Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods

A distinction is made between qualitative and quantitative research methods

particularly from the researchers who are concern in using qualitative and quantitative
approaches in their field research. In this paper I will explore what is qualitative and
quantitative approaches and how these research methods are carry out into the
research process. In doing so, I will be discussing both research methods and the
differences as well.
Research in any field seeks to generate new information of knowledge that can
be applied to solve problems, improve the quality of life and provide a better
understanding of conditions in a field. One of the things which research requires
people to do is to question assumptions and perceptions which are taken for granted in
the normal run of everyday life !lough and "utbrown #$$#%. It draws together a
variety of thoughts and opinions in order to move these issues or interests forward and
therefore build upon the research findings. &oreover, it offers an opportunity to
investigate a theory that requires further interpretation and greater understanding from
a particular perspective.
&ethodology refers to the process and procedures of the research.
'nderstanding of research methodology leads to the ability to be more effective and
an excellent way to faster the rational process in thinking. (he choice of best method
always comes from the research purpose &orse and Richard #$$#%. (he obvious first
question is whether the research purpose is best answered by qualitative or
quantitative methods. )ach method gives a unique perspective.
*ebates about qualitative and quantitative research took root in the +,-$s
which have been felt in many disciplines especially sociology, social psychology,
education, research, organi.ation studies and evaluation research /ryman +,00%.
Robert said that 1most debates over methods are debates over assumptions and goals,
over theory and perspective2 /ogdan and (aylor +,345+%. *uring the +,3$s and
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Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods
+,0$s qualitative research began to be used in other disciplines and became a
dominant or at least significant type of research in the fields of women6s studies,
disability studies, education studies, social work studies, information studies,
management studies, nursing service studies, human service studies and others. In the
late +,0$s and +,,$s after a spate of criticisms from the quantitative side, new
methods of qualitative research have been designed to address the problems with
reliability and imprecise modes of data analysis /ogdan and (aylor +,34%.
7iergiorgio states 1the debate between the qualitative and the quantitative
approaches to sociological research has seen both ebb and flow.2 !orbetta #$$858$%.
9he also added that 1the lively and fruitful clashes of the +,#$s and +,8$s gave rise to
valuable outputs on both sides of the divide and contributed significantly to the
advancement of the discipline with particular regard to the qualitative perspective,
we can quote the so:called ;!hicago 9chool<%2 !orbetta #$$858$%. 7iergiorgio also
discussed in the +,=$s and +,4$s and in the first half of the +,-$s quantitative
perspective dominated and 1qualitative research was considered a sort of stepchild of
social research2 !orbetta #$$858$% and later throughout +,,$s continued until today,
qualitative research experienced vigorous development. (o support this, Robert
/ogdan +,34% writes that interest in qualitative methodology declined throughout the
+,=$s and into the fifties with the growth in prominence of positivist theories and
quantitative methods. >e Robert% also added 1in any case, the use of qualitative
methods first became popular in American sociology in the studies of the ;!hicago
9chool< sometime after the turn of the century2 /ogdan and (aylor +,3458% and in the
+,-$s and +,3$s have, nevertheless seen a reemergence in the use of qualitative
methods.
(he phrase 6qualitative research6 was until then marginali.ed as a discipline of
anthropology or sociology and terms like ethnography, fieldwork, participant
observation and !hicago school approach were used instead. ?ualitative research is
used broad in social sciences and has been taken in many fields of study and its
influence in the social sciences has been growing steadily. 7eter defines that 1the
word qualitative implies an emphasis on the qualities of entities and on processes and
meanings that are not experimentally examined or measured if measured at all% in
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Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods
terms of quantity, amount, intensity, or frequency2 !lough and "utbrown #$$#5+,%.
As for /ruce the term quality refers to 1the what, how, when and where of a thing, its
essence and ambience. ?ualitative research thus refers to the meanings, concepts,
definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols, and descriptions of things2 /erg
+,,458%. ?ualitative methods allow researchers to understand, explain, discover and
explore. (he researchers made effort to validate the findings by referencing to
previous studies done by other researchers. It provides with a certain type of
knowledge and with the tools to answer our confusion. Researchers have to be able to
see how messy data can be transformed into elegant understanding. All qualitative
methods seek to discover understanding or to achieve explanation from the data.
?ualitative work is to some extent always theory driven /rannen +,,#%. (hus in
order to achieve such understanding, the researcher needs ways of exploring
complexity. In discussing qualitative research, 9haran /. writes on the nature of
qualitative research as,
1(he key to understanding qualitative research lies with the idea that meaning
is socially constructed by individuals in interaction with their world. (he
world, or reality, is not the fixed, single, agreed upon, or measurable
phenomenon that it is assumed to be in positivist, quantitative research.
Instead, there are multiple constructions and interpretations of reality that are
in flux and that change over time2 &erriam #$$#58:=%.
