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 1. Discuss the five major differences in data collection procedures between qualitative
and quantitative research methods. [25]

The global world thrives on the bases of having access to knowledge of what is happening in the
environment in which the do business in .They use this knowledge to make informed decisions in
their endeavor to meet goals and objectives that would have been set. Common reasons why
there is need to gain that knowledge are various and these includes, the need to learn more about
customers they interact with, to discover trends in the way people change their behavior and
opinions over time .The knowledge also helps to identify targets markets and strategic decision
making and helps to resolve issues and improve quality of services or goods on the information
gained. In order to acquire the knowledge, businesses need to have what is called “Information
power” thus information power is gained through the use of research. In this essay I will be
discussing five major difference in data collection procedures between qualitative and
quantitative research methods but firstly i will explain the key element in our essay that is data
collection, qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Data collection is defined as the process of gathering and measuring information on variables of
interest, in an established systematic manner that enables one to answer queries, stated research
questions, test hypotheses and evaluate outcomes .Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory
research where it is used to gain understanding of the underlying reasons, opinions and
motivations .it seeks to answer such question as why and how. It provides insights into the
problem and helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. Qualitative
data collection looks at several factors to provide a depth of understanding to raw data .In other
words qualitative methods involve the collection, analysis and management of data analysis,
instead of counting responses or recording numeric data, this method aims to assess factors
like the thoughts and feelings of research participants. Qualitative data collection methods
go beyond recording events to create context. On the other end there is quantitative research
which is research that deal with quantitative, values or numbers, making them measurable it is
used to quantify attitudes, opinions behaviors and other defined variables and normally used for
a larger sample population unlike qualitative research which use smaller sample.
In Quantitative research, quantitative data is usually expressed in numerical form and can
represent size, length, duration, amount, price, and so on. Quantitative research is most likely to
provide answers to questions such as who? When? Where? What? And how many? The point of
concern is essay is the major differences in data collection procedures between qualitative and
quantitative research methods and these differences .the five major data collection procedures
used in qualitative and quantitative research are

Interviews

Interviews are is considered to be the most common data collection instrument for both
qualitative research and quantitative research, primarily because of its personal approach. In
quantitative research, researchers may use Personal one-on-one interviews to gather quantitative
data. In collecting quantitative data, the interviews is more structured and follow straight
guidelines. It comprises of a prepared set of standard questions. These interviews can take the
following forms face to face interviews, telephone and web based interviews. It differs from
qualitative interviews as the interviews in most cases they are informal and unstructured -
conversational as if it is between two close friends unlike the interviews in quantitative research
which are more formal .Questions in qualitative interviews the questions asked are mostly
unplanned and spontaneous with the interviewer letting the flow of the interview dictates the
next questions to be asked .the interview will be in a position to probe further

Questionnaires and surveys

A Survey is defined as a research method used for collecting data from a pre-defined group of
respondents to gain information and insights on various topics of interest, while a questionnaire is a
research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of gathering information from
respondents. There are differences in data collection procedures between qualitative and
quantitative research methods when using Questionnaires and surveys as a data collection
procedures. Quantitative questionnaires and survey questions are in most cases closed ended and
created in accordance with the desired research goals .The questions are based on the questions
that give respondents predefined answer options to opt for like yes or no .There is also interval
/ratio questions which consists of rating -scale or matrix questions and involves a set of
predefined values to choose from a fixed scale .Answers in this category are easily convertible
into numbers, charts ,graphs and tables. These questionnaires and survey differs from the data
collection procedure used in qualitative research.

Qualitative questionnaires and survey questions are usually Open-ended where a structure
comprises of short questions with the respondents asked to provide detailed answers in their own
words unlike in quantitative questions which require Yes or No answers only .qualitative
questionnaires and surveys enables the researcher to have an in-depth understanding on the view
and opinions of the participants

Observation

Another data collection procedure used in both qualitative and quantitative research is
Observation .In Qualitative observation the researcher takes a participatory stance, by immersing
himself in the setting where his respondents are and generally observe taking a look at
everything while taking down notes. Videos recordings, audio recording and photograph may be
used in the observation. By participating the researcher is able to gather firsthand information
which is reliable but validity of the research can be at risk because of participation of the
researcher as he might end up influencing the opinions and attitude of other participation.

