The merits and shortcomings of quantitative and qualitative research

The merits and shortcomings of decimal and qualitative look into inquiry methods ar technique(s) for gathering data (Harding, 1986) and are generally dichotomized into being either quantitative or qualitative. It has been argued that methodology has been gendered (Oakley, 1998), with quantitative methods traditionally being associated with words such as positivism, scientific, objectivity, statistics and masculinity. In contrast, qualitative methods bedevil generally been associated with interpretive, non-scientific, subjectivity and femininity. three-figure look for Techniques and ProceduresQualitative analysis is a process that is often the precursor to quantitative, statistical work a process to make the tacit underpinnings of an issue explicit a process you can employ to deepen your understanding of complex social and gentle factors that can non be understood with numbers a process that upholds you figure give away what to count and what to measure (Kerlin, 1999, p. 1).A common way of conducting quantitative look is using a survey. Surveys commonly involve filling in a questionnaire. on that point are, of course, many different kinds of quantitative investigate besides the survey. Observational question involves watching or observing various behaviors and patterns. More complicated forms of quantitative look into are experimental research or mathematical modelling research (Peter J.P. Donnelly J.H, 2000).In the social sciences, quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical probe of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to phenomena. The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection betwixt empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships.Quantitative research is used widely in social sciences such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and political science. Research in mathematical sciences such as physics is also quantitative by definition, though this use of the end point differs in context. In the social sciences, the term relates to empirical methods, originating in both philosophical positivism and the history of statistics, which contrast qualitative research methods.Qualitative methods produce education only on the peculiar(prenominal) shields studied, and any more general conclusions are only hypotheses. Quantitative methods can be used to verify, which of such hypotheses are true.Qualitative Research Techniques and ProceduresQualitative research is a generic term for investigative methodologies described as ethnographic, naturalistic, anthropological, country, or participant observer research. It emphasizes the importance of looking at variables in the natural cathode-ray oscilloscope in which they are found. Interaction between variables is important. D etailed data is gathered through open ended questions that provide direct quotations. The interviewer is an integral part of the investigation (Jacob, 1988). This differs from quantitative research which attempts to gather data by objective methods to provide information about relations, comparisons, and predictions and attempts to remove the investigator from the investigation (Smith, 1983).According to Andrew (2007), qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, just also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers post to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not unsloped what, where, when. Hence, smaller but centraliseed samples are more often needed, rather than large samples.According to Andrew (2007), qualitative research is used to denot e approaches which are support by a rigid of hypotheses concerning the way the social world functions. It deduces many of its basic principles from the perspective that there are fundamental differences between the science of human world and science of natural world and consequently needs to use distinctive methods. Here, attention is focused upon looking at the world through the look of studied objects and upon evolving concepts and theories which are grounded in the collecting data. So, qualitative research connected with own accounts of the individuals of their attitudes and behavior. The significance of qualitative research consists in setting stress on describing, understanding complex phenomena. It investigates, for instance, the relationships and patterns among factors or the context in which the activity happens. It is concentrated on understanding the full many-dimensional picture of the subject of investigation.Qualitative methods produce information only on the particul ar cases studied, and any more general conclusions are only hypotheses (informative guesses). The aim of qualitative research is to deepen our understanding about something, and usually this means going beyond the numbers and the statistics. Qualitative research helps us to give reasons why the numbers tell us what they do. It is often contrasted to quantitative research and they are very often used together to get the bigger picture of what we are trying to find out. Qualitative research helps us kind out the story.Face-to-Face Interviews and Focus GroupsThe most common forms of qualitative research are face-to-face interviews and focus groups. Face-to-face interviews are just that Meeting person in person and discussing various issues. The informant or person you are interviewing