Which of the following is an example of a qualitative research method?

Qualitative research methods focus on understanding the underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations behind human behavior, often yielding in-depth insights that can’t be captured through numerical data alone. Focus groups and interviews are quintessential qualitative methods because they allow researchers to explore participants' thoughts and feelings in a conversational format, facilitating a deeper understanding of complex issues.

These methods gather rich, descriptive data that can be analyzed thematically, providing context and narrative through participants' own words. This is particularly useful for exploring new or poorly understood phenomena where structured data might overlook important nuances. In contrast, the other choices involve more quantitative or structured approaches that do not capture the same depth of qualitative insight.