go through a process.” N13: “Many volunteers come over to perform a show, then take photos and leave; the service time is very short, just like completing a task.” N5: “Some volunteers are very perfunctory; they come for a while and leave quickly.”

Lack of organization, regularity, sustainability

Many volunteers offer their services without compensation, while they have their formal jobs, which makes it difficult for them to provide services consistently. Additionally, volunteers may be more mobile, which can result in a lack of continuity in the services that are provided and the target groups that are served. However, older adults living in nursing home organizations often have monotonous and lonely lives, and occasional voluntary services may not be enough to meet their needs. As a result, some older adults may feel dissatisfied with the irregular and unsustainable nature of voluntary services.

N12: “Volunteers come on an ad hoc basis; they are not regular. Recently, a school teacher came to teach us how to sing, but unfortunately, they had to leave due to commitments and have not been able to come back.’’ N5: “Volunteers can’t come regularly; they come once in a while or not regularly and don’t have a plan.” N7: “Volunteers come to the nursing home occasionally, so they don’t want to bother them.”

The mismatch between service provision and actual demand

The voluntary services provided to older adults in nursing institutions were not able to match their real needs as the volunteers had no prior knowledge of their needs and did not make any advance preparations.

N4: “Last time, a volunteer came and asked me if I needed help with cleaning. However, I declined their kind offer because caregivers in the nursing home clean rooms every day, and the volunteers could not address the specific things I needed help with.”

The needs of older adults for volunteering can vary significantly based on their experiential backgrounds, and physiological and psychological conditions. Therefore, providing the same services to all older adults can lead to negative feelings towards volunteering among them.

N10: “Some volunteers come just to dance and sing, it feels very noisy. I don’t want to participate, I want the volunteers to talk to me peacefully and quietly.” N14: “I am not very good with my legs, so it is difficult for me to participate in activities organized by the volunteers downstairs. I would like to find activities I can participate in in my room, such as playing games or doing crafts.”

Theme 2 needs for volunteerism

Needs for emotional comfort.

Many older adults live in semi-closed institutions where they lack long-term support from their families and struggle to find someone to talk to. During the epidemic, nursing home organizations prohibited visitors to prevent the spread of the virus, leaving many seniors alone and cut off from the outside world. As a result, many older adults experience feelings of loneliness and depression. To help combat these negative emotions, volunteers can provide companionship and support, which can effectively reduce feelings of loneliness and promote emotional well-being.

N1: “I hope someone will come and chat with us; many older adults have no way to contact the outside world, so they have psychological barriers, they need psychological counseling, they need someone to come and chat with them to relieve their loneliness.” N10: “It’s better to have volunteers to come over to the service, to come and chat with me, to visit me.” N12: “I would like volunteers to communicate with us, tell us what is happening outside, tell us something new.”

Cultural and recreational needs

As people age, their social interactions tend to decrease, and they gradually tend to withdraw from daily life. This results in older adults having more free time after their retirement. Nursing home organizations can provide basic living care and medical assistance for older adults, which relieves them of the burden of cooking, cleaning, and shopping. This also means they have more free time than those who live at home or in the community. Many older adults wish to participate in cultural and recreational activities, such as singing, dancing, sports, and watching performances, to add excitement to their lives. They hope that volunteers can organize such activities to help them reduce their loneliness and spend their time in a meaningful way.

N14: “It’s good for volunteers to come and teach us how to dance, sing, and sing opera, and time passes a little faster when we all get together and learn.” N2: “It is popular for volunteers to bring cultural performances to our nursing home, we love to see young people performing programs, singing some classic old songs or Peking Opera, it is very popular.” N9: “We would like to play tai chi, it is a very suitable sport for us as it strengthens the body and the movements are softer, it would be nice if a teacher could teach us.”

Knowledge acquisition needs

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, individuals will naturally shift their focus toward higher-level pursuits once their basic and low-level needs are met. In the case of older adults residing in nursing home organizations, their basic material needs are taken care of, and as a result, their need for knowledge and learning becomes increasingly important. Many older adults require assistance in learning how to use electronic equipment, which can help facilitate their communication with the outside world and reduce feelings of isolation.

N1: “It’s become very convenient to buy things online, but I don’t know how to operate it myself and would like someone to teach me.” N2: “My daughter bought me an expensive Apple phone, but I am unfamiliar with how to use it. It would be great if someone could systematically instruct me on how to use the smartphone.” N8: “I don’t know how to use my smartphone, I don’t understand many functions, so I would benefit from having a teacher to guide me.”

As individuals age, their bodily and cognitive functions may deteriorate, adversely affecting their quality of life. Basic healthcare knowledge can be critical for older adults to maintain good health. Many older adults have a strong desire to learn about nutritional diets, rational exercise, and traditional Chinese medicine physiotherapy as a means of improving their health.

N9: “Volunteers can come and talk to us about medicine and how to predict dementia.” N13: “I have high blood pressure and cholesterol. I need advice on what to eat and what to avoid.”

