Qualitative vs.

Quantitative
Research | Differences,
Examples & Methods

Published on April 12, 2019 by Raimo Streefkerk.

Revised on January 3, 2023.

When collecting and analyzing data,

quantitative research deals with numbers and
statistics, while qualitative research deals with
words and meanings. Both are important for
gaining different kinds of knowledge.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research is expressed in

numbers and graphs. It is used to test
or confirm theories and assumptions.
This type of research can be used to
establish generalizable facts about a
topic.

Common quantitative methods

include experiments, observations
recorded as numbers, and surveys with
closed-ended questions.

Quantitative research is at risk for

research biases including information
bias, omitted variable bias, sampling
bias, or selection bias.

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is expressed in

words. It is used to understand
concepts, thoughts or experiences. This
type of research enables you to gather
in-depth insights on topics that are not
well understood.

Common qualitative methods include

interviews with open-ended questions,
observations described in words, and
literature reviews that explore concepts
and theories.

Qualitative research is also at risk for

certain research biases including the
Hawthorne effect, observer bias, recall
bias, and social desirability bias.

 Table of contents

 The differences between quantitative

and qualitative research
 Data collection methods
 When to use qualitative vs.
quantitative research
 How to analyze qualitative and
quantitative data
 Frequently asked questions about
qualitative and quantitative research

The differences between

quantitative and qualitative
research
Quantitative and qualitative research use
different research methods to collect and
analyze data, and they allow you to answer
different kinds of research questions.

Quantitative Qualitative Research

research

Focuses on testing Focuses on exploring

hypotheses and ideas and formulating a
theories theory or hypothesis

Analyzed through Analyzed by

math and statistical summarizing,
analysis categorizing and
interpreting

Mainly expressed in Mainly expressed in

numbers, graphs words
and tables

Requires many Requires few

respondents respondents

Closed (multiple Open-ended questions

choice) questions

Key terms: testing, Key terms:

measurement, understanding, context,
objectivity, complexity, subjectivity
replicability

Qualitative vs. quantitative research

Data collection methods

Quantitative and qualitative data can be
collected using various methods. It is important
to use a data collection method that will help
answer your research question(s).

Many data collection methods can be either

qualitative or quantitative. For example, in
surveys, observational studies or case studies,
your data can be represented as numbers (e.g.,
using rating scales or counting frequencies) or
as words (e.g., with open-ended questions or
descriptions of what you observe).

However, some methods are more commonly

used in one type or the other.

Quantitative data collection methods

Surveys: List of closed or multiple choice
questions that is distributed to a sample
(online, in person, or over the phone).
Experiments: Situation in which different
types of variables are controlled and
manipulated to establish cause-and-
effect relationships.
Observations: Observing subjects in a
natural environment where variables can’t
be controlled.

Qualitative data collection methods

Interviews: Asking open-ended questions
verbally to respondents.
Focus groups: Discussion among a group
of people about a topic to gather opinions
that can be used for further research.
Ethnography: Participating in a
community or organization for an
extended period of time to closely
observe culture and behavior.
Literature review: Survey of published
works by other authors.

When to use qualitative vs.

quantitative research
A rule of thumb for deciding whether to use
qualitative or quantitative data is:

Use quantitative research if you want to

confirm or test something (a theory or
hypothesis)
Use qualitative research if you want to
understand something (concepts,
thoughts, experiences)

For most research topics you can choose a

qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods
approach. Which type you choose depends on,
among other things, whether you’re taking an
inductive vs. deductive research approach;
your research question(s); whether you’re
doing experimental, correlational, or descriptive
research; and practical considerations such as
time, money, availability of data, and access to
respondents.

Research question

How satisfied are students with their

studies?

Quantitative research approach

You survey 300 students at your university and
ask them questions such as: “on a scale from 1-
5, how satisfied are your with your professors?”

You can perform statistical analysis on the data

and draw conclusions such as: “on average
students rated their professors 4.4”.

Qualitative research approach

You conduct in-depth interviews with 15
students and ask them open-ended questions
such as: “How satisfied are you with your
studies?”, “What is the most positive aspect of
your study program?” and “What can be done
to improve the study program?”

Based on the answers you get you can ask

follow-up questions to clarify things. You
transcribe all interviews using transcription
software and try to find commonalities and
patterns.

Mixed methods approach

You conduct interviews to find out how
satisfied students are with their studies.
Through open-ended questions you learn
things you never thought about before and
gain new insights. Later, you use a survey to
test these insights on a larger scale.

It’s also possible to start with a survey to find

out the overall trends, followed by interviews to
better understand the reasons behind the
trends.

How to analyze qualitative

and quantitative data
Qualitative or quantitative data by itself can’t
prove or demonstrate anything, but has to be
analyzed to show its meaning in relation to the
research questions. The method of analysis
differs for each type of data.

Analyzing quantitative data

Quantitative data is based on numbers. Simple
math or more advanced statistical analysis is
used to discover commonalities or patterns in
the data. The results are often reported in
graphs and tables.

Applications such as Excel, SPSS, or R can be

used to calculate things like:

 Average scores (means)

 The number of times a particular answer
was given
 The correlation or causation between two
or more variables
 The reliability and validity of the results

Analyzing qualitative data

Qualitative data is more difficult to analyze
than quantitative data. It consists of text,
images or videos instead of numbers.

Some common approaches to analyzing

qualitative data include:

Qualitative content analysis: Tracking the

occurrence, position and meaning of
words or phrases
Thematic analysis: Closely examining the
data to identify the main themes and
patterns
Discourse analysis: Studying how
communication works in social contexts

Frequently asked questions

about qualitative and
quantitative research

What’s the difference between 

quantitative and qualitative methods?

What is mixed methods research? 

How do I decide which research 

methods to use?

What is data collection? 

How do you analyze qualitative data? 

What is a research project? 

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Qualitative vs. Quantitative
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Raimo Streefkerk
Raimo has been writing articles for Scribbr
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