Understanding Business Research Terms and Concepts: Part 1 - Essay Example

Qualitative research design uses traditional methods such as grounded theory and case studies to collect data. The use of these methods makes this design weak because their conclusions may be biased. This research design is also weak because it does not present data in form of tables and charts, which are easier to understand than statements. Qualitative research design has a major strength of being cheap because researchers do not have to use large samples. This design is also cheap because researchers may decide to use case studies, which are even cheaper than other methods because they involve a few expenses.

Qualitative research design also has strengths of being flexible and less time consuming than quantitative design. Flexibility is possible because this research does not have to focus on certain objectives. The aims of this design may change during the study depending on how researchers judge the field. The strength of consuming less time than quantitative design is possible because of the use of manageable samples. Quantitative design, on the other hand, uses scientific methods such as surveys and experiments.

These methods make this design strong because they aim at testing various propositions; their conclusions may be verified by conducting analyses a second time (Mitchell, & Jolley, 2013). The conclusions of quantitative research may also be presented in form of graphs and charts that are easier to understand than the data that is impossible to present. The presentation of quantitative data is possible because the data collected and analyzed is in form of statistical figures. Quantitative design also produces reliable conclusions because of the use of scientific methods whose validity may be tested.

Quantitative design has a weakness of requiring large samples that represent the population that is under study. The