Reasoning With Statistics: How to Read Quantitative Research
What'due south the divergence between qualitative and quantitative research?
By Dr. Saul McLeod, updated 2019
In that location exists a central stardom between two types of data:
Quantitative data is information about quantities, and therefore numbers, and qualitative data is descriptive, and regards phenomenon which tin can be observed merely not measured, such as linguistic communication.
Spring to Quantitative Research Information
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting not-numerical data, such every bit language. Qualitative enquiry tin exist used to understand how an private subjectively perceives and gives pregnant to their social reality.
Qualitative data is divers as non-numerical data, such as text, video, photographs or audio recordings. This type of data can exist nerveless using diary accounts or in-depth interviews, and analyzed using grounded theory or thematic analysis.
Qualitative enquiry is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers report things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.
An interest in qualitative data came nigh as the upshot of the dissatisfaction of some psychologists (east.g., Carl Rogers) with the scientific study of psychologists such as the behaviorists (east.g., Skinner).
Since psychologists study people, the traditional approach to science is non seen as an advisable way of conveying out research, since information technology fails to capture the totality of human being experience and the essence of what it is to be human. Exploring the feel of participants is known as a phenomenological arroyo (re: Humanism).
The aim of qualitative research is to empathize the social reality of individuals, groups and cultures every bit nigh as possible as its participants experience it or alive information technology. Thus, people and groups, are studied in their natural setting.
Research following a qualitative approach is exploratory and seeks to explain 'how' and 'why' a particular phenomenon, or behavior, operates as it does in a item context. It can be used to generate hypotheses and theory from the data.
Methods (used to obtain qualitative data)
There are different types of qualitative research methods including diary accounts, in-depth interviews, documents, focus groups, case study research, and ethnography.
The results of qualitative methods provide a deep understandings of how people perceive their social realities, and in effect, how they act within the social world.
The researcher has several methods for collecting empirical materials, ranging from the interview to direct observation, to the analysis of artifacts, documents, and cultural records, to the utilise of visual materials or personal experience.
A practiced example of a qualitative research method would be unstructured interviews which generate qualitative data through the utilise of open questions. This allows the respondent to talk in some depth, choosing their own words. This helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person's agreement of a state of affairs.
Notice that qualitative data could exist much more than just words or text. Photographs, videos, audio recordings and then on, tin can be considered qualitative data.
Data Analysis
Qualitative enquiry is endlessly creative and interpretive. The researcher does not but exit the field with mountains of empirical data and then easily write up his or her findings.
Qualitative interpretations are synthetic, and diverse techniques can be used to brand sense of the data, such equally content analysis, grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) or discourse assay.
Key Features
Events can exist understood fairly only if they are seen in context. Therefore, a qualitative researcher immerses her/himself in the field, in natural surroundings. The contexts of inquiry are not contrived; they are natural. Zero is predefined or taken for granted.
Qualitative researchers desire those who are studied to speak for themselves, to provide their perspectives in words and other deportment. Therefore, qualitative research is an interactive procedure in which the persons studied teach the researcher about their lives.
The qualitative researcher is an integral part of the data, without the agile participation of the researcher, no information exists.
The blueprint of the study evolves during the research, and can be adjusted or changed as it progresses.
For the qualitative researcher, there is no single reality, it is subjective and exist simply in reference to the observer.
Theory is data driven, and emerges equally role of the inquiry procedure, evolving from the data as they are nerveless.
Limitations
Because of the time and costs involved, qualitative designs practice not generally describe samples from large-scale information sets.
The problem of acceptable validity or reliability is a major criticism. Because of the subjective nature of qualitative data and its origin in single contexts, it is hard to use conventional standards of reliability and validity.
For instance, because of the central role played by the researcher in the generation of data, it is not possible to replicate qualitative studies. Too, contexts, situations, events, weather, and interactions cannot be replicated to any extent nor can generalizations be fabricated to a wider context than the one studied with any confidence
The time required for data collection, analysis and estimation are lengthy. Analysis of qualitative information is hard and expert noesis of an area is necessary to try to interpret qualitative information, and great care must exist taken when doing and then, for example, if looking for symptoms of mental illness.
Strengths
Considering of close researcher involvement, the researcher gains an insider's view of the field. This allows the researcher to observe issues that are frequently missed (such as subtleties and complexities) by the scientific, more positivistic inquiries.
Qualitative descriptions can play the important role of suggesting possible relationships, causes, effects and dynamic processes.