Observation in quantitative research differs from the qualitative observation is that it is a straight
forward data collection procedure where the research observe from a distance without
participation directly. The data May be collected through systematic observation by counting the
number of users of a product or service present or the number of services being used within a
designated vicinity .When quantitative data is being sought, the approach is naturalistic
observation, which mostly involves using the senses and keen observation skills to get data about
the “what”, and not really about the “why” and “how”. It is a quite simple way of collecting data,
and not as expensive as the other methods. The only problem is that senses are not infallible.
Unwittingly, the observer may have an unconscious grasp on his senses, and how they perceive
situations and people around.
Document Reviews  

Both quantitative and qualitative research can make use of document reviews in the collection of
data for research purposes. Document reviews is a process used to collect data after reviewing
the existing documents. It is an efficient and effective way of gathering data as documents are
manageable and are the practical resource to get qualified data from the past. In quantitative
research researcher normally use three primary document types, which are public records,
personal documents and physical evidence. Public records are normally used to analyze on going
records of an organization for further research, for example annual reports policy manuals or
student activities or game activities, While personal documents is mainly used to deal with
individual personal accounts of individual’s action behavior, health and physique for example
The height, and weight of the students, distance students travel to attend school. Quantitative
research usually use document reviews to gather numerical data which can be quantified.

On contrast although qualitative research use document review, its way of collecting data is
through analyzing the documents and the researcher interpret giving voice and meaning around
an assessment topic .Analyzing documents incorporates coding content into themes similar to
how focus group or interview transcripts are analyzed. Qualitative research also uses public
records ,personal documents and physical evidence however they differ with quantitative
research as data collected is not numerical ,it is all about individuals actions experiences and
beliefs they post on emails ,scrapbooks ,blogs Facebook journal and other social media vehicles.
They also study physical evidence through flyers posters and hand books.

Focus group

Focus group is a small, but demographically diverse group of people and whose reactions are
studied especially in market research or political analysis in guided or open discussions about a
new product or something else to determine the reactions that can be expected from a larger
population. In qualitative research focus groups are used to gain some perspective of how
respondents thinks about certain issue .The data collection procedure helps to explore
interpretations of survey findings on the basis of arrange of opinions or views on a topic of
interest .Focus group of qualitative research differs from that of quantitative research ‘as text
exported from interviews transcripts and undergo statistical analysis .Differences are found in
Analysis methods ,qualitative research use thematic, content ,narrative and discourse analysis in
focus groups while quantitative research use Text based, descriptive and graphical
analysis .Focus groups under qualitative research also uses interviews and transcripts as data
collection techniques were as Quantitative research uses text and sentences from transcripts
 QUESTION 2

a)Case study design

A case study design is an in-depth study of a particular research problem, it can also be viewed
as a research strategy and an empirical inquiry that investigates a phenomenon within its real life
context. It is a research methodology that has commonly used in social sciences. It is often used
to narrow down a very broad field of research into one or few easily researchable examples .A
case study design is descriptive and exploratory in nature. It can be a single or multiple studies
and is includes both qualitative and quantitative evidence and relies on multiple sources of
evidence and benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions .Case studies are
used in the analysis of persons,groups,events periods ,decisions, policies ,companies or other
systems that can be studied holistically by one or more methods.

Case study research design is very instrumental because it brings us to an understanding of a

complex issues through detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions
and their relationships.Resechers are also able to apply a variety of methodologies and can rely
on a variety of sources to investigate a research problem .Case study design allows social
scientists in particular to a make wide use of this research design to examine contemporary real-
life situations and provide the basis for the application of concepts and theories and the extension
of methodologies .

