Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Research
New to research? Confused about quantitative and qualitative methods? This article breaks down the key differences between the two approaches.
Are you new to doing research? Maybe you’re at an early stage in your PhD program and are just getting started with the quantitative approach, or maybe you’re just learning about qualitative methods and want to see how they compare to what you’ve learned so far.
Regardless of where you’re at in your research career, knowing the key differences between qualitative and quantitative methods will help you better understand the methodologies and approaches used by researchers around the world.
What is Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is a type of social science research that uses observational techniques to gather data about people, behaviors, and beliefs.
Qualitative data is often collected through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation.
This type of data is usually more open-ended and descriptive than quantitative data. It’s also typically better for understanding one particular situation or topic in depth.
What is Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is another type of social science research that involves collecting numerical data from a sample group to study the relationships between variables and make generalizations about the population as a whole.
Quantitative research is all about numbers and statistical analysis. It’s used to measure things like customer satisfaction or product usage.
Quantitative data may be gathered by conducting surveys, administering questionnaires, or analyzing statistical information from existing records.
In order to do this type of research, you need a large sample size so that you can make reliable conclusions from your data.
For example, if you are running an experiment where 100 people are given 10 different products to try, you might find it difficult to determine which one was their favorite because they will only be able to choose one item.
With more people in the study (say 500), they would have more chances of picking their favorite product.
One drawback of quant research is that there may not be any explanations for why something happened. On the other hand, qualitative research solves this problem by allowing researchers to ask open-ended questions and interview participants.
These types of studies are very time intensive but produce rich insights into what is happening. A drawback to qualitative research is that it does not provide hard evidence, which means it cannot be relied on when making decisions based on results.
There’s no right answer when deciding whether to use qualitative or quantitative research—it depends on what you’re trying to learn and how much time you have!
The Benefits of Each Approach
When it comes to conducting research, there are many different approaches that you can take. But what are the key differences between quantitative and qualitative methods? And when should you use each one?
Quantitative research is all about numbers and statistical analysis. It’s typically used to test hypotheses and measure outcomes.
Qualitative research, on the other hand, is focused on understanding human behavior and emotions. It’s often used to explore new ideas or gain insights into people’s thoughts and experiences.
Both of these approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, but they’re both important tools in any researcher’s toolkit.
Quantitative research is good for testing a hypothesis or measuring an outcome, but it doesn’t provide any depth as to why something happened or how someone feels about an event.
Qualitative research does provide this depth of insight – with the trade-off being that because it relies on data collected from a few participants, generalizations can’t be made from this type of data.
So, when would you want to use each approach? Quantitative research is good for gaining insights into things like consumer preferences and other types of behaviors.
For example, if you wanted to understand why your customers buy certain products over others, then using quantitative research would be your best bet.
On the other hand, qualitative research might be better suited if you wanted to get a deeper understanding of your customer’s feelings about those same products.
That way, not only will you know which products are more popular than others, but also why those preferences exist in the first place.
Qualitative methods can also offer insight into things like people’s thought processes and emotional responses to events – which has helped researchers understand everything from eating disorders to climate change denialism!
How To Get Started With Each Type of Research
-If you’re starting with quantitative research, begin by asking yourself what data you need to collect in order to answer your research question.
Once you have a plan for collecting data, decide on a method for analyzing it (like statistical analysis or surveys).
-Qualitative research usually starts with interviews or focus groups. If you’re doing interviews, create a list of questions that you want to ask your participants.
Interviews typically take place face-to-face or over the phone, but you can also use video chats like Skype if the other person is willing. There are many different types of interviews, including closed-ended and open-ended ones.
It’s important to know which type will work best for your needs so that you can create an interview guide with good questions for this type of interview. For example, if you’re interested in people’s attitudes towards dogs then a closed-ended interview might be better than an open-ended one.
In contrast, if you’re more interested in what dog owners think about dog parks, then an open-ended interview would be more appropriate.
At any rate, both quantitative and qualitative research involves using specific tools such as surveys or interviews.
But beyond these similarities, there are some big differences in how they conduct their research and analyze the results.
Qualitative researchers start from a theoretical perspective before looking at empirical evidence whereas quantitative researchers start from empirical evidence first and then develop theory from that.
Qualitative researchers often look at specific contexts where their data has been collected whereas quantitative researchers rely on random sampling techniques without consideration for context.
Lastly, qualitative researchers focus heavily on the interpretation of data whereas quantitative research often favor generating hypotheses and testing them against measurable outcomes.
