Which type of information gathering tool often results in the collection of qualitative data from participants?

Interviews are a powerful information-gathering tool that typically lead to the collection of qualitative data. They allow participants to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their own words, providing in-depth insights into their perspectives and motivations. The open-ended nature of interview questions encourages participants to elaborate on their answers, resulting in rich, nuanced information that quantitative methods may not reveal. This qualitative data can be instrumental in understanding complex issues within community and family studies, as it captures the subtleties of human behavior and social interaction.

In contrast, while tools like surveys and observational methods can also provide valuable data, they often focus more on quantitative results or structured observations rather than the deeper, qualitative insights that interviews yield. The experimental method is primarily used to establish cause-and-effect relationships under controlled conditions, which typically involves quantitative data collection. This distinction highlights why interviews are uniquely suited for gathering qualitative information.