Qualitative vs.

Quantitative Research
INTRODUCTION:

Research is the most widely used tool to increase the stock of knowledge about something and
someone. Research is defined as careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or
problem using scientific methods. According to the psychologists, “research is a systematic
inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed phenomenon’’. In the field of
marketing, business, sociology, psychology, science & technology, economics, etc. there are two
standard ways of conducting research, i.e. qualitative research or quantitative research. While the
qualitative research relies on verbal narrative like spoken or written data, the quantitative
research uses logical or statistical observations to draw conclusions. There detail is as follows:

Qualitative research method:

Qualitative research is a method that collects data using conversational methods; usually it has
open ended questions. This method helps a researcher understand what participants think and
why they think in a particular way. Qualitative research is one which provides insights and
understanding of the problem setting. Qualitative research is used to gain an in-depth
understanding of human behavior, experience, attitudes, intentions, and motivations, on the basis
of observation and interpretation, to find out the way people think and feel.

There are 4 common types of Qualitative research:

1. Phenomenological Studies
2. Ethnographic Studies
3. Historical Studies
4. Case Studies
1. Phenomenological Studies:

Phenomenological studies examine human experiences through the descriptions provided by the
people involved. These experiences are called lived experiences. The goal of phenomenological
studies is to describe the meaning that experiences hold for each subject. This type of research is
used to study areas in which there is little knowledge. In phenomenological research,
respondents are asked to describe their experiences as they perceive them. They may write about
their experiences, but information is generally obtained through interviews.

2. Ethnographic Studies
Ethnographic studies involve the collection and analysis of data about cultural groups. In
ethnographic research, the researcher frequently lives with the people and becomes a part
of their culture. The researcher explores with the people their rituals and customs. An
entire cultural group may be studied or a subgroup in the culture.
3. Historical or archival Studies

Historical studies concern the identification, location, evaluation, and synthesis of data from the
past. Historical research seeks not only to discover the events of the past but to relate these past
happenings to the present and to the future. Historical research may be more difficult to conduct
than some of the other types of research. The data for historical research are usually found in
documents. Documents may include a wide range of printed material. The material may be found
in libraries, archives, or in personal collections. Much valuable material has probably been
discarded because no one recognized its importance.

4. Case Studies:

A case study is a research method common in social science. It is based on an in-depth

Quantitative Research method:

Quantitative methods deal with numbers and measurable forms. It uses a systematic way of
investigating events or data. It answers questions to justify relationships with measurable
variables to explain, predict, or control a phenomenon. It is a form of research that relies on the
methods of natural sciences, which produces numerical data and hard facts. It aims at
establishing cause and effect relationship between two variables by using mathematical,
computational and statistical methods. The research is also known as empirical research as it can
be accurately and precisely measured.
There are following types of qualitative research:

1. Descriptive research
2. Correlational research
3. Quasi experimental research
4. Experimental research

1. Descriptive research seeks to describe the current status of an identified variable. These
research projects are designed to provide systematic information about a phenomenon.
The researcher does not usually begin with a hypothesis, but is likely to develop on after
collecting data. Systematic collection of information requires careful selection of the
units studied and careful measurement of variables.
2. Correlational research attempts to determine the extent of a relationship between two or
more variables using statistical data. In this type of design, relationships between and
among a number of facts are sought and interpreted. This type of research will recognize
trends and patterns in data, but it does not go so far in its analysis to prove causes for
these observed patterns. Cause and effect is not the basis of this type of observational
research. The data, relationships, and distributions of variables are studied only.
Variables are not manipulated; they are only identified and are studied as they occur in a
natural setting.
3. Quasi experimental research attempts to establish cause effect relationships among the
variables. These types of design are very similar to true experiments, but with some key
differences. An independent variable is identified but not manipulated by the
experimenter, and effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable are
measured. The researcher does not randomly assign groups and must use ones that are
naturally formed or pre-existing groups.
4. Experimental research often called true experimentation uses the scientific method to
establish the cause-effect relationship among a group of variables that make up a study.
The true experiment is often thought of as a laboratory study, but this is not always the
case; a laboratory setting has nothing to do with it. A true experiment is any study where
an effort is made to identify and impose control over all other variables except one. An
independent variable is manipulated to determine the effects on the dependent variables.