INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Objectives

to expose students with quantitative and qualitative research to demonstrate how quantitative research is different from qualitative research to explain how they can work together

Two Approaches to research

Qualitative

Quantitative

emphasizes natural settings, observations, verbal narratives and interpretations. emerged from sociology Takes a lot of practice to do it well.

Emphasizes numbers, measurements, controls and experimentation. This is the traditional scientific research. Once you understand the basic rules, anyone can do it.

Qual vs. Quant (Goals)

Qualitative Build theory Develop understanding Describe multiply realities Capture naturally occurring behaviour Insider meaning Interpretation of behaviour Quantitative

Test hypothesis Establish facts Show relationships Predict Statistically describe Outsider meaning Prediction of behaviour

Qual vs. Quant (Design)

Qualitative

Quantitative

Evolving Flexible Informal General Naturalistic Gives a complete detailed description

Structured Predetermined Formal Specific Summarizes and categorizes observations

Qual vs. Quant (Design)

Qualitative

Quantitative

Design emerges during study Ends with hypotheses and theory Time consuming

Design is explicit and clear in advance Begins with hypotheses and theory Efficient

Qual vs. Quant (Sample)

Qualitative

Quantitative

Small Non-representative Purposeful

Large Representative Random selection

Qual vs. Quant (Data)

Qualitative

Quantitative

Verbal descriptions Field notes Observations Documents Photographs Narrative

Quantities Counts Measures Instruments Numbers Statistics

Qual vs. Quant (Methods)

Qualitative

Quantitative

Case study Ethnographies Verbal Protocol Analysis

Experiments quasi-experiments Surveys

Qual vs. Quant (Examples)

Qualitative

Quantitative

Studying the behaviors of the football fans by attending the football game as to observe, participate and understand the phenomenon.

Survey that concludes that the average patient has to wait two hours in the waiting room of a certain doctor before being selected.

Mixed Methods
If you want statistical validity, combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Involve different combination of Qualitative and Quantitative methods at the level of: 1) Data collection 2) Data Analysis Example: A combination of questionnaire and interview

Which method is the best?

The problem you are studying determines which approach to take. One is not better than the other. In general, qualitative research is better for exploring, understanding and uncovering while quantitative research is better for confirming and clarifying.

References:

Creswell, John W. (2002). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Fraenkel, J. R. & Wallen, N. E. (2006). How To Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: McGraw Hill.