quantitative and qualitative research

Marsyangdi Journal , 2020

This paper intends to compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative research in brief. Based on library sources, the paper is prepared for the Bachelor and Master level research students plus interested one. The article initiated with the concept of research and its major purposes, and then associates the general information about qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research. Finally, it illustrates the relative and discrepancy between qualitative and quantitative research with a few concluding note.

M.Lib.I.Sc. Project, Panjab University, under guidance of Dr. Shiv Kumar, 2019

There's no hard and fast rule for qualitative versus quantitative research, and it's often taken for granted. It is claimed here that the divide between qualitative and quantitative research is ambiguous, incoherent, and hence of little value, and that its widespread use could have negative implications. This conclusion is supported by a variety of arguments. Qualitative researchers, for example, have varying perspectives on fundamental problems (such as the use of quantification and causal analysis), which makes the difference as such shaky. In addition, many elements of qualitative and quantitative research overlap significantly, making it difficult to distinguish between the two. Practically in the case of field research, the Qualitative and quantitative approach can't be distinguished clearly as the study pointed. The distinction may limit innovation in the development of new research methodologies, as well as cause complication and wasteful activity. As a general rule, it may be desirable not to conceptualise research approaches at such abstract levels as are done in the context of qualitative or quantitative methodologies. Discussions of the benefits and drawbacks of various research methods, rather than general research questions, are recommended.

There are numerous differences between qualitative and quantitative measurement.

IRJET, 2022

Research design methods, such as qualitative, quantitative as well as mixed methods were introduced and subsequently each method was discussed in detail with the help of literature review as well as some personal and live examples to substantiate the findings of various literature. From various literature as well as from the own experiences, it is concluded that both qualitative research design method and quantitative research design method are equally important. It is not fair to criticize one method as the researcher is inclined towards the other method. It is practically evidenced that usage of both methods in the research, the researcher can substantiate the case better. However, duration part while using mixed methods to be kept in mind as it will take more time compared to the qualitative and quantitative methods. Hurrying and aborting in the middle due to time constraint ultimately result in poor research. It would be better if the world view towards these methods changes from criticizing mode to effective utilization mode, which will help research community in focusing and bring up better research outcomes rather than wasting time in arguing which method is scientifically acceptable and which method is biased. While I agree that the ontological, epistemological, axiological, and methodological assumptions for qualitative research method and quantitative research method, researchers should know fully about these methods and keep them as effective tools to utilize them in mixed mode, wherever it is appropriate and required to arrive at adequate research findings.

Research plays a very important role in making sense of the world around us and developing knowledge basis and systems. As such, understanding research methods and paradigms is very important to scholars and researchers if they are to come up with credible and comprehensive research. This paper discusses the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods and also looks at how the two methods can be similar and how they can be used together. Qualitative research is a scientific and systematic method used to gather data that it not quantifiable (Yin 2018). This type of research, as Marshall (2016)) explains, "refers to the meanings, concepts definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols, and description of things". Therefore, as a research method, qualitative research is also used to unearth new trends in thought processes and actions, how people feel about specific circumstances and to get to the heart of issues and how they affect people (Wolcott 2016). Marshall (2016) emphasizes that qualitative research is primarily exploratory research and is used to obtain information such as intentions and motives that helps explain an occurrence. Thus, qualitative research methods help to understand new occurrences or trends and then helps to explain why such things are happening or occurring. Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into useable statistics (Lichtman 2017). According to Wolcott (2016) quantitative research is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables and generalize results from a larger sample population. Thus, quantitative Research uses measurable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research to make sense or deductions on how things have unfolded. Therefore, where qualitative data seeks to understand a phenomenon, quantitative methods seek to quantify them and identify variables that can be measured. Qualitative research uses data collecting methods that often require the direct participation of the researcher to gather data and information crucial to the study. Morgan (2017) notes that