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What is the Difference between Quantitative and Qualitative Research?

What Is The Difference Between Qualitative Research And Quantitative Research?

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    When you start to think about your research methodology, you need to think about the differences between qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research explores attitudes, behaviour and experiences through such methods as interviews or focus groups. It attempts to get an in-depth opinion from participants. As it is attitudes, behaviour and experiences which are important, fewer people take part in the research, but the contact with these people tends to last a lot longer. Under the umbrella of qualitative research there are many different methodologies. Quantitative research generates statistics through the use of large-scale survey research, using methods such as questionnaires or structured interviews. If a market researcher has stopped you on the streets, or you have filled in a questionnaire which has arrived through the post, this falls under the umbrella of quantitative research. This type of research reaches many more people, but the contact with those people is much quicker than it is in qualitative research. Qualitative versus quantitative inquiry Over the years there has been a large amount of complex discussion and argument surrounding the topic of research methodology and the theory of how inquiry should proceed. Much of this debate has centred on the issue of qualitative versus quantitative inquiry – which might be the best and which is more ‘scientific’. Different methodologies become popular at different social, political, historical and cultural times in our development, and, in my opinion, all methodologies have their specific strengths and weaknesses. These should be acknowledged and addressed by the researcher. Certainly, if you were to do so, it would help you to think about your research methodology in considerable depth. Deciding which methodology is right for you Don’t fall into the trap which many beginning (and experienced) researchers do in thinking that quantitative research is ‘better ’ than qualitative research. Neither is better than the other – they are just different and both have their strengths and weaknesses. What you will find, however, is that your instincts probably lean you towards one rather than the other. Listen to these instincts as you will find it more productive to conduct the type of research with which you will feel

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Qualitative research is just concern with individual own knowledge,experience and perception. Quantitative research is just concern with idea and views of other people.like survey short interview.

Anonymous

The answer to this question is within each of the words you have stated here. Qualitative research, in short, is used when the meaning of something needs to be found. For example, qualitative research is asking a question such as 'Why are certain people in debt?' or 'What it means to be a child whose mother has recently died?' In basic words, qualitative research does not result in the obtaining of statistics, numbers or calculations. Instead, the result of qualitative research is merely explained in words and descriptions of what the studies found. For example, if the researcher found that they found the people in debt to be very funny, care-free, friendly individuals, the research would explain this in the same sort of words. The researcher would report on the friendliness of the people they interviewed and how they all seemed to house a funny and care-free streak in their personality. If you want to find the meaning of something and describe it accurately, qualitative research is certainly the one to choose. Quantitative research is of course, the complete opposite, and again, the clue is in the name. It is called quantitative research because it works with numbers, quantities and statistics. Let's say a new drug was just created to help improve the lung health of a smoker. Quantitative researchers would get together a group of approximately 100 volunteer smokers and would prescribe them a series of the drug to take once a day for a whole month. Quantitative researchers would most likely ask them to breathe into an apparatus to record their length of breath and quality of oxygen daily. At the end of the trial, all of the 100 smokers' breath tests would be analysed to come up with an accurate result; for example, 80 out of 100 smokers' lung health improved. The words may be similar but the differences are large!

Alex Wheeler

As a general definition, quantitative is numbers e.g. there was a two times increase in blah. Qualitative is non numeric e.g. there was an increase in blah.

sarah pollard

Quantitative interviewing

Anonymous

Scientific method

Anonymous

Qualitative is to use your knowledge. Quantitative is to question people like survey.

Anonymous

With reference to research techniques and methods discuss some difference between qualitative and quantitative research

Anonymous

Get figures with quantitative Market research, quantify information. Get insights, precise information with qualitative market research.

Eric Brandenburg

Qualitative answers the question - What is it? Quantitative answers the question - What is it and how much of it is there?

John Nawrocki

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