What is Quantitative and Qualitative Research?
What is Quantitative and Qualitative Research?

To get the answers to different questions a problem can be researched on the basis of two different processes.

Qualitative research: A research is figured as qualitative if the purpose of the study is primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or event; if the information is gathered through the use of variables measured on nominal or ordinal scales; that are also called as qualitative measurement scale; and if the analysis is done to establish the variation in the situation, phenomenon or problem without qualifying it.

The depiction of an observed situation, the chronological description of events, an account of the different opinions that people have about an issue, and a description of the living conditions of a community are examples of qualitative research.

Quantitative research: On the other hand, the study is classified as quantitative if you want to quantify the variation in a phenomena, situation, problem or issue; if information is gathered using predominantly quantitative variables; and if the analysis is geared to ascertain magnitude of the variation. Examples of a quantitative research study are: How many people have a particular problem? How many people cling to have a fussy attitude?

Statistics in quantitative research: The use of statistics is not an integral part of a quantitative study. The main function of statistics in research is to perform a test to confirm or contradict the conclusion that you have drawn on the basis of your understanding of analyzed data. Statistics, among other things, assist you to quantify the level of an association or relationship, provide a suggestion of the assurance you can place in your findings and help you to isolate the effect of different variables.

Some recommendations:

  • It is a friendly recommendation that please do not lock yourself into becoming either solely a quantitative or solely a qualitative researcher.
  • It is true that there are disciplines that lend themselves predominantly either to qualitative or to quantitative research. For example, disciplines of study like anthropology, history and sociology are more prone towards qualitative research, whereas psychology, epidemiology, education, economics, public health and marketing are more inclined towards qualitative approach of research, or that an anthropologist by no means uses quantitative information.
  • There is growing acknowledgment by the majority disciplines in the social sciences that both types of research are important for a good research study.
  • The research problem itself should verify whether the study is carried out using quantitative or qualitative methodologies.

As both qualitative and quantitative approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, and advantages and disadvantages, neither one is distinctly advanced to the other in all respects. The measurement and analysis of the variables about which information is obtained in a research study are dependent upon the purpose of the study.

In many studies you need to combine both qualitative and quantitative approaches. For example, presume you want to discover out the types of service available to victims of domestic violence in a city and the extent of their utilization. Types of service are a qualitative aspect of the study as finding out about them entails description of the services. The amount of consumption of the services is the quantitative feature as it involves estimating the number of people who use the services and calculating other indicators that reflect the extent of utilization.