Operates in the context of discovery rather than verification. The socialization and change processes drive new practices, new ways of thinking, and redirection or modification of new ideas. An emphasis on words is common in qualitative research and emphasizes the importance of meanings. It is assumed that meaning is embedded in a person's experience and that such meaning is mediated through the researcher's own perceptions. The interpretive approach to the understanding of words and meanings is central to the goals of qualitative research.