whitethorn be an expert in a particular field (e.g. the editor of a newspaper) or they may be someone who is affected by the issues you are researching (e.g. someone who is HIV positive or who reads the media).Focus groups involve discussions with twain or more participants. While questions for focus groups need to be prepared to guide and focus the discussions, the responses are often free-ranging, as the participants are encouraged to explore the issues at hand in an in-depth way.While focus groups and interviews will help you develop explanations for quantitative data, sometimes they can provide you with quantitative data themselves basic Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Research TechniquesQuantitative and qualitative research methods differ primarily intheir analytical objectivesthe types of questions they posethe types of data collection instruments they usethe forms of data they producethe degree of flexibility built into study designThe key difference between quantitative and qualitative methods is their flexibility. Generally, quantitative methods are reasonably inflexible. With quantitative methods such as surveys and questionnaires, for example, res earchers ask all participants identical questions in the same order. The response categories from which participants may choose are closed-ended or fixed. The advantage of this rigidity is that it allows for meaningful comparison of responses across participants and study sites. However, it requires a thorough understanding of the important questions to ask, the best way to ask them, and the range of possible responses.Qualitative methods are typically more flexible that is, they allow greater spontaneity and adaptation of the interaction between the researcher and the study participant. For example, qualitative methods ask mostly unrestricted questions that are not necessarily worded in exactly the same way with each participant. With open-ended questions, participants are free to respond in their own words, and these responses break away to be more complex than simply yes or no.In addition, with qualitative methods, the relationship between the researcher and the participant i s often less buckram than in quantitative research. Participants have the opportunity to respond more elaborately and in greater concomitant than is typically the case with quantitative methods. In turn, researchers have the opportunity to respond immediately to what participants say by tailoring subsequent questions to information the participant has provided. Merriam (1988) provided a basis for differentiating qualitative and quantitative research techniques found on their characteristics.Characteristics of Qualitative and Quantitative ResearchPoint of ComparisonsQualitative ResearchQuantitative ResearchFocus of researchQuality (nature, essence)Quantity (how much, how many)Philosophical rootPhenomenology, symbolic interactionPositivism, logical empiricismAssociated phrasesFieldwork, ethnographic, naturalistic, grounded, subjectiveExperimental, empirical, statisticalGoal of investigationUnderstanding, description, discovery, hypothesis generatingPrediction, control, description, confirmation, hypothesis testingDesign characteristicsFlexible, evolving, emergentPredetermined, structured telescopeNatural, familiarUnfamiliar, artificialSampleSmall, non-random, theoreticalLarge, random, representativeData collectionResearcher as primary instrument, interviews, observationsInanimate instruments (scales, tests, surveys, questionnaires, computers)Mode of analysisInductive (by researcher)deductive (by statistical methods)FindingsComprehensive, holistic, expansivePrecise, narrow, reductionistHowever, there is a range of flexibility among methods used in both quantitative and qualitative research and that flexibility is not an indication of how scientifically rigorous a method is. Rather, the degree of flexibility reflects the kind of understanding of the problem that is being pursued using the method.Merits of Quantitative depth psychologyThe use of surveys permit a researcher to study more variables at one time than is typically possible in laboratory or field expe riments, whilst data can be collected about real world environments.The usefulness of a survey is that the information you get is standardized because each answerer the person who fills out the questionnaire is answering the exact same questions. Once you have enough responses to your questionnaire, you can then put the data together and analyze it in a way that answers your research question or what it is you want to know.Since case studies follow a structured format, different situations can be compared or canvas comparatively. baptismal font studies are typically short (often no more than 5 pages long) and usually only contain the essential information needed to present a situation and, if necessary, to describe and properly analyze a problem.Quantitative data can determine when students have achieved or failed a task, and they can provide field ranking, percentiles, and allow researchers to conduct comparison analyses. Nevertheless, they cannot provide the total picture of why a particular student has either succeeded or failed (Burnaford et al., 2001 Gall et al., 1996 and Mc Bride Schostak, 2000).In quantitative research, the researcher neither participates in nor influences what isbeing studied thus, he/she examines