Quantitative And Qualitative Research Methods Essay

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

The social sciences employ three main types of research methodologies: qualitative research, quantitative research, and mixed-methods research. Qualitative research is a catch-all term that describes field research within social settings (Saint-Germain, 2002). It does not have a control group or require the researchers to impose variables and is not going to be sufficient to establish causation. However, qualitative research is excellent at providing descriptions of behavior. While qualitative research is descriptive, quantitative research is predictive. It makes predictions known as hypotheses, tests those hypotheses, and attempts to establish cause and effect (Xavier, 2012). Mixed-methods research, as its name implies, employs a mixture of qualitative and quantitative elements in its research design. Generally, a mixed methods approach is appropriate when a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, together, provide a better understanding of research (Fischler, 2012).

It is evident from the literature in occupational therapy, education, and neuroscience that effective sensory integration is necessary for a child’s participation in school activities and successful academic performance.

Moreover, the quantitative method is used by researches who want to discover statistics and facts by analyzing data in a numerical way. Unlike this article, the qualitative method is used by researches who want to gather data through observations and interviews based on what the participants say or do. The qualitative method seeks to explore and collect opinions and motivations on the research topic instead of collecting numerical data.

These strengths however, are not the sole prerogative of quantitative designs. Indeed, many of the arguments for the use of quantitative research, especially in an academic climate where resources are limited, have pragmatic origins in terms of allowing large scale data collection and analysis at reasonable cost and effort, as well as providing statistical "proof".

Skinner, Tagg, and Holloway (2000) stressed that engaging in qualitative research demands an understanding of some of the drawbacks associated with doing this type of research. A number of common concerns related to qualitative research are found in the literature. The time and resources involved in collecting and analyzing qualitative data are mentioned frequently (e.g., Creswell, 1998; Skinner, Tagg, & Holloway, 2000). A related concern involves depending on others for access to documents such as diaries, logs, and other records.

Combined approach. Once the data from both the quantitative component and qualitative component had been summarized, the two sets of results were compared. The pre-assessment quantitative and qualitative data sets were reviewed to look for convergence. The two post-assessment data sets were similarly reviewed. The changes from pre- to post-assessment were reviewed together to look for similarities, differences, anomalies, and possible future areas of study. Additionally, the data as a whole was considered to determine what descriptive narrative it implied.

Quantitative research, although very reliable, is often criticized for the validity of its outcomes, and although qualitative research has good validity, it faces problems of repeatability and generality. (p. 569)

I analyzed two different research studies, one quantitative and one qualitative, to compare and contrast both research methods. Qualitative research refers to an analysis method that collects descriptive (non-numerical) data, such as words, images, and objects, whereas quantitative research is used to test a hypothesis and look at the cause and effect of a prediction. Quantitative research collects numerical data or statistics from questionnaires and surveys, which are used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and variables in an attempt to generalize the results.

This type of research methods involve describing in detail specific situation using research tools like interviews, surveys, and Observations. Qualitative Research 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. Qualitative Research is also used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive deeper into the problem. Qualitative data collection methods vary using unstructured or semi-structured techniques. Some common methods include focus groups (group discussions), individual interviews, and participation/observations. The sample size is typically small, and respondents are selected to fulfill a given quota. so it is useful for each and every methods.

Qualitative research is a formative method of research that is preferred by many researchers as allows the researcher to use several techniques to gather information by seeking answers to research questions. Merriam (2005) stated, “Qualitative research is interested in how meaning is constructed, how people make sense of their lives and their worlds. The primary goal of a basic qualitative study is to uncover and interpret these meanings” (p. 24).Qualitative research has been proven to be a very effective way to address research. There are several methods used to gather information using a qualitative research approach. Qualitative research does not focus on numbers and experiments as compared to other research methods. According to William (2005, p.85) qualitative data collection methods emerged after it has become known that traditional quantitative data collection methods were unable to express human feelings and emotions. More as it allows a researcher to explore ones perceptions, and feelings on a topic. Qualitative is a very effective way to conduct research to gather rich in-depth data. Creswell (2007) claimed that qualitative research is an opportunity to develop an understanding of the experiences from the perspective of the individuals or group being studied through a particular theoretical lens. There are several methodologies associated with qualitative research; including, case studies, phenomenology, and several others.

In this proposed study, the researcher will use a mixed methods approach (Jack, Norman & Helen, 2012). Jack, Norman & Helen define a mixed method as a procedure for both quantitative and qualitative data at some stage of the research process, to understand a research problem more completely (Jack, Norman & Helen, 2012). Jack, Norman & Helen (2012) define qualitative research as “research studies that investigate the quality of relationships, activities, situations, or materials” (p. 426). In a qualitative research, people use more explanatory data, and data are collected in the form of words and description rather than numbers and statistics. A qualitative research is a method of analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say (Jack, Norman & Helen, 2012). In contrast to qualitative researches, a quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are used to obtain information about the world (Burns & Grove, 2005). Data of the quantitative research is in numerical form such as statistics, and percentages.

7. The data in qualitative research are more convincing , compelling and powerful as compared to the data gathered through quantitative research as the data of qualitative depends on human experience

Quantitative research is considered to be the use of numbers. In the use of a quantitative study, the researcher test objective theories by examining the conjunction among variables. The variables used can be measured on instruments, so that numbered data can be used and analyzed (Creswell, 2008). Qualitative research is mainly used to explore and understand human or social problems. The process of qualitative studies includes questions and procedures; and the data is collected byway of participant’s settings. It allows the researcher to study an issue in great detail and depth, as well as not allowing data collection to be constrained by predetermined data. Mixed methods research combines quantitative and qualitative methods and it involves philosophical assumptions. This form of study includes collecting and analyzing data from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. It is believed that mixed methods research is a great method for practicing researchers who would like to bridge the schism between quantitative and qualitative research (Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2004a). Even though these methods are different, they all involve philosophical assumptions and distinct methods or procedures (Cresswell, 2009).

Integration is the stage(s) where the quantitative and qualitative methods are mixed or integrated in the research process (Greene, Caracelli, & Graham, 1989; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998; Creswell et al., 2003). Mixing can occur at the beginning stage of the study when the researcher is formulating the quantitative and qualitative research (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2003), and integration can be done at the interpretation stage of the quantitative and qualitative results (Onwuegbuzie & Teddlie, 2003). The quantitative and qualitative phases are connected (Hanson et al., 2005) after data analysis in the first phase to guide the data collection in the second phase. For the sequential explanatory study, I will connect the quantitative and qualitative phase during the intermediate stage in the research process. That is, I will select participants for the qualitative phone interview from those who responded to the survey in the first phase (Creswell et al., 2003).