To prevent any disagreements regarding the distribution of their assets among their heirs after they pass away, older adults seek the help of volunteers to assist them in drafting a will that is by national policies and regulations and has legal validity.

N12: “Volunteers can help us learn how to write a will effectively and can avoid unnecessary trouble and conflicts in the future.”

The current situation of voluntary experiences of older adults in nursing home organizations

Analysis of beneficial experiences.

The study’s findings indicate that individuals residing in nursing home organizations who are of advanced age have mixed experiences when it comes to receiving voluntary services. Most respondents conveyed the warmth and care emanating from the volunteers and the society towards older adults. Furthermore, they shared that volunteering offered them a means to engage in activities actively, create connections with fellow older adults, and foster mutual support and camaraderie. This social participation has the potential to enhance the mental well-being of older adults, thereby decreasing feelings of loneliness and depression [ 17 ]. Voluntary activities like smartphone training can help older adults acquire the necessary needed skills and adapt better to modern technology and life. Competent skills are crucial for older adults, particularly in today’s fast-developing technological society, where electronic devices such as smartphones are becoming increasingly popular. However, many older adults need more skills to operate these devices and thus cannot fully utilize them. Through training, older adults can learn how to use smartphones, including sending text messages, browsing the web, using social media, downloading applications, and more. Learning these skills not only improves the quality of life of older adults but also helps them stay connected with family and friends, thereby reducing loneliness.

Improved skills can assist older adults in accessing and utilizing health information, including online medical advice and health apps. This information can aid in managing their health status, preventing and managing chronic illnesses, and ultimately improving their quality of life. Volunteering is crucial in nursing home organizations. It provides numerous benefits to older adults, including enhancing their mental health and quality of life and receiving the necessary support and care by participating in voluntary activities [ 23 ].

Analysis of unpleasant experiences

During the interviews, some older adults shared negative experiences regarding the content, form, and frequency of voluntary services. They pointed out that volunteers did not understand their needs in advance, focusing too much on material assistance and neglecting their psychological and intellectual needs. Additionally, the service process is often too process-oriented and formalized, with less interaction with older adults, resulting in voluntary services failing to meet their expectations.

Research suggests that negative experiences of receiving voluntary services may impact older adults’ willingness to seek help and the effectiveness of voluntary services. Therefore, when providing voluntary services to older adults, it is essential to take the initiative to understand their experiences and continuously optimize the voluntary program. This approach is crucial to improving the quality of voluntary services [ 24 ].

The current situation of the demands for voluntary services by older adults

The study results show that nursing home organizations can provide comprehensive life care services to older adults, meaning they do not require many voluntary services for life care. However, this does not imply that older adults’ needs are met. Their need for emotional support, cultural recreation, and knowledge-seeking and learning is highly concentrated.

When older adults leave their familiar family environment to move into care institutions, they may experience feelings of loneliness and boredom due to the lack of regular interaction with their children, family members, and friends. This sense of isolation can harm their mental health, and they may seek more opportunities to communicate and interact with younger individuals to gain emotional comfort [ 25 ].

As people age, cultural entertainment and knowledge learning become essential for spiritual growth. After their basic living needs are taken care of, older adults desire more fulfilling recreational activities, such as calligraphy, painting, and singing, these activities enrich the spiritual life of older adults and benefit their physical and mental health [ 26 ].

In today’s rapidly developing society, the widespread use of smartphones and the popularity of online shopping have led to a digital divide among older adults. This phenomenon has, to some extent, hindered their social participation and increased their sense of isolation. Consequently, there is a growing demand for voluntary services that assist with smartphone use and can help them enjoy a convenient and fulfilling digital life.

The need for voluntary services for older adults has changed over time. While they still require help with their daily living, they also need emotional support, cultural engagement, and opportunities to learn new things. We should focus on meeting these needs to ensure our voluntary services are beneficial. By doing so, we can help older adults live fulfilling, healthy, and happy lives in their later years [ 27 ].

Suggestions and strategies for optimizing volunteerism

Accurately assessing older adults’ voluntary service needs.

The study results reveal that some older adults have negative experiences with voluntary services that fail to meet their actual needs, leading to unsatisfactory service outcomes. This highlights the need to accurately identify the real service needs of older adults to improve the quality and effectiveness of voluntary services.

To achieve our goal, we need to take a series of steps. Firstly, we must create appropriate tools for evaluating the needs of older adults for voluntary services. We should also clarify the assessment methods and strategies for assessing these needs, before launching voluntary services, relevant organizations and volunteers must understand older adults’ service experience and needs through qualitative and quantitative assessment methods [ 28 ].

To improve the quality and effectiveness of voluntary services for older adults, we can utilize big data technology to carry out precise reforms. This involves building a unified information platform for voluntary services that enables a quick match between the needs of older adults and the specialties of volunteers through the co-construction, sharing, and everyday use of resource information [ 29 ]. By doing so, we can provide multi-level, multi-category, and personalized voluntary services that cater to the actual needs of older adults, thus achieving the purpose of “precise service.”