the circumstances objectively. In some qualitative research, the researcher may play a more subjective role and participate by being immersed in his/her research. That is, the observer may be the teacher or the facilitator. This role is often the case with when action research, case studies, and focus groups are used in educational research.Advantages of surveysGood for comparative analysis.Can get lots of data in a relatively short space of time.Can be cost-effective (if you use the Internet, for example).Can take less time for respondents to complete (compared to an interview or focus group)Specific concrete exampleCan help with problem solvingAre often interesting to read.Demerits of Quantitative AnalysisA key flunk of quantitative analysis is that it is very difficult to realise insights relating to the causes of or processes involved in the phenomena measured. There are, in addition, several sources of bias such as the by chance self-selecting nature of respondents, the point in time when the survey is conducted and in the researcher him/herself through the design of the survey itself.It could be argued that the quantitative researcher is more precise, but theresponse would be that with people it is not possible to be so precise,people change and the social situation is too complex for numericaldescription. Quantitative research has a tendency to clarify whereclarification is not appropriate. (Mc Bride Schostak, 2000, pp. 1-2)Disadvantages of SurveysResponses may not be specific.Questions may be misinterpreted.whitethorn not get as many responses as you need.Dont get full story.Can take time to developDepending on format, may need some level of good typography skillsDo not usually give broad overview of i ssue at hand.Merits of Qualitative TechniquesThe approaches of the qualitative research differ from the methods of the quantitative research. Quantitative methods have their aim in dividing into clearly defined parts, or variables. When we research an issue which we know how to quantify, for example, what can be quantified for sure, we may leave out the factors which are crucial to the real understanding of the phenomena under study (Andrew, 2007).Qualitative methods are helpful not only in giving rich explanations of complex phenomena, but in creating or evolving theories or conceptual bases, and in proposing hypotheses to clarify the phenomena. Besides, value of the qualitative research consists in validity of the information received people are minutely interviewed so as the obtained data would be taken as correct and believable reports of their opinions and experiences. Its major disadvantage is that small group of interviewed individuals can not be taken as representative (And rew, 2007).Case studies involve an attempt to describe relationships that exist in reality, very often in a single organization. Case studies may be positivist or interpretivist in nature, depending on the approach of the researcher, the data collected and the analytical techniques employed. Reality can be captured in greater detail by an observer-researcher, with the analysis of more variables than is typically possible in experimental and survey research.Another type of qualitative analysis is site visits. Site visits help you understand your research better site visits (e.g. when you visit an organization, a manufacturing plant, a clinic or a housing project) are very useful and sometimes still necessary ways of gaining additional insight and making your theoretical information concrete in your mind. They allow you to observe what is going on, and to ask questions you may not have thought about.Qualitative research has a phenomenological focus that can provide an enriched anddet ailed description of the participants actions and/or viewpoints (Veronesi, 1997).Advantages of Face-to-Face InterviewsCan allow for in-depth fellowship sharingHelps to develop the bigger pictureHelps with analysis of resultsGood for networking (e.g. you may be referred to other people to interview).Advantages of Focus GroupsGood for community participation (grassroots input) right-hand in developing ideas and sharing latent, or hidden, knowledge spontaneouslyEnables you to get information from a number of individuals simultaneously.Advantages of Site Visits and ObservationDemerits of Qualitative AnalysisCase studies can be considered weak as they are typically restricted to a single organization and it is difficult to generalize findings since it is hard to find quasi(prenominal) cases with similar data that can be analyzed in a statistically meaningful way.Disadvantages of Face-to-Face InterviewsCan be time consumingMay be difficult to arrange an interview timeCan be difficult to compare and analyze information.Disadvantages of Focus GroupsCan be difficult to set upParticipants may need to be paidNeed to be sensitive to who the facilitator isMay need a translatorSometimes difficult to rise and analyze information.Disadvantages of Site Visits and ObservationTake timeCan be expensive (depending how far you need to travel)With observation in particular, you need to be mensurable how you interpret what you see. With site visits, you may want to make sure you have a guide so that you can ask questionsHowever, the disadvantage of the quantitative as well as qualitative research is that they do not always underpin understanding of multi-dimensional pictures (Andrew, 2007).