Difference between qualitative and quantitative research methods
Many are the times when researchers have to choose the type of research method to use. There are two research methods: qualitative research and quantitative research methods. While some people feel that the two methods can be used interchangeably, research has proved that these two methods are quite different and they are suited for different situations. The main difference between qualitative and quantitative research lies in their approach and the type of data involved. Qualitative research is mostly exploratory. It is used to discover trends and is expressed in words. It involves the formulation of a theory or hypothesis which is then explored. The hypothesis can be null or alternative. The result of qualitative research is proving whether the theory formulated holds true or not. On the other hand, quantitative research is expressed in numbers, graphs or charts which quantify the problem. It focuses on testing the theories through mathematical and statistical calculations (Brians, 2016). The main goal of quantitative research is getting to understand how two variables are related.
Research questions suited for qualitative vs. quantitative research
Qualitative methods
Qualitative research is best suited for problems that require an inquiry into the social phenomena. It seeks to answer the questions of “how” and “why” (Mill, 1970). For instance, in the ethnographic studies, a researcher may seek to know why a particular group of people behave in a certain way and how their culture influences their behavior. There are several types of qualitative research methods used in organizations, education, and business models. These are ethnographic research, narrative research, grounded theory, historical research and case study. In the education setting, a researcher may take a sample of twenty students and ask those questions such as: “How satisfied are you with the delivery of the subject?” “How has this semester been different from the last?” “In what ways do you feel the professor should improve on the delivery of the course content”? These questions are all aimed to explain the particular phenomena from the perspectives of the students without the need for statistical data.
Quantitative methods
In quantitative research, the questions seek to establish how two variables are related through several research methods such as correlational study, quasi-experimental research, survey, experimental research, and descriptive research. The questions in this approach include: “By how much?”, “How many?” and similar questions that quantify data. For instance, in a sample of twenty students, a researcher may assess the students’ satisfaction with the lesson delivery by asking a question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with the lesson delivery” in this case, 1 implies not satisfied and 10 implies very satisfied. The researcher may then tabulate the results or plot a graph which shows the overall result of his research (Brians, 2016).
Applying both correlational evidence and process-tracing evidence in research
When conducting research, a researcher is not only interested in the relationship between variables but also the trends and the causal mechanism. This is why researchers will normally combine both correlational evidence and process-tracing evidence. Correlational evidence shows how one variable is related to the other and process-tracing evidence tells us how changes in one variable will result in changes in the other variable. There is a need to combine both evidence to provide the best recommendations based on sound and logical arguments (Mill, 1970).
References
Mill, J. S. (1970).Two Methods of Comparison. Comparative Perspectives: Theory and Methods, edited by A. Etzioni and F. Dubow: 205-213. Boston: Little, Brown.
Brians, C. (2016). From Abstract to Concrete: Operationalization and Measurement. Empirical Political Analysis (8th edition), edited by C. Brians: 88-105. New York: Routledge.