In conclusion, we must prioritize the actual needs of older adults and provide them with more personalized and intimate voluntary services by continuously improving the assessment tools and information platforms with the orientation of precise services, the use of big data technology will play a key role in helping us realize the goal of efficient and accurate services.

Improving the quality management system of voluntary services

Volunteering quality refers to the quality of services volunteers provide, as perceived by the direct recipients. Research has shown that low-quality voluntary services fail to achieve their intended goals, moreover, negative experiences of receiving voluntary services may discourage older adults from seeking help in the future. The study highlights a significant gap between older adults’ experience of volunteering quality and their expectations, therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the management of volunteering quality to ensure that expectations are met.

To enhance the quality of volunteering, we need to implement measures. Firstly, we must optimize the recruitment and selection system for volunteers, this entails formulating recruitment plans and selection requirements that align with the voluntary services needs of older adults. We aim to create a stable and committed volunteer team skilled in services knowledge and job skills and willing to participate in voluntary services for an extended period [ 30 ].

To enhance the level and quality of service, it is important to provide regular and standardized training to volunteers. Volunteers should receive professional information support services, such as training on volunteer spirit, etiquette, communication skills, and the physiological and psychological characteristics of older adults. The main forms of training include information consultation, professional knowledge, technology lectures, sharing of previous volunteer experiences, summarizing stage-by-stage voluntary services, and experiential services. Volunteers should be provided with face-to-face or online interaction to help them improve their ability to assist older adults. The training for volunteering encompasses theoretical knowledge about volunteering, including its characteristics and principles, the rights and interests of service users, and respect for them. It also includes basic knowledge of social work, such as interpersonal communication methods and skills, as well as knowledge of health care for older adults. The latter includes the introduction of general knowledge about daily life care for older adults, such as diet, hygiene, and exercise, and the evaluation of the training’s effectiveness. Both voluntary service organizations and nursing home organizations should participate in the training process, only volunteers who have completed the training and assessment can engage in service activities [ 31 ]. It is essential to improve the evaluation mechanism of voluntary service quality. This can be done by creating a scientific evaluation index system involving older adults in evaluating their satisfaction with the voluntary service program and conducting a comprehensive analysis of the evaluation results. This analysis can help to optimize and improve the service program, additionally, tracking and evaluating the effectiveness of optimization measures to continuously enhance service quality is crucial [ 32 ].

Improving the quality of voluntary services is a comprehensive project that enhances various aspects, such as volunteer recruitment, training, and service quality evaluation. This systematic approach can help serve the nursing home organizations better and improve their overall quality of life.

Strengths and limitations

The paper’s strength lies in its focus on the experience of older adults in nursing institutions when receiving voluntary services and their need for such services. This study’s understanding of the real feelings and needs of older adults is beneficial for various organizations in society to provide better services in a targeted manner. However, the study’s limitation is that it mainly focuses on the more developed areas of Hangzhou, which affects the sample’s representativeness and makes it challenging to reflect the general situation of older adults in nursing home organizations. Additionally, the author’s subjective viewpoints may affect the analysis of the material during the data analysis process. Finally, the sample size of this study is relatively small, and there may be individual differences in personality, physical condition, and economic situation, among others. Therefore, expanding the sample size and the region’s scope to carry out more in-depth research is necessary.

This research explored the experiences and requirements of older adults who receive voluntary services in Chinese care homes. The study categorized their experiences into two groups: beneficial experiences and unpleasant service experiences, the needs of older adults who receive voluntary services include emotional comfort, cultural and recreational, and knowledge acquisition. It is crucial to have a timely and comprehensive understanding of the experiences and needs of older adults to create a targeted voluntary service model, standardized management, and training of volunteers in nursing home organizations.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The datasets are not publicly available due to confidentiality and ethical restrictions.

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Acknowledgements

We want to express our heartfelt appreciation to the 14 older adults who participated in the interview and shared their experiences. We are also grateful to the administrators of nursing home organizations in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, for granting us access and allowing us to conduct the interviews at their facility. Their cooperation was invaluable in gaining insights into the needs of older adults.

This study did not receive any form of financial support.

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Lin Li, Qin Shen & Junxian Wu

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Li and Wu were responsible for data collection, sorting, and analysis, and Li wrote the paper. Shen directed and revised the article and approved the final version for publication. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qin Shen .

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The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (approval No. 20230814-2). Before the interviews, the participants were provided with information regarding the study’s purpose and procedures, the voluntary nature of their participation, and the confidentiality of their data. The interview data was stored securely, and only the research team could access it. The Ethics Committee of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University approved this study.

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Li, L., Shen, Q. & Wu, J. The experiences and needs of older adults receiving voluntary services in Chinese nursing home organizations: a qualitative study. BMC Health Serv Res 24 , 547 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11045-5

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Received : 25 December 2023

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Published : 29 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11045-5

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