Difference Between Qualitative and

Quantitative Research
Last updated on November 19, 2018 by Surbhi S

Research is the most widely used tool to increase and brush-up the stock of
knowledge about something and someone. In the field of marketing, business,
sociology, psychology, science & technology, economics, etc. there are two standard
ways of conducting research, i.e. qualitative research or quantitative research. While
the qualitative research relies on verbal narrative like spoken or written data,
the quantitative research uses logical or statistical observations to draw
conclusions.

In a qualitative research, there are only a few non-representative cases are used as a
sample to develop an initial understanding. Unlike, quantitative research in which a
sufficient number of representative cases are taken to consideration to recommend a
final course of action.

There is a never-ending debate on, which research is better than the other, so in this
article, we are going to shed light on the difference between qualitative
and quantitative research.

Content: Qualitative Research Vs Quantitative Research

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Video
5. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR QUALITATIVE

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
COMPARISON RESEARCH

Meaning Qualitative research is a Quantitative research is a

method of inquiry that
develops understanding on
human and social sciences, to
find the way people think and
feel.
research method that is used to
generate numerical data and hard
facts, by employing statistical,
logical and mathematical
technique.

Nature Holistic Particularistic

 BASIS FOR QUALITATIVE
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
COMPARISON RESEARCH

Approach Subjective Objective

Research type Exploratory Conclusive

Reasoning Inductive Deductive

Sampling Purposive Random

Data Verbal Measurable

Inquiry Process-oriented Result-oriented

Hypothesis Generated Tested

Elements of Words, pictures and objects Numerical data

analysis

Objective To explore and discover ideas To examine cause and effect

used in the ongoing processes. relationship between variables.

Methods Non-structured techniques Structured techniques such as

like In-depth interviews, surveys, questionnaires and
group discussions etc. observations.

Result Develops initial understanding Recommends final course of

action

Definition of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is one which provides insights and understanding of the

problem setting. It is an unstructured, exploratory research method that studies
highly complex phenomena that are impossible to elucidate with the quantitative
research. Although, it generates ideas or hypothesis for later quantitative research.
Qualitative research is used to gain an in-depth understanding of human behaviour,
experience, attitudes, intentions, and motivations, on the basis of observation and
interpretation, to find out the way people think and feel. It is a form of research in
which the researcher gives more weight to the views of the participants. Case study,
grounded theory, ethnography, historical and phenomenology are the types of
qualitative research.

Definition of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a form of research that relies on the methods of natural

sciences, which produces numerical data and hard facts. It aims at establishing cause
and effect relationship between two variables by using mathematical, computational
and statistical methods. The research is also known as empirical research as it can be
accurately and precisely measured.

The data collected by the researcher can be divided into categories or put into rank,
or it can be measured in terms of units of measurement. Graphs and tables of raw
data can be constructed with the help quantitative research, making it easier for
the researcher to analyse the results.

Key Differences Between Qualitative And Quantitative

Research
The differences between qualitative and quantitative research are provided can be
drawn clearly on the following grounds:

1. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry that develops understanding on

human and social sciences, to find the way people think and feel. A scientific
and empirical research method that is used to generate numerical data, by
employing statistical, logical and mathematical technique is called
quantitative research.
2. Qualitative research is holistic in nature while quantitative research is
particularistic.
3. The qualitative research follows a subjective approach as the researcher is
intimately involved, whereas the approach of quantitative research is
objective, as the researcher is uninvolved and attempts to precise the
observations and analysis on the topic to answer the inquiry.
4. Qualitative research is exploratory. As opposed to quantitative research which
is conclusive.
5. The reasoning used to synthesise data in qualitative research is inductive
whereas in the case of quantitative research the reasoning is deductive.
6. Qualitative research is based on purposive sampling, where a small sample
size is selected with a view to get a thorough understanding of the target
concept. On the other hand, quantitative research relies on random sampling;
 wherein a large representative sample is chosen in order to extrapolate the
results to the whole population.
7. Verbal data are collected in qualitative research. Conversely, in quantitative
research measurable data is gathered.
8. Inquiry in qualitative research is a process-oriented, which is not in the case
of quantitative research.
9. Elements used in the analysis of qualitative research are words, pictures, and
objects while that of quantitative research is numerical data.
10. Qualitative Research is conducted with the aim of exploring and discovering
ideas used in the ongoing processes. As opposed to quantitative research the
purpose is to examine cause and effect relationship between variables.
11. Lastly, the methods used in qualitative research are in-depth interviews, focus
groups, etc. In contrast, the methods of conducting quantitative research are
structured interviews and observations.
12. Qualitative Research develops the initial understanding whereas quantitative
research recommends a final course of action.

