QUALITATIVE VERSUS

QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
PRACTICAL RESEARCH 1
WHAT IS A RESEARCH?
• RESEARCH IS DEFINED AS THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF PHENOMENA WHICH INCLUDES COLLECTION,
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF FACTS THAT LINES AN INDIVIDUAL‘S SPECULATION
WITH REALITY.

• SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS MUST BE BASED ON KNOWLEDGE NOT ON MERE BELIEFS, GUESSES OR

THEORIES.

• IN RESEARCH A SYSTEMATIC AND WELL-PLANNED PROCEDURE IS REQUIRED TO MEET THE NEED IN ORDER
THAT INFORMATION IS ACQUIRED AND EVALUATE ITS ACCURACY AND EFFECTIVENESS.

• IT IS A PROCESS OF INQUIRING.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IS THE SPECIFIC PROCEDURES OR TECHNIQUES USED TO IDENTIFY, SELECT, PROCESS,
AND ANALYZE INFORMATION ABOUT A TOPIC. IN A RESEARCH PAPER, THE METHODOLOGY SECTION ALLOWS THE
READER TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE A STUDY’S OVERALL VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY.
THE METHODOLOGY SECTION ANSWERS TWO MAIN QUESTIONS:

HOW WAS THE DATA COLLECTED OR GENERATED?

HOW WAS IT ANALYZED?
TWO TYPES OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IS PRIMARILY AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH. IT IS USED TO GIVE AN
UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERLYING REASONS, OPINIONS AND MOTIVATIONS.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IS MORE FLEXIBLE IN ALLOWING MORE NATURALNESS AND ACCLIMATIZATION FOR
THE INTERACTION AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE RESEARCHER AND PARTICIPANTS.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN THE 2000’S ALSO HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED BY CONCERN WITH EVERYDAY
CATEGORIZATION AND ORDINARY STORYTELLING.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DEALS WITH DESIGN, TECHNIQUES AND MEASURES THAT DO NOT PRODUCE
DISCRETE NUMERICAL DATA.
FIVE FEATURES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
(ACCORDING TO YIN, 2011)
1. STUDYING THE MEANING OF PEOPLE’S LIVES, UNDER REAL-WORLD CONDITIONS; PEOPLE WILL NOT BE LIMITED BY THE
CONFINES OF THE LABORATORY.
2. REPRESENTING THE VIEWS AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE PEOPLE OR PARTICIPANTS OF THE STUDY IN THE RESULTS OF THE
RESEARCH MIRROR THE VALUES AND MEANINGS OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THEM, NOT BY THE RESEARCHER.
3. COVERING THE CONTEXTUAL CONDITIONS WITHIN WHICH PEOPLE LIVE THE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS WITHIN WHICH WE LIVE. THEY MAY INFLUENCE ALL HUMAN EVENTS.
4. CONTRIBUTING INSIGHTS INTO EXISTING OR EMERGING CONCEPTS MAY HELP OR EXPLAIN HUMAN SOCIAL BEHAVIOR.
RESEARCH CAN BE INSTANCES FOR DEVELOPING NEW CONCEPTS.
5. STRIVING TO USE MULTIPLE SOURCES OF EVIDENCE IS BETTER THAN RELYING ON A SINGLE SOURCE ALONE.
 QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IS MORE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH HARD DATA.
THIS RESEARCH IS USED TO QUANTIFY- THAT IS TO PUT NUMERICAL EQUIVALENTS TO FINDINGS.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IS USED TO QUANTIFY THE PROBLEM BY WAY OF GENERATING
MATHEMATICAL DATA OR DATA THAT CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO USABLE STATISTICS.

IT QUANTIFIES ALTITUDES, OPINIONS, BEHAVIORS AND OTHER DEFINED VARIABLES AND GENERALIZE
RESULTS FROM A LARGE SAMPLE OF POPULATIONS. IT DISCUSSES THE QUANTITATIVE RELATION
BETWEEN THE PARTICIPANT/S AND THE RESEARCHER.
QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE
QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITATIVE
SIMILARITIES
1. BOTH HAVE THE PROCESS OF INQUIRY AND INVESTIGATION.
2. BOTH IMPROVE LIFE AND HELP US IN UNDERSTANDING VARIOUS ISSUES OF LIFE AND IN GIVING
SOLUTIONS TO OUR PROBLEMS
3. BOTH START WITH A PROBLEM AND END WITH A NEW PROBLEM.
4. BOTH USE TEXTUAL FORMS IN ANALYZING AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA.
5. BOTH USE INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE METHODS OF PRESENTING DATA.
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. HUMAN UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETATION IN DATA ANALYSIS
2. ACTIVE, POWERFUL AND FORCEFUL IN DATA GATHERING AND REPHRASING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
3. MULTIPLE RESEARCH APPROACHES AND METHODS THAT ALLOWS YOU TO PLAN YOUR STUDY AND BEING MULTI-METHOD
RESEARCH
4. SPECIFICITY TO GENERALIZATION ON SPECIFIC IDEAS WILL LEAD TO GENERALIZATIONS OR CONCLUSIONS.
5. CONTEXTUALIZATION - CONTEXT OR SITUATION OF INDIVIDUAL’S LIFE
6. DIVERSIFIED DATA IN REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS ON COLLECTING DATA IN A NATURAL SETTING
7. ABOUNDS WITH WORDS AND VISUALS THAT PRESENTS PEOPLE’S VIEW IN A PICTURE, VIDEO, DRAWING OR GRAPHS.
8. INTERNAL ANALYSIS ON EXAMINING THE DATA YIELDED BY THE INTERNAL TRAITS OF THE SUBJECT PERSONS.
STRENGTHS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• IT ADOPTS A NATURALISTIC APPROACH TO ITS SUBJECT MATTER.
• PROMOTES A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR/PERSONALITY TRAITS IN THEIR NATURAL
SETTING.

• IT IS INSTRUMENTAL FOR POSITIVE SOCIETAL CHANGES.

• IT ENGENDERS RESPECT FOR PEOPLE’S INDIVIDUALITY.
• IT’S A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING & INTERPRETING SOCIAL INTERACTIONS.
• INCREASES RESEARCHER’S INTERESTS IN THE STUDY.
• OFFERS MULTIPLE WAYS OF ACQUIRING AND EXAMINING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SOMETHING.
WEAKNESSES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• IT INVOLVES A LOT OF RESEARCHER’S SUBJECTIVITY IN DATA ANALYSIS.

• IT IS HARD TO KNOW THE VALIDITY/RELIABILITY OF THE DATA.
• IT IS OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS YIELD “DATA OVERLOAD” THAT REQUIRES LONG-TIME ANALYSIS.
• IT IS TIME-CONSUMING.
• IT INVOLVES SEVERAL PROCESSES, WHOSE RESULTS GREATLY DEPEND ON THE RESEARCHER’S VIEWS OR
INTERPRETATIONS.
ANY QUE S T I ONS ?
THANK YOU