Qualitative Research : Quantitative Research Essay

Qualitative research seeks to answer the “why” and not the “how” of the research project that is being conducted, this is done through a complex system of analyzing unstructured information such as survey’s , questionnaires, interviews, interview transcripts, open end survey’s, focus groups, observations, emails, notes, video’s, feed back forms and photo’s; most of the time a qualitative report won’t depend on statistical evidence alone it must be accompanied by detailed facts and proven facts and not hypotheses or in accurate data, this can lead to misunderstanding of data findings and can through the whole aim of the research project off and waste valuable time.

Qualitative Research is a systematic process by which we attempt to answer a question or resolve a problem of a phenomenon. Qualitative research is non-experimental in its approach to conducting research. Qualitative research stays within the phenomenological paradigm meaning it is subjective in nature, uses inductive analysis method. Its purpose is to explore, explain, and describe a problem and uses multiple strategies of inquiry to collect data. Also, Qualitative research is concerned with finding the answers to questions that begin with why? How? In what way? For example;

Qualitative research depicts the attributes and characteristics of something. In Qualitative research, the portrayal is not decreased into numbers just like the case in quantitative research. In any case, this can later be accomplished through encoding process. Qualitative research furnishes the scientist with data about

Power point slide Qualitative research is a difficult term to define…. Nevertheless, it is important to be familiar with some definitions in the field. The definition provided by Creswell 2009 is enlightening because it incorporates ……….. most important part of definition for me were reports detailed views of informants and natural setting.

Qualitative research is subject to judgments about the data and synthesizes the findings using specialized approaches such as experimental or non-experimental. Researchers often opt to use non-experimental approaches in studies using surveys, interviews, observations, and case studies. Even though an experimental approach is appropriate in quantitative research, it further enables researchers to find answers and collect data (Bagozzi & Yi, 2012). This approach is unique in its hypotheses and the study of behavior, making it valid and reliable.

According to Schneider, Elliot, LoBiondo-Wood & Haber (2004), qualitative research methods, search for the meaning and understanding of human experiences in a naturalistic setting. A researcher obtains subjective facts in order to explore the experiences of each participant (Schneider, Elliot, LoBiondo-Wood & Haber 2004). As a result, qualitative research is a means in which a researcher gains an insight into the participant's point of view concerning their personal experiences; in order gain an understanding of the information given. Therefore this allows a researcher to collect subjective information to create a description of the phenomenon (Vishnevsky & Beanlands 2004).

Qualitative research uses data obtained through methods such face- to- face interviews, observations, and focus groups. Data is analyzed by looking for trends and patterns. Quantitative research use numerical and statics to process the answer specific questions. Statistics used to support assessment of research. Analysis techniques are used to report are affected by the questions addressed and type of information that is expected in the research discoveries (Wakoff, 2007).

Qualitative data is not numerical and is more likely to take the form of observations or interviews. Obviously, it is very difficult to perform any statistical analysis on this kind of data. A further problem is that another researcher cannot replicate this data and therefore it is difficult to check the validity of what has been written. Researchers using this kind of data must be careful to avoid subjectivity, that is, they must avoid letting their personal beliefs or preferences affect the way they record and interpret the data. The advantage of this form of data collection is that it allows the researcher to answer open-ended questions; consequently, it is more flexible. Qualitative data also provides opportunities to explain the context of an observation and can therefore present a fuller picture (OU, 2001).

Qualitative research is a broad field of inquiry that uses unstructured data collection methods, such as observations, interviews, surveys and documents, to find themes and meanings to inform our understanding of the

The method of qualitative research become key method in the human and social science and also in the education and health science. The definition of qualitative research is a research using methods such as participant observation or case studies which result in a narrative, descriptive account of a setting or practice. Sociologists using these methods typically reject positivism and adopt a form of interpretive sociology (Parkinson & Drislane,2011). It involves the research using data that do not indicate ordinal values. Furthermore, qualitative research includes the different kinds of data collection, techniques of analysis and diversity of theoretical frameworks (Guest; Namey & Mitchell, 2013). According to Creswell(2013) ‘’the final written report or presentation includes the voices of participants, the reflexivity of the researcher, a complex description and interpretation of the problem, and its contribution to the literature or a call for change.

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).

Qualitative research describes the research that can produce observations and descriptions. If you were observing or interviewing someone, you would want to use qualitative research to ask questions such as "how" or "why".

Qualitative research comprises of receiving information that gives a verbal expression of the participates, providing more detail and depth than quantitative studies. It can be used to analysis people’s attitudes and emotions towards a topic encouraging them to expand on their answers to explain the reasons behind why they gave a particular response. The drawbacks to this being as it requires more time to collect the data so smaller sample sizes

According to Kothari (2008) qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomena which are related to or involve quality or kind. Qualitative research engages the collection and analysis of non-numerical data obtained from experiments, interviews, observations, and other resources involving statements and arguments. Research is conducted into particular context and non-numerical interpretive approach is used to produce narrative description of research data. Unlike quantitative research, this type of research considers the underlying facts behind the establishment of particular behaviors and assumptions. It is commonly used in behavioural sciences where the aim of research is to discover underlying motives of human behaviour.

Qualitative research methods are utilized to study the social and cultural phenomena. So it includes observation, participant observation (field work), interview sessions, documents and texts and finally the researcher’s imitations and feedback. [Myers, 2009]