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Published on: Jan 2, 2018
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Qualitative and quantitative data research are the two main types of research design. The first thing that comes to mind while writing a research paper is whether it is qualitative or quantitative in nature.
Choosing between qualitative vs. quantitative research can be challenging, especially if you do not know their differences.
Many students mistakenly think that the two terms can be used conversely. However, there are considerable differences between the research methods. But, on the other hand, their objectives and applications do overlap in many ways.
You can also combine both these methods in your surveys to get wide-reaching results.
In this blog, we have detailed the main differences and advantages of quantitative vs. qualitative research designs.
Below is the definition of both qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research |
It deals with non-numerical data, such as words and meanings. | It deals with numerical and statistical data. |
The detailed definition of both the research methods is discussed below.
Qualitative research is the gathering and analysis of data that is more natural and interpretive. It generates textual or non-numerical data and examines it in its natural environment.
Moreover, it is exploratory research that is used to get an idea of the opinions and reasons. It further provides insights into the research problem and helps to develop the hypothesis.
The primary purpose of qualitative research is to understand the meaning of social groups, cultures, and communities. Moreover, this study also analyzes and evaluates various types of data by gathering deep insights on the topic.
Quantitative research is based on gathering statistical or numerical information from various sources. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables.
This data is later organized, ranked according to certain criteria, and measured in specific units. It further formulates facts and results from a large sample population.
For example, observing the increase in the annual growth of a company. Similarly, the growth in the number of employees holding a foreign technical education, etc.
Techniques like rapid analysis and statistical analysis process large amounts of numerical information. This eliminates the need for manual data processing.
Here are some features of qualitative and quantitative research.
Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research |
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The following is a detailed description of these features.
The features of qualitative methods include:
The following are the main features.
The research questions suggest the direction of your research study. Here are the questions of qualitative and quantitative research.
Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research |
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The questions with examples are discussed below.
Below are the qualitative research questions.
The examples of the qualitative research questions are:
The following are the quantitative research questions.
The examples of these research questions are:
There are several methods to collect qualitative vs. quantitative data for writing a research paper. However, it is crucial to choose a method that best answers your research question.
Have a look at the below infographic.
These methods are discussed below in detail.
The methods for collecting qualitative data include:
The sample size is small, and the respondents are selected to collect the required data.
The following are the methods of collecting quantitative data.
These qualitative vs. quantitative methods are more structured and offer a detailed explanation for the arguments provided in your research.
The table below shows the limitations of both qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research |
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The following is a detailed explanation of the research limitations.
The limitations include:
Below are the limitations of quantitative research.
Here are the pros and cons of qualitative and quantitative research.
Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research |
Pros
Cons
| Pros
Cons
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Below is a comprehensive explanation of these pros and cons.
The pros of the qualitative research method are the following.
The cons are as follows:
The pros of quantitative research include:
The cons are the following.
Using a method largely depends on the following elements:
The following table discusses when to use quantitative vs. qualitative data.
Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research |
Use this research for understanding a concept, thought, or experience. | Use it to confirm or test a theory or hypothesis. |
Below given is a comprehensive idea of using each method in a research project.
Qualitative and quantitative research data can’t prove anything by itself. Instead, it has to be analyzed to show its relationship with the research questions. However, the method of analysis is different for each type of data.
It is more complicated to analyze qualitative data than quantitative as it consists of texts, images, and videos. Common approaches to analyzing qualitative data include the following:
Quantitative data usually consists of numbers. Therefore, an advanced statistical analysis is used to analyze the data patterns. The results are reported in the form of graphs and tables. Moreover, the application like Excel, SPSS, or R is used to calculate the quantitative data such as:
Have a look at the following examples of quantitative research vs. qualitative research for a better understanding.
This is usually characterized in terms of the following criteria:
The most basic criterion for objectivity is that measures should produce the same results regardless of who employs them. They should also result in the same outcomes regardless of external influences.
A personality test that provides the same score whether the participant responds aloud or in writing is considered unbiased. Furthermore, the result should be independent of the experimenter's knowledge or attitude so that the findings are based only on the performance of the respondent.
A score that is close to 1 indicates a high level of dependability. When it comes to reliability, there are several distinct types.
For example, “retest reliability” is a term that describes the stability of a test over time, “inter-rater reliability” reflects the degree to which various experimenters obtain consistent judgments on the same action, and "split-half reliability" examines how well each half of a test replicates.
This is the last and most important criterion. It assesses how well a metric gathers what it is intended to collect. Consider an experiment in which body size is recorded in order to determine whether there's a link between happiness and body size.
Obviously, the measurement is both objective and reliable (body size measurements are quite consistent across individuals), but it is a terrible measure of construct validity (i.e., its capacity to truly assess the underlying variable) for happiness.
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Quantitative studies are generally easier to conduct than qualitative ones, but they require more participants. For example, data collection in quantitative research might not be time-consuming for the participant and would yield results relatively quickly compared to a qualitative study which requires lots of input from people being studied.
WRITTEN BY
Nova A. (Literature, Marketing)
Nova Allison is a Digital Content Strategist with over eight years of experience. Nova has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. She is majorly involved in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Nova has a passion for writing that engages and informs her readers.
Nova Allison is a Digital Content Strategist with over eight years of experience. Nova has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. She is majorly involved in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Nova has a passion for writing that engages and informs her readers.
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