Qualitative Vs Quantitative Methods

Qualitative research collects non-numerical data to describe events or phenomena. On the other hand, quantitative research uses numeric data with statistical methods to investigate phenomena. (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015, p. 609). Qualitative studies address human responses to particular situations or events with an emphasis on interviews and observations. The results are reported from the participant’s point of view. Qualitative studies can be conducted when a phenomenon is unknown to obtain a general idea. Also, they can be used when an event is well known, but certain areas lack details or depth (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015). Contrarily, quantitative studies measure phenomena with the use of scales, tests, scores and statistics. Quantitative research designs are multiple. They can range from descriptive studies, which are used to predict relationships between variables, to randomized control trials (RCT). RCTs are used to describe cause and effect relationship between variables. Quantitative studies report results using a uniform format with preselected variables (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015).

Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative methods on each of the elements listed. Please use scholarly, academic literature to support your response.

There are several types of methods that can be used for qualitative research. They include ethnographic, case study, phenomenological, ground theory, and critical study. The following will detail what the methods are and how they could be used in a classroom at Stephen Decatur Middle School. The research question being utilized for each example scenario is “will the use of audio books increase engagement for seventh grade special education students during independent reading sessions?”

Quantitative and Qualitative are said to be systematic in different design. Both design have to follow a process system that involved defining a principle of research.

The type of study that was utilized is known as a qualitative study. A qualitative study is a study in which data is gathered without altering the surroundings. Within the area of human research, a qualitative study can present evidence about the health conditions, actions, and viewpoints that occur naturally in a particular group (research design, n.d). When researchers are required to interact with participants, surveys or interviews may be utilized to gather required data. In descriptive studies where the researcher does not communicate with the participant, observational studies of individuals in an environment, and studies containing data collection using current records are utilized (research design, n.d).

So, in this case any research done verbally like and interview or questionnaire is qualitative research. This data cannot not be measure accurately. There are also five diverse types of Qualitative Research, Case study, Grounded theory, Phenomenology, Ethnography and Historical.

surveys and focus groups into data that can be analysed so we can highlight the

They are also interested in researching using methods such as participant observation or case studies which result in a narrative, descriptive account of setting or practice. (Parkinson & Drislane, 2011)

Both quantitative and qualitative researches have been used as research approach recently. (What is the purpose of this para??)(Combine with the first para?)

I would like to see whether growth can be predicted for a certain company with introduction of a certain product.

One of the most important parts of establishing a research design involves the decision between quantitative and qualitative data. Each has its own strength and weaknesses that any successful research design must account for. Perhaps one of the easiest distinctions between the two rests in the sample size. While quantitative data normally involves a large n, or sample size, qualitative data involves a much smaller sample size in comparison. This smaller sample size allows qualitative researchers to focus more on each case, increasing the internal validity of the research, but limiting its external validity. Quantitative based research designs reverse this. The large sample size of quantitative data often makes it difficult for researches to establish causation among the independent and dependent variable(s). The external validly of such designs usually offsets this issue to some extent. Due to their large nature, and use of numerical data, quantitative research is much more replicable when compared to their qualitative counterparts. Unfortunately, the struggle between internal and external validity is a fundamental part of research. Even efforts to combine the two methods to form a ‘mixed methods research design’ ultimately fail to nullify the issue completely. Keeping this in mind, a quantitative analysis is the most logical given the specific research question and the data available.

A qualitative approach is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. It uses interviews, participant observation, focus groups, and similar methods. It expresses its research results in narrative form, often relying on illustrative cases and analyzing long passages of text.

Interviews attempt to understand the world from the subjectivist’s point of view, to unfold the meaning of people’s experience, expectation and actions. Interviews therefore provide deep meaningful data that reveal each individual’s perspective. Semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to access another person’s opinion and discover

Another advantage of qualitative methods is the use of the open-ended questions for collecting the data. This form of questions allows the participants to answer the questions in a different way by dictating individual responses which makes the method different from other methods of research. The method also allows the researcher to gather essential information directly from the affected participants which he/she may not have known about. More generally, the method can be said to provide an avenue for respondents to talk freely without necessarily been restricted to certain answers. Thus, qualitative methods allows the researcher to carefully engage with the respondent, thus creating a good interactive platform through which the researcher is able to ask questions such as what happened?, what is your experience?, how do you feel it can be improved? etc. The method especially the face to face interview technique or observation could provide information necessary for a further research where little or nothing is known about the topic in question (Patton,

There are three main types of descriptive methods: observational methods, case-study methods and survey methods. This article will briefly describe each of these methods, their advantages, and their drawbacks. This may help you better understand research findings, whether reported in the mainstream media, or when reading a research study on your own.