
When a student is assigned research to conduct and draft a paper, the first and the foremost thing to decide is the research method. Qualitative and quantitative are two types of research designs through which a researcher collects data to study a subject in detail.
Before you decide on the method, it is essential to know the basic differences. Continue reading the blog to understand qualitative vs. quantitative research designs.
Contents
Quantitative research is a study expressed in graphs and numbers. This research method confirms theories and assumptions made based on gathered data. This research design is used when a writer has to establish some facts about the subject.
Qualitative research, on the other hand, expresses the study in words and statements. This research takes into consideration the concepts, experiences, and thoughts of the people. Moreover, it helps gather detailed insights on the chosen topic.
Understanding the basic definition of the research methods used to gather data and information is essential when drafting a research paper. A writer has to be particular about the process he chooses for his field research.
Just as important it is to learn about how a research paper writing is drafted, it is equally important to understand the significance of choosing the right method for your research project.
Different fields use different data collecting methods to study subjects. For this purpose, clear your concepts of the preliminary designs through which research is conducted.
If the difference in the two methods were not evident from the definitions, the following section would provide you with details. Study the table to observe the characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research |
For Social Sciences or Humanities Subjects | For Science related subjects |
Explore ideas and formulate theories | Test theories and hypotheses |
Analyzed by categorizing, summarizing, and interpreting | Analyzed through statistical analysis |
Expressed in words and statements | Expressed in numbers, tables, and graphs |
Few respondents required | Large sample size |
Open-ended questions in nature | Closed questions |
Key terms include subjectivity, complexity, understanding, context | Key terms include objectivity, replicability, measurement, testing. |
The qualitative and quantitative data can be collected through various methods. Experts advice to choose the data collection method the best serves the research question.
The following are the data methods that are commonly used:
Qualitative Data Collecting Methods:
Quantitative Data Collecting Methods:
The raw qualitative and quantitative data doesn’t demonstrate anything. It has to be studied and analyzed deeply to present meaning concerning the major research question. The method of analyzing data differs for qualitative and quantitative data.
Qualitative data is crucial to analyze as it involves text, images, and videos. There are some approaches through which this data type is analyzed. The methods include:
As quantitative information is based on numerical data, simple math or statistical analysis is used to explore patterns in data. The results for this type of data are presented in graphs and tables. The quantitative data analysis examines the following types of information:
Understanding where to use which research type to study data is important. You can not choose a research design without knowing the purpose and its significance.
For example, interviews are conducted for respondents to answer open-ended questions. The interviewer then asks further questions to clarify things and find commonalities in the data to form results.
On the results of those interviews, the researcher conduct surveys on a larger scale to gain a more in-depth insight into the concept.
Understanding any concept requires good and relevant examples. To make students learn qualitative and quantitative research methods, CollegeEssay.org has gathered some examples that will let you differentiate between the two research types.
Conducting research and drafting a paper is one of the most difficult academic tasks. In order to get this assignment right, a writer requires great analyzing and evaluating skills
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