This paper reports research which utilizes a qualitative approach in order to document and describe the process of complex organizational conflict. Qualitative research methodology and conflict sociology can be relevant to analysis of organizational processes. The qualitative approach is interpreted to include techniques such as observation, event analysis, and process documentation. Conflict sociology, based upon "Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society," by Ralf Dahrendorf, suggests that a theoretical model should direct research and pose questions which will make sense out of a social phenonemon. Other sociologists who have contributed to development of the conflict model include Thomas Eliot, Gerhard Lenski, Robert North, Wilmer Cody, Frank W. Lutz, Randall Collins, and Robert Brumbaugh. An example of analytical contributions of a qualitative research design is a study conducted in 1974-75 to assess mandated change in teacher education and certification in New York state. Data were collected regarding attitudes and activities of participants in the teacher training program. An explanatory theory, based upon research by Dahrendorf and Collins, was constructed to explain program development. Findings indicated that mandated change has a high potential for generating conflict, selective involvement and non-participation of participants, and redistribution of power. The conclusion is that a theory based on conflict sociology and qualitative methods served to clearly explain participant behavior and organizational processes in the case of teacher preparation in New York state. (Author/DB)