There are downside to the case study research designs, if there is an intense exposure to the
study of the case by the researchers this can lead to bias in researcher’s interpretation of the
findings and moreover the design does not facilitate assessment of cause and effect
relationships .The case may not be representative or typical of the larger problem being
investigated. A single or small number of cases offers little basis for establishing reliability or to
generalize the findings to a wider population of people, places or things.
b)Ethnography design
According to Mertens (1998) ethnography design is a research method designed to describe and
analyze practices and beliefs of culture and communities for example work on paramedic culture
and community and is traditionally used by anthropologists. The main objective of the design is
to understand the culture from an outsider’s perspective and from the insider’s
perspective .Collection of data is mainly through observations, in-depth interviews, life histories
or documents (e.g. texts, photographs, videos and other mediums). Observations are performed
in the participant ‘own “naturalistic” setting and is often participative while informal or formal
interviews techniques can be used also incorporating both focus groups and unstructured
interviews.
The researcher must be willing to adopt or abandon theories that do not fit the data .As with
Grounded theory, the theories are built from the data through repeated reformulation of the
study/questions as the study progresses. Data is collected as singular or series of case studies
through interviews, observation .There is need of good social interaction with participants in
order to build rapport and general knowledge the subject matter. Data analysis strategies are
iterative, using constant comparison techniques of the data throughout the study. According to
Hammersley and Atkinson (2007) collection of data is mainly qualitative in nature and the
collection of unstructured qualitative data contributes significantly to the toolbox of methods
used in the ethnographic methodology
c) Grounded theory design
According to the authors, Glaser and Strauss (1968), Grounded theory is a research process of
theoretical sampling in which the researcher collects, codes, and analyses his data and decides
what data to collect next and where to find them in order to develop his theory as it emerges.
This approach sensitizes the research to particular area of study rather that providing specific
hypothesis. It is a qualitative research design however its use isn’t limited to qualitative studies,
it is a general method that can be applied to many areas of research .The underlining principal is
that the needed answers to the research problem being investigated are grounded in the data
collected. The design is more appropriate when the study of social interaction or experiences
aims to explain a process, not to test or verify an existing theory.
The main key features of grounded theory are its iterative study design, theoretical sampling and
system of analysis. in order to use the grounded theory there is need to first identify the area of
interest, avoid preconceived theories and focus on the data only .It is said that research in this
research design normally stops when you have reached theoretically saturation that is the point
where you have sampled and analyzed your data until you have exhausted all theories and
uncovered all data.
Grounded theory design commonly uses data collection methods like interviews with open ended
questions, participation observation (field work), focus groups and study of artifacts and texts.

(d)Experimental design

Experimental research designs are known to be the classic science experiment, and are widely
used in psychology, education and the social sciences and are considered to be the gold
standard for evaluating casual hypotheses. The experimental research designs are based on
comparison between two or more groups and there groups must have subjects with similar
characteristics which might influence the outcome of interest and should be under controlled
conditions .In other words the experimental research designs are concerned with examination
of the effect of independent variable on the dependent variable ,where the Independent
variable is manipulated through treatment or interventions and the effect of those
interventions is observed on the dependent variable.

There are basically three characteristics that are found in the experimental research designs
and these are manipulation, control and randomization. Manipulation comes when there is
conscious control of the independent variable by the researcher through treatment or
interventions in order to observe the effects of the dependent variable. Common terms for this
manipulation include treatment, stimulus, or intervention .While control refers to the use of
control group and controlling the effects of extraneous variables on the dependent variable in
which researcher in interested. The subject in the control and experimental groups should be
similar in number and characteristics but the subject in the control group receive no
experimental treatment or any intervention at all. Randomization is another characteristic in
the experimental research design. Randomization means that every subject has an equal
chance of being assigned to the experimental of the study subject on a random basis. This
characteristics eliminates chances of systemic bias .There are various types of experimental
research design these are Post-test only; Pretest post-test only; Solomon 4 groups ;Factorial;
Randomized block and crossover .

It is recommended that the researcher must always ensure that the treatment is administered
in the exact same way every time and at the conclusion of the experiment ,the researcher
assesses both the controlled variable and the independent variable on the outcome of
interest .If a difference exist for example if the group that received the intervention exhibits less
frequent heath risk behavior then the researcher can reasonably conclude that the intervention
was the cause if the reduces risk behavior .It is also important to note experimental research
design require strict adherence to rigorous procedures
 REFERENCES

https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/researchdesigns

Glaser BG, Strauss AL. The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative

research New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1967.

Mertens D. Research methods in education and psychology. Integrating diversity with

quantitative and qualitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998:352

Martyn Hammersley; Paul Atkins: ethnography principles in practice

Emory C.W. and Cooper D.R. (1995) Business Research Methods 5th Edition, Chicago: Irwin.

Kothari, C.R. (2005) Research Methodology (Methods and Techniques, New Delhi: New Age
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Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students,
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Smith, M. and Smith, G. (1990) A Study Skills Handbook, Oxford, New York.

https://www.projectguru.in/focus-group-interviews-qualitative-quantitative/

https://www.snapsurveys.com/blog/qualitative-vs-quantitative-research/\

Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research

Journal, 9(2), 27-40. Doi: 10.3316/QRJ0902027