Topic 6: Research design: Quantitative vs Qualitative

Question 1

What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative data?

Answer 1

• Quantitative data is concerned with amounts and numbers. It is more impersonal and objective.
• Qualitative data is concerned with words, sentences, narratives and experiences. It is more indepth, personal and subjective.
• Qualitative data is associated more with exploratory research where quantitative data is associated more with conclusive (descriptive & causal) research

Question 2

What questions must a researcher ask when deciding whether to do a quantitative or qualitative study?

Answer 2

• What is the research problem?
• What type of research are you doing? (exploratory, descriptive, causal or predictive)
• What is the objective? (What kind of outcomes are you looking for?)
• What type of information do you plan to collect and what info do you already have access to?

Question 3

What the 2 main methods of data collection?

Answer 3

• Monitoring- inspecting the nature of something without trying to get a response from anyone (more often associated with quantitative studies)
• Interrogation/communication- researcher questions subject, tries to get response/explanations (more often associated with qualitative studies, e.g: in-person interviews, telephone calls, emails)

Question 4

What are the techniques for collecting qualitative data?

Answer 4

• Secondary data analysis
• Focus groups
• Experience surveys
• 2-stage designs