QUALITATIVE &

QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
 QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ‘PARADIGMS’

 The Conventional and Constructivist Belief Systems

(Adapted from Guba and Lincoln 1989)

Fundamental Conventional Constructivist

questions beliefs beliefs
What is there that can be
known? – REALISM RELATIVISM
ONTOLOGY

What is relationship of
the knower to the known OBJECTIVIST SUBJECTIVIST
(or knowable)? –
EPISTEMOLOGY

What are the ways of

finding out knowledge? – INTERVENTIONIST HERMENEUTIC
METHODOLOGY
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ‘PARADIGMS’

 Different levels of research as seen by

interpretivists/incompatibilists

Epistemological positivism interpretivism/

level: constructivism

Methodological quantitative qualitative

level: paradigm paradigm

Technical quantitative qualitative

level: methods methods

Data: quantitative qualitative

data data
NATURE OF RESEARCH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative Research is primarily
exploratory research. It is used to gain
an understanding of underlying
reasons, opinions, and motivations. It
provides insights into the problem or
helps to develop ideas or hypotheses
for potential quantitative research.
Qualitative Research is also used to
uncover trends in thought and opinions,
and dive deeper into the problem
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Quantitative Research is used to
quantify the problem by way of
generating numerical data or data
that can be transformed into useable
statistics. It is used to quantify
attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and
other defined variables – and generalize
results from a larger sample
population. Quantitative Research uses
measurable data to formulate facts and
uncover patterns in research.
Quantitative data collection methods
are much more structured than
Qualitative data collection methods.
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative Research purpose are to Quantitative Research purpose are
understand & interpret social to test hypotheses, look at cause &
interactions effect, & make predictions
QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE:
RESEARCH PARADIGM
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
The qualitative purist also called
interprativist or constructivist by
rejecting the positivist assumption
contended that reality is subjective,
multiple and socially constructed by
its participants
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
The quantitative purists articulate
assumptions that are consistent with
what is commonly called positivist
paradigm and believe that social
observations should be treated as
entities in much the same way that
physical scientists treat physical
phenomena.
QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE: GROUP
STUDIED

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Smaller & not randomly selected Larger & randomly selected

QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE: FORM OF
DATA COLLECTED

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative data such as open- ended Quantitative data based on precise

responses, interviews, participant measurements using structured &
observations, field notes, & reflections validated data-collection instruments.
QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE: ROLE OF
RESEARCHER
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Researcher & their biases may be
known to participants in the study, &
participant characteristics may be
known to the researcher.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Researcher & their biases are not
known to participants in the study, &
participant characteristics are
deliberately hidden from the
researcher (double blind studies).
QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE:
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Exploratory or bottom–up: the Confirmatory or top-down: the

researcher generates a new hypothesis researcher tests the hypothesis and
and theory from the data collected. theory with the data.
Qualitative and Quantitative Research
produce different products

quantitative numbers

qualitative words, sounds or

pictures

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Qualitative and Quantitative Research use different techniques

quantitative Impersonal
Measurement
Questionnaires (closed)

qualitative Questionnaires (open)

Personal
Interviews

9/9/2015 12
Qualitative and Quantitative Research have different purposes
in mind

quantitative how many

qualitative how or why

9/9/2015 13
 
Qualitative Quantitative
 
The product textual numerical
   
The epistemology interpretive (empathy and positivist (measuring and
understanding) collecting facts)

The data ‘subjective’ ‘objective’ and

 
and ‘soft’ ‘hard’

Aim of research discovery oriented verification

Method non-experimental experimental

 

Process of inquiry concepts derived from concepts pre-defined from

understanding the actor’s established theory
point of view (inductive) (deductive)
   

Use of theory theory building theory testing

  9/9/2015 14
 CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE STEPS IN RESEARCH QUALITATIVE

•Descriptive/Explanation •Exploratory/ understanding

Identifying Problem main phenomenon
•Small role
•Important
•Justify
Literature Review •Justify problem
problem
Specific & narrow •General & wide
•Measurable/observable
Determining Purpose •Participants’ experience

•Instrument •General & “emerging”

determined
•Numerical data Collecting Data •Text/image

•Big sample size •Small number

•Statistic •Textanalysis
Analysing & Interpreting •Description & themes
•Trend
description
•Comparing/predicting
Data •Meaning |& wide discovery

•Flexible& Emerging
•Standard and fixed
•Objective and not bias
Reporting & Evaluating •Reflexive & bias
 STEPS IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH

Steps
Approach Research design
quantitative
Identifying problem qualitative
quantitative
Literature reviewur
qualitatifve •Experiment
•Correlation
quantitative
Determining purpose •Survey
qualitative
quantitative •Mixed
Collecting data method
qualitative
•Action
quantitative research
Analysing & interpreting data qualitative •Ethnography
•Grounded Theory
quantitative
Reporting & evaluating •Narrative
qualitative
 SO WHICH RESEARCH DESIGN TO CHOOSE?

DEPENDS ON YOUR PURPOSE FOR DOING RESEARCH