COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
The quantitative and qualitative research traditions can be thought of as distinct cultures marked by different values, beliefs, and norms. Qualitative research methods are complex meaningful analyses characterized by processes and meanings that are not measured in terms of mathematical measurements. Quantitative research however, relies and builds on mathematical procedures and methods, such as frequency, quality, amount and statistical procedure. There are unique characteristics which distinguish one research process from the other.
In the simplest terms, it 's about the nature of the data you collect and analyze. Quantitative research uses data that are
…show more content…
This is not too much of a problem if we remember that we are not trying to create objective knowledge. Our knowledge is much softer. We cannot be certain that practical work will always make learning easier. We cannot prove that a pupil will respond positively to using a word processor. Yet we can have a pretty good idea that these maybe helpful to us in certain situations. More importantly we endeavour to 'build ' theory from the ground of experience or practice. For qualitative researchers the context in which practice takes place has an important bearing upon that practice and research should be rooted accordingly.
Another major difference between qualitative and quantitative research is the underlying assumptions about the role of the researcher. In quantitative research, the researcher is ideally an objective observer that neither participates in nor influences what is being studied. In qualitative research, however, it is thought that the researcher can learn the most about a situation by participating and/or being immersed in it. These basic underlying assumptions of both methodologies guide and sequence the types of data collection methods employed.
Hamersley [op. cit.] accepts that qualitative researchers seek to articulate the views of people studied but adds that qualitative researchers often analyse the data in ways that are likely to be alien to those studied. He also asserts that much quantitative research
Qualitative research is flexible written form their results are ongoing and their conclusion can be changed while quantitative research is numerical, reliable, specific, data are collected by statistical analysis due to which quantitative are more accurate. Qualitative research uses open questions to find the depth of the information while quantitative research uses closed question, secondary data or experiments due to this it lacks the depth of the information and neglect the effect of the individuals which could be service provider, service users or other staff members.
According to Yin (2003), there are two types of research approach. This includes quantitative research approach and qualitative research approach. A quantitative research emphasizes on transforming the data to numbers, quantities and statistics to formulate facts and to uncover patterns in a research. It addresses research purposes through empirical analysis that involve numerical measurement, the relationship between variables and analysis approaches (Zikmund et al., 2010). The sample size being investigated is typically large (Anderson, 2006). Quantitative research mainly uses questionnaires, surveys and other equipment to collect numerical or measurable data (Anderson, 2006). On the other hand, a qualitative research typically emphasizes words more than numbers
Quantitative research is an approach that uses theory, variables, measurements and statistical analyses to test theories (Creswell, 2013). Qualitative research is an approach that does not rely on proving a theory, a set of variables, or running an experiment. Rather, a qualitative research approach allows for exploring and understanding meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. A qualitative approach allows for meaning and explanations to develop through, interviews, review of artifacts, and observations (Neuman, 2002).
In research the two main used approaches are qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research represents the study of perceptions, emotions and experiences in the direction of understanding the human behaviour therefore from a subjective perspective ( R). On the other side the quantitative research is expressed numerical, measurable, appropriate for statistics defined as being objective and can be used for general public (R). Another difference, according to Moule (2015) is that qualitative approach is usually using a smaller sampling size for the study than the quantitative approach. As the qualitative research is inductive, the process is orientated and using a holistic view, allows the researcher
According to Wyse (2011) from Snap Surveys, qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides possible answers into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. Qualitative Research is also used to find trends in
For quite a while there has been some discussion around which method of distinctions between Qualitative research and quantitative research. This has been fired in later years with some thinking that a combination of the two is best practice especially in social
Researchers are sometimes using Quantitative and Qualitative research methodologies interchangeably, or all three of the methodologies including the mixed approach, Creswell (2009). However, the most distinctive differences between the two is the application used, or the design, using words for qualitative analysis, and
The researcher must set a clear hypothesis, showing the relationship between independent and dependent variables. In quantitative research tools are used to collect numerical data. The information can be gathered using questionnaires or some type of equipment. Quantitative data is efficient at testing a hypothesis, but can miss contextual detail. In quantitative research, the researcher is often objectively separated from the subject matter. One of the ways quantitative research is different from qualitative research is that quantitative research requires extraction of large amounts of statistical data. Qualitative research is focused in on personal viewpoints and opinions of a smaller number of subjects (typically). Qualitative research can take more time than quantitative research (McCusker & Gunaydin,
As Creswell (2002) has noted, quantitative research is the process of collecting, analysing, interpreting and writing the results of a study, while qualitative
A qualitative study addresses the complexity of human experience, focusing on the big picture (Rebar & Gersch, 2015); while a quantitative study breaks a problem down into small pieces and focuses on specific parts to see how they all relate (Rebar & Gersch, 2015). Qualitative methods focus on subjective information, and never try to predict or control the phenomenon of interest (Rebar & Gersch, 2015); on the other hand, quantitative methods focus on statistics and objective information, and can yield predictions and control (Rebar & Gersch, 2015).
The key distinctions between qualitative and quantitative data are qualitative data is subjective, ask What?, Why?, literature review may be done after study is complete, develops theory, focus is complex, facts are biased and values are involved, qualitative data is about discovery, describing, understanding, sharing results to who are concerned about the study. Basic with analysis is part of, the researcher conducting the study is part of the process, and participants are involved, reasoning is dialectic and inductive, describes the meaning of what was discovered in the study conducted, uses communication and observation, and strives for trends and theories easy to understand. Study conducted has a flexible approach in a natural setting, provides information worth counting (Anderson, 2006). Quantitative data provides objectives, ask questions how many?, literature review must be done early in the study, tests theory, focus is
Research methodology generally involves qualitative research or quantitative research, or a mixture of both. A quantitative research methodology involves the analysis of data collected from a large number of surveys or interviews. On the other hand, methodologies for qualitative research often involve using surveys or interviews to collect information about people — their attitudes, experiences and behaviors.
Methods of quantitative research includes surveys and data, which is then presented as statistics. It is then collected by a big group such as the Census. The downfalls of quantitative methods of research include being that it offers less depth in information as they generally place emphasis on a much larger number of cases. The outcomes of quantitative research are more often than not, used to present findings to a wide or whole population (Punch, 1998). Qualitative methods of research is essentially gathering information and data, by creating focus groups, and conducting field research and intensive reviews.
Qualitative research is conducted in a natural setting and attempts to understand a human problem by developing a holistic narrative and reporting detailed views of informants about the culture of a problem. It forms a report with pictures and words. One of the most important distinctions that sets qualitative research apart from more traditional types of research is that qualitative research is holistic in that researchers study phenomena in their entirety rather than narrowing the focus to specific defined variables” (p. 93). Similarly, Cresswell (1984) indicated that qualitative research “is defined as an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem, based on building a holistic picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants, and conducted in a natural setting” (p. 2). Cresswell’s definition clearly delineates the major characteristics of qualitative research. Pg. 50 (Smith & Davis, 2010).
There are different ways in which researcher defines quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative research is a social research that uses experimental methods, questionnaires, numerical data and explains observations usually in tables or charts from. Quantitative research can define the relationship between two or more studies.