Video: Qualitative Vs Quantitative Research

Conclusion

An ideal research is one, which is conducted by considering both the methods,

together. Although, there are some particular areas which require, only one type of
research which mainly depends on the information required by the researcher.
While qualitative research tends to be interpretative, quantitative research is
concrete.
 The Difference Between Deductive and
Inductive Reasoning
The simplest way to remember the difference between these two different approaches to problem
solving
By DANIEL MIESSLER in PHILOSOPHY
CREATED/UPDATED: NOVEMBER 12, 2019

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Pretty much anyone who thinks about how to solve problems in a

formal way has probably run across the concepts of deductive and
inductive reasoning.

As with all my tutorials, the purpose of this article is to explain the

differences between these two approaches as clearly as possible.

Both deduction and induction are often referred to as a type of inference,

which basically just means reaching a conclusion based on evidence and
reasoning.

First, both deduction and induction are ways to learn more about the
world and to convince others about the truth of those learnings. None
of these terms would mean anything or are useful to anyone if they
weren’t used to do something useful, like determining who committed
a crime, or how many planets might harbor life in the Milky Way
galaxy. Induction and Deduction help us deal with real-world
problems.
 The biggest difference between deductive and
inductive reasoning is that deductive reasoning
starts with a statement or hypothesis and then
tests to see if it’s true through observation, where
inductive reasoning starts with observations and
moves backward towards generalizations and
theories.

Key points

 Deduction moves from idea to observation, while induction moves from

observation to idea.

 Deduction moves from more general to more specific, while induction

moves from more specific to more general.

 Deductive arguments have unassailable conclusions assuming all the

premises are true, but inductive arguments simply have some measure of
probability that the argument is true—based on the strength of the
argument and the evidence to support it.
All men are mortal. Harold is a man. Therefore, Harold is mortal.

Deduction

This third sentence is absolutely true because (if) the first two
sentences are true.

I have a bag of many coins, and I’ve pulled 10 at random and they’ve all been
pennies, therefore this is probably a bag full of pennies.

Induction

This gives some measure of support for the argument that the bag
only has pennies in it, but it’s not complete support like we see with
deduction.

 Deduction has theories that predict an outcome, which are tested by

experiments. Induction makes observations that lead to generalizations
for how that thing works.

 If the premises are true in deduction, the conclusion is definitely true. If

the premises are true in induction, the conclusion is probably true.

There’s another type of reasoning called Abductive Reasoning, where you

take a set of observations and simply take the most likely explanation given
the evidence you have.
  Deduction is hard to use in everyday life because it requires a sequential
set of facts that are known to be true. Induction is used all the time in
everyday life because most of the world is based on partial knowledge,
probabilities, and the usefulness of a theory as opposed to its absolute
validity.

 Deduction is more precise and quantitative, while induction is more

general and qualitative.

Examples
If A = B and B = C, then A = C.

Deduction

Since all squares are rectangles, and all rectangles have four sides, so all squares
have four sides.
Deduction

All cats have a keen sense of smell. Fluffy is a cat, so Fluffy has a keen sense of
smell.

Deduction

Every time you eat peanuts, your throat swells up and you can’t breathe. This is a
symptom of people who are allergic to peanuts. So, you are allergic to peanuts.

Induction

Ray is a football player. All football players weigh more than 170 pounds. Ray
weighs more than 170 pounds.

Induction

All cars in this town drive on the right side of the street. Therefore, all cars in all
towns drive on the right side of the street.

Induction

We can see here that deduction is a nice-to-have. It’s clean. But life is
seldom clean enough to be able to apply it perfectly.