Qualitative assay allows for ambiguities/contradictions in the information, which are a reflection of social reality (Denscombe, 2010).
Qualitative inquiry uses a descriptive, narrative style; this research might be of particular benefit to the practitioner every bit she or he could plough to qualitative reports in society to examine forms of noesis that might otherwise be unavailable, thereby gaining new insight.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research involves the process of objectively collecting and analyzing numerical information to describe, predict, or control variables of interest.
The goals of quantitative research are to exam causal relationships between variables, make predictions, and generalize results to wider populations.
Quantitative researchers aim to institute general laws of behavior and phenonomon across different settings/contexts. Enquiry is used to exam a theory and ultimately support or reject information technology.
Methods (used to obtain quantitative data)
Experiments typically yield quantitative data, as they are concerned with measuring things. However, other research methods, such equally controlled observations and questionnaires tin produce both quantitative information.
For case, a rating scale or closed questions on a questionnaire would generate quantitative information equally these produce either numerical information or data that can be put into categories (east.one thousand., "yes," "no" answers).
Experimental methods limit the possible ways in which a research participant tin can react to and express appropriate social behavior.
Findings are therefore likely to be context-bound and simply a reflection of the assumptions which the researcher brings to the investigation.
Data Analysis
Statistics help u.s.a. plow quantitative data into useful information to assist with decision making. We can use statistics to summarise our data, describing patterns, relationships, and connections. Statistics tin be descriptive or inferential.
Descriptive statistics help us to summarise our data whereas inferential statistics are used to place statistically significant differences between groups of data (such as intervention and control groups in a randomised control study).
Fundamental Features
Quantitative researchers try to command extraneous variables by conducting their studies in the lab.
The enquiry aims for objectivity (i.eastward., without bias), and is separated from the data.
The blueprint of the study is determined before it begins.
For the quantitative researcher reality is objective and exist separately to the researcher, and is capable of being seen by anyone.
Enquiry is used to test a theory and ultimately back up or reject it.
Limitations
Context: Quantitative experiments do not have place in natural settings. In addition, they practise non allow participants to explain their choices or the meaning of the questions may have for those participants (Carr, 1994).
Researcher expertise: Poor cognition of the application of statistical analysis may negatively affect assay and subsequent estimation (Black, 1999).
Variability of data quantity: Large sample sizes are needed for more accurate analysis. Small scale quantitative studies may be less reliable because of the low quantity of information (Denscombe, 2010). This also affects the ability to generalize study findings to wider populations.
Confirmation bias: The researcher might miss observing phenomena because of focus on theory or hypothesis testing rather than on the theory of hypothesis generation.
Strengths
Scientific objectivity: Quantitative information tin can be interpreted with statistical analysis, and since statistics are based on the principles of mathematics, the quantitative approach is viewed equally scientifically objective, and rational (Carr, 1994; Denscombe, 2010).
Useful for testing and validating already constructed theories.
Rapid analysis: Sophisticated software removes much of the need for prolonged data analysis, especially with large volumes of information involved (Antonius, 2003).
Replication: Quantitative data is based on measured values and can be checked by others because numerical information is less open to ambiguities of estimation.
Hypotheses can too be tested because of the used of statistical analysis (Antonius, 2003).
How to reference this article:
McLeod, Southward. A. (2019, July thirty). Qualitative vs. quantitative research. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
APA Mode References
Antonius, R. (2003). Interpreting quantitative data with SPSS. Sage.
Black, T. R. (1999). Doing quantitative research in the social sciences: An integrated approach to enquiry design, measurement and statistics. Sage.
Braun, 5. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.
Carr, Fifty. T. (1994). The strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research: what method for nursing?. Journal of advanced nursing, 20(iv), 716-721.
Denscombe, Thou. (2010). The Skillful Research Guide: for small-calibration social research. McGraw Hill.
Denzin, N., & Lincoln. Y. (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Inquiry. Chiliad Oaks, CA, The states: Sage Publications Inc.
Glaser, B. Thou., Strauss, A. Fifty., & Strutzel, E. (1968). The discovery of grounded theory; strategies for qualitative inquiry. Nursing research, 17(four), 364.
Minichiello, V. (1990). In-Depth Interviewing: Researching People. Longman Cheshire.
Dial, M. (1998). Introduction to Social Enquiry: Quantitatie and Qualitative Approaches. London: Sage
How to reference this article:
How to reference this article:
McLeod, S. A. (2019, July 30). Qualitative vs. quantitative research. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html
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Reasoning With Statistics: How to Read Quantitative Research
Source: https://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html