9haran /. also points out that qualitative research covers several philosophical
or theoretical orientations and the most common being interpretive, critical and
postmodern. Apart from that, a basic interpretative study, phenomenology, grounded
theory, case study, narrative analysis, ethnography, critical qualitative research and
postmodern or post structural research are several designs or genre of qualitative
research &erriam #$$#%. ?ualitative research helps us make sense of the world in a
particular way. @udy Aalenta cited in )ly, et al +,,3% points her view on qualitative
research as,
1(here always seems to be a question that develops that needs to be
answered. I have reali.ed that it is that feeling of discomfort which seems to
keep me moving toward new learning. It appears to be a part of moving on to
the next step. I have compared it to the grain of sand in the oyster which
causes irritation but ultimately creates a thing of beauty.2 )ly, et al
+,,3580+:80#%
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Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods
Booking at what @udy has said, thus it is similar like when we can<t believe in
what we are reading, we feel a lack of depth understanding. It leaves us thinking
which leads us in an excellent ways to approach in searching for truth. /y utili.ing
qualitative research may raise new and unexpected findings leading to reformulation
of old theories. 1?ualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to
the world. (his means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural
settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the
meanings people bring to them2 *en.in and Bincoln #$$$58%. In addition,
1qualitative methodologies refer to research procedures which produce descriptive
data5 people<s own written or spoken words and observable behaviour2 /ogdan and
(aylor +,345=% though we do not accept their perspectives as truth, develop an
empathy which allows us to see the world from their points of view.
I turn now to a different type of research method that is quantitative research
method. ?uantitative methods are useful for describing social phenomena, especially
on a larger scale. Bawrence writes that 1the capacity of quantitative research to
describe, predict and explain social and psychological phenomena has provided
significant part of the foundation on which social sciences have been erected2 Bocke,
et al #$$=5+8#%. ?uantitative is seen somehow as more respectable, closer to the
common understanding of science, implying more precision and more readily
analy.ed by computers and summari.ed in tables Can &aanen +,0#%. Indeed,
quantitative research is often involved with mathematical models. (he term quantity
is 1elementally an amount of something2 and refers 1to counts and measures of
things2 /erg +,,458%. In fact, quantitative is a research method dealing with numbers
and anything that is measurable. (hey are therefore to be distinguished from
qualitative methods. !ounting and measuring are common forms of quantitative
methods. (he result of the research is a number or a series of numbers. (hese are
often presented in tables, graphs or other forms of statistics as what /ruce has states
that in quantitative research, the findings or results commonly presents percentages
and proportions of the data in the form of charts, tables and graphs /erg +,,4%.
In contrast with qualitative, quantitative data can be analy.ed statistically, it is
possible to examine complicated theoretical problems >irschi cited in /ryman +,00%.
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Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods
?uantitative research is often an iterative process whereas evidence is evaluated,
theories and hypotheses are refined, technical advances are made and so on. It seems
that quantitative method often be faster, easier for a researcher lacking qualitative
training. As quantitative research uses numbers while qualitative research uses words.
As a result, qualitative research sometimes critici.ed for being nonscientific and thus
invalid. Bot of qualitative research is simply descriptive whereas quantitative research
is more specific.
?uantitative methods might be used with a global qualitative frame.
?ualitative methods might be used to understand the meaning of the numbers
produced by quantitative methods. 'sing quantitative methods, it is possible to give
precise and testable expression to qualitative ideas. ?uantitative involves many
phenomena with few variables while qualitative research usually involves few cases
with many variables. Allan +,,+, &erriam #$$#%. ?uantitative methods are based on
a natural science, positivist model of testing theory while qualitative methods are
based on interpretivism and are more focused around generating theories and accounts
!ook and Reichardt +,3,%. 7ositivists treat the social world as something that is 6out
there6, external to the social scientist and waiting to be researched. Interpretivists, on
the other hand believe that the social world is constructed by social agency and
therefore any intervention by a researcher will affect social reality /ogdan and (aylor
+,34, Duba and Bincoln +,,=%. >ere, lies the supposed conflict between quantitative
and qualitative approaches. ?uantitative approaches traditionally seek to minimi.e
intervention in order to produce valid and reliable statistics, whereas qualitative
approaches traditionally treat intervention as something that is necessary often
arguing that participation can lead to a better understanding of a social situation
/ogdan and (aylor +,34, !orbetta #$$8%.
(o summari.e my essay, qualitative and quantitative research are different
ways of conducting research and that the choice between them should be made in
terms of their appropriateness in answering particular research questions. ?ualitative
and quantitative paradigms bring together quite distinctive forms of both knowledge
production and conceptions of reality. As Bawrence points out that 1qualitative and
quantitative research are two types of research that are shaped by different paradigms
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Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods
different sets of assumptions about the nature of reality%2 Bocke, et al #$$=5+#=%.
For several reasons, both qualitative and quantitative approaches are empirical
methods in that they involve the collection, analysis and interpretation of observations
or data.
Although a distinction is commonly drawn between qualitative and
quantitative aspects of scientific investigation, it has been argued that the two go hand
in hand. Eor example, based on analysis of the history of science, Fuhn !orbetta
#$$85,:+$, !ook and Reichardt, et al +,3,5+#:+8% concludes that 1large amounts of
qualitative work have usually been prerequisite to fruitful quantification in the
physical sciences.2 Einally, activists of quantitative methods argue that only by using
such methods can the social sciences become truly scientific whereas activists of
qualitative methods argue that quantitative methods tend to obscure the reality of the
social phenomena under study because they underestimate or neglect the non:
measurable factors, which may be the most important.
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Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods
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