Most real problems and questions deal more in the realm of induction,
where you might have some observations—and those observations
might be able to take you to some sort of generalization or theory—but
you can’t necessarily say for sure that you’re right. It’s about working
as best you can within a world where knowledge is usually incomplete.
Summary

1. Deduction gets you to a perfect conclusion—but only if all your

premises are 100% correct.
2. Deduction moves from theory to experiment to validation, where
induction moves from observation to generalization to theory.
3. Deduction is harder to use outside of lab/science settings because it’s
often hard to find a set of fully agreed-upon facts to structure the
argument.
4. Induction is used constantly because it’s a great tool for everyday
problems that deal with partial information about our world, and coming
up with usable conclusions that may not be right in all cases.
5. Be willing to use both types of reasoning to solve problems, and know
that they can often be used together cyclically as a pair, e.g., use
induction to come up with a theory, and then use deduction to determine
if it’s actually true.
6. The main thing to avoid with these two is arguing with the force of
deduction (guaranteed to be true) while actually using induction
(probability based on strength of evidence).
Difference Between Basic and Applied
Research
Last updated on December 11, 2018 by Surbhi S

Research is a calculated investigation that provides a base for the decision-making.

It can be understood as the study undertaken by an individual or entity
systematically, for finding out solutions to the problems under consideration. Survey
or experiment are carried out to gather information as per the objectives. Based on
utility, research is divided into two categories, i.e. basic and applied research,
wherein basic research is one that adds further knowledge to the actual knowledge.

On the contrary, applied research implies the research that is put to practical use
and is beneficial to solve practical problems. This article might help you in
understanding the difference between basic and applied research.

Content: Basic Research Vs Applied Research

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR
BASIC RESEARCH APPLIED RESEARCH
COMPARISON

Meaning Basic Research refers to the Applied Research is the research

study that is aimed at that is designed to solve specific
expanding the existing base of practical problems or answer
 BASIS FOR
BASIC RESEARCH APPLIED RESEARCH
COMPARISON

scientific knowledge. certain questions.

Nature Theoretical Practical

Utility Universal Limited

Concerned with Developing scientific Development of technology and

knowledge and predictions technique

Goal To add some knowledge to the To find out solution for the
existing one. problem at hand.

Definition of Basic Research

Basic Research or otherwise called as pure or fundamental research, is one that

focuses on advancing scientific knowledge for the complete understanding of a topic
or certain natural phenomenon, primarily in natural sciences. In a nutshell, when
knowledge is acquired for the sake of knowledge it is called basic research.

Basic Research is completely theoretical, that focuses on basic principles and testing
theories. It tends to understand the basic law.

Basic Research deals with generalization and formulation of theory about human
behaviour. It is aligned towards collecting information that has universal
applicability. Therefore, basic research helps in adding new knowledge to the already
existing knowledge.

Definition of Applied Research

Applied Research can be defined as research that encompasses real life application
of the natural science. It is directed towards providing a solution to the specific
practical problems and develop innovative technology.

In finer terms, it is the research that can be applied to real-life situations. It studies a
particular set of circumstances, so as to relate the results to its corresponding
circumstances.

Applied research includes research that focuses on certain conclusions experiencing

a business problem. Moreover, research that is aligned towards ascertaining social,
economic or political trends are also termed as applied research.

Key Differences Between Basic and Applied Research

The points given below explain the differences between basic and applied research:

1. Basic Research can be explained as research that tries to expand the already
existing scientific knowledge base. On the contrary, applied research is used to
mean the scientific study that is helpful in solving real-life problems.
2. While basic research is purely theoretical, applied research has a practical
approach.
3. The applicability of basic research is greater than the applied research, in the
sense that the former is universally applicable whereas the latter can be
applied only to the specific problem, for which it was carried out.
4. The primary concern of the basic research is to develop scientific knowledge
and predictions. On the other hand, applied research stresses on the
development of technology and technique with the help of basic science.
5. The fundamental goal of the basic research is to add some knowledge to the
already existing one. Conversely, applied research is directed towards finding
a solution to the problem under consideration.

Conclusion

The type of research may vary on the basis of the level at which research is carried
out and its purpose. One can choose basic research over applied research when the
purpose is to add certain scientific knowledge, whereas when it is important to
identify a proper solution to the problem under study, applied research is preferable.