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What's The Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research?

Qualitative and quantitative research differ in their data and goals. Qualitative research uses descriptive data like words and seeks to understand phenomena in their natural contexts, while quantitative research uses numerical data and aims to test theories across settings. Some key differences are that qualitative research immerses the researcher in the field to understand participant perspectives, while quantitative research aims for objectivity and generalizable results through methods like experiments. Both approaches have strengths and limitations depending on the research question.

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124 views9 pages

What's The Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research?

Qualitative and quantitative research differ in their data and goals. Qualitative research uses descriptive data like words and seeks to understand phenomena in their natural contexts, while quantitative research uses numerical data and aims to test theories across settings. Some key differences are that qualitative research immerses the researcher in the field to understand participant perspectives, while quantitative research aims for objectivity and generalizable results through methods like experiments. Both approaches have strengths and limitations depending on the research question.

Uploaded by

MaryJoyceRamos
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1.

Research Methods
2. Qualitative vs. Quantitative

What’s the difference between


qualitative and quantitative research?
What’s the difference between qualitative and
quantitative research?
By Saul McLeod, updated 2019

There exists a fundamental distinction between two types of data:

Quantitative data is information about quantities, and therefore numbers, and


qualitative data is descriptive, and regards phenomenon which can be observed
but not measured, such as language.
Jump to Quantitative Research Data

Article Content
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is empirical research where the data are not in the form of
numbers (Punch, 1998, p. 4).

Qualitative research is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive,


naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative
researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or
interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.
Denzin and Lincoln (1994, p. 2)

An interest in qualitative data came about as the result of the dissatisfaction of


some psychologists (e.g., Carl Rogers) with the scientific study of psychologists
such as the behaviorists (e.g., Skinner). 

Since psychologists study people, the traditional approach to science is not seen
as an appropriate way of carrying out research, since it fails to capture the totality
of human experience and the essence of what it is to be human.  Exploring the
experience of participants is known as a phenomenological approach (re:
Humanism).

The aim of qualitative research is to understand the social reality of individuals,


groups and cultures as nearly as possible as its participants feel it or live it. Thus,
people and groups, are studied in their natural setting.

Research following a qualitative approach is exploratory and seeks to explain


‘how’ and ‘why’ a particular phenomenon, or behavior, operates as it does in a
particular context.

Methods (used to obtain qualitative data)


Qualitative researchers use a variety of methods to develop deep understandings
of how people perceive their social realities and in consequence, how they act
within the social world.

For example, diary accounts, open-ended questionnaires, documents, participant


observation, and ethnography.

The researcher has several methods for collecting empirical materials, ranging
from the interview to direct observation, to the analysis of artifacts, documents,
and cultural records, to the use of visual materials or personal experience.

Denzin and Lincoln (1994, p. 14)


A good example of a qualitative research method would be unstructured
interviews which generate qualitative data through the use of open questions. 
This allows the respondent to talk in some depth, choosing their own words.  This
helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person’s understanding of a
situation.

Notice that qualitative data could be much more than just words or text.
Photographs, videos, sound recordings and so on, can be considered qualitative
data.

Data Analysis
Qualitative research is endlessly creative and interpretive. The researcher does
not just leave the field with mountains of empirical data and then easily write up
his or her findings.

Qualitative interpretations are constructed, and various techniques can be used


to make sense of the data, such as content analysis, grounded theory (Glaser &
Strauss, 1967), thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) or discourse analysis.
Key Features
Events can be understood adequately only if they are seen in context. Therefore, a
qualitative researcher immerses her/himself in the field, in natural surroundings.
The contexts of inquiry are not contrived; they are natural. Nothing is predefined
or taken for granted.

Qualitative researchers want those who are studied to speak for themselves, to
provide their perspectives in words and other actions. Therefore, qualitative
research is an interactive process in which the persons studied teach the
researcher about their lives.

The qualitative researcher is an integral part of the data, without the active
participation of the researcher, no data exists.

The design of the study evolves during the research, and can be adjusted or
changed as it progresses.

For the qualitative researcher, there is no single reality, it is subjective and exist
only in reference to the observer.

Theory is data driven, and emerges as part of the research process, evolving from
the data as they are collected.

Limitations
Because of the time and costs involved, qualitative designs do not generally draw
samples from large-scale data sets.

The problem of adequate validity or reliability is a major criticism. Because of the


subjective nature of qualitative data and its origin in single contexts, it is difficult
to apply conventional standards of reliability and validity.

For example, because of the central role played by the researcher in the
generation of data, it is not possible to replicate qualitative studies. Also,
contexts, situations, events, conditions, and interactions cannot be replicated to
any extent nor can generalizations be made to a wider context than the one
studied with any confidence

The time required for data collection, analysis and interpretation are lengthy.
Analysis of qualitative data is difficult and expert knowledge of an area is
necessary to try to interpret qualitative data, and great care must be taken when
doing so, for example, if looking for symptoms of mental illness.

Strengths
Because of close researcher involvement, the researcher gains an insider's view of
the field. This allows the researcher to find issues that are often missed (such as
subtleties and complexities) by the scientific, more positivistic inquiries.

Qualitative descriptions can play the important role of suggesting possible


relationships, causes, effects and dynamic processes.

Qualitative analysis allows for ambiguities/contradictions in the data, which are a


reflection of social reality (Denscombe, 2010).

Qualitative research uses a descriptive, narrative style; this research might be of


particular benefit to the practitioner as she or he could turn to qualitative reports
in order to examine forms of knowledge that might otherwise be unavailable,
thereby gaining new insight.

Quantitative Research
QuantitativeResearch
Quantitative research gathers data in a numerical form which can be put into
categories, or in rank order, or measured in units of measurement.  This type of
data can be used to construct graphs and tables of raw data.

Quantitative researchers aim to establish general laws of behavior and


phenonomon across different settings/contexts. Research is used to test a theory
and ultimately support or reject it.

Methods (used to obtain quantitative data)


Experiments typically yield quantitative data, as they are concerned with
measuring things.  However, other research methods, such as controlled
observations and questionnaires can produce both quantitative information.

For example, a rating scale or closed questions on a questionnaire would generate


quantitative data as these produce either numerical data or data that can be put
into categories (e.g., “yes,” “no” answers). 

Experimental methods limit the possible ways in which a research participant can
react to and express appropriate social behavior.

Findings are therefore likely to be context-bound and simply a reflection of the


assumptions which the researcher brings to the investigation.

Data Analysis
Statistics help us turn quantitative data into useful information to help with
decision making. We can use statistics to summarise our data, describing
patterns, relationships, and connections. Statistics can be descriptive or
inferential.

Descriptive statistics help us to summarise our data whereas inferential statistics


are used to identify statistically significant differences between groups of data
(such as intervention and control groups in a randomised control study).

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