Qualitative and Quantitative Perspectives in Conducting Research - Essay Example

Qualitative and quantitative perspectives in conducting research Introduction Research basically involves creative work that is done in a systematic manner with the aim of increasing the stock of knowledge that a person has(Lankshear & Knobel, 2004). It is used to recognize and confirm facts or confirming the results that associated with previous work, or finding solutions to existing problems and coming up with new theories. Researchers may chose either qualitative or quantitative techniques depending on the nature of the work they will be conducting and the research question being addressed(Schensul, Schensul & LeCompte, 1999). Qualitative research involves the understanding of the behavior of humans and the reasons that are associated with this behavior while the quantitative research is a sustematic empirical investigation of quantitative attributes and elements and the relationships that exist between them. Epistemology generally refers to the nature of knowledge or the manner in which the knowledge of certain things is acquired in the world. In terms of healthcare, an understanding is required of the way particular research methods as well as certain research methodologies towards data collection have come up from varying traditions and the manner in which they produce different understandings in terms of the social world (Saks and Allsop 2007). This paper aims at discussing the relationship that exists between qualitative and quantitative research methods and the differences that might exist between them. The gap in knowledge Since the late 1980 there are several scholars that have observed the fragmentation that exists between disciplines such as sociology, economics, anthropology, geography among others and this to a certain degree matches up to a division between methodological approaches which are either quantitative or qualitative. These fragmented approaches have the characteristic of being self-referential and traditions that are associated to research provide a powerful influence on the thinking of the researchers(Castagnone--FIERI, 2011). Education researchers as well as the policy makers continue to have widespread concerns about the lack of understanding regarding the nature and uses of both qualitative and quantitative research. This gap in knowledge can pose a problem for an educator when they are asked to review for a journal that makes use of these research methods. Relationship between qualitative and quantitative research There is a relevant connection that exists between qualitative and quantitative approaches as far as research in social science is concerned and the relationship has been empirically and theoretically demonstrated by many researchers that have dealt with different issues(Ragin, 2008). The recent years have been saturated with widespread debate within the social sciences that is associated with the relative advantages in respect to qualitative and quantitative strategies for research, and the opinions different researchers have vary significantly. There is a section that considers the two methods to be totally independent and in relation to the unconventionalideas, there is a section that prefers to blend both approaches in their research activities. Bryman (1998) advocated an approach that would entail the best parts of both approaches and was therefore of the opinion that both qualitative as well as quantitative approaches should be combined. `According to Niglas (2000), none of the variations that are in existence between quantitative and qualitative methodologies are the form of diametric contradictory practices but instead constitute a continuous scale which qualitative and quantitative research are not arranged in a manner that is basic. Secondly, there still exists quite a good number of researchers that are inclined towards the qualitative approach who take a realist ontological position and quantitative researchers whose ontological position is associated with idealism and relativism that associated with realism. Qualitative epistemological perspective The qualitative framework typically appears to be based on epistemology, on the constructionist as well as the interpretivist philosophy and it came up as a result of the increasing discontent that were associated with the outcome of the quantitative enquiry (Merriam & Merriam, 2009). The fundamental notion that is the guideline to the qualitative paradigm is that reality is constructed socially by the people that are taking part in the research and this paradigm stresses that reality is the outcome of the values of the researchers and there is no way that they can be independent from it. The attributes are viewed in a holistic manner and the intricate ones cannot be reduced into components that are independent. The qualitative research uses the experiences that occur every day and the normal life as the subject and queries how meaning is derived and interaction is addressed in the practices, which are natural (Rubin & Babbie, 2010). In the qualitative research, it is the notions that the individual who is being studied has that are vital and the research takes into cognizance the diversity and intricacy of life of individual s which can be used as a foundation for disapproving the quantitative research by the qualitative researchers. Normally, the Qualitative research encompasses different orientations as well as approaches, several intellectual and disciplinary traditions that are based on varying philosophical assumptions and all these different orientations and approaches come up with new data collection as well as evaluation strategies (Klenke, 2008). The contribution by epistemology to research is in effect theoretical and basically deals with theories of knowledge meaning that epistemology is not escapable. A researcher that is reflexive dynamically embraces a theory of knowledge while the researcher who is less reflexive embraces knowledge in an implicit manner since there is no way that one can take part in the creation of knowledge without ideas of what knowledge is and the way it is developed (Schwartz-Shea &Yanow, 2012). Qualitative research cannot be considered to be a single or generic endeavor since there is a multitude of contrasting epistemological perspectives that are present in the qualitative model. It is important to acknowledge that every researcher brings a set of assumptions to the research and these have an impact on the understanding as well as interpretation of data that is of a qualitative nature. Qualitative research when considered in an epistemological perspective shows that the person who knows and the aspect that is known are interactive and inseparable. In contrast with the quantitative researchers who conduct statistical tests of prediction and control, the qualitative researchers strive to develop a deep understanding of the phenomenon that are under investigation through a description that is thick(Klenke, 2008). In all the cases, the researchers that are involved in qualitative research are after the meaning that people normally place on the experiences that they normally go through, the circumstances that they find themselves in as well as the meanings that they put into tests and other tools. Therefore, at the centre of qualitative research is the extraction of meaning from the data that is being considered and the focus is mainly in the words as well as texts as opposed to numbers which occurs in the quantitative research (Schwartz-Shea &Yanow, 2012). This means that this particular type of research is more than a concept that can be applied in the basic form since it is an intellectual and thorough technique that the person who wishes to apply it learns and gets better through practice. This kind of research is usually interdisciplinary that encompasses various perspectives and practices that end up in the generation of knowledge and the researchers that deal with the social sciences generally favour qualitative methods. This makes it important for the person that is doing the research to be very keen on all the areas of the research which include the conceptualization of the project, the interconnections that are in existence between each stage and the impact that the researcher has on the whole process (Schwartz-Shea &Yanow, 2012). The decision to use a qualitative approach depends on nature of the research question as well as the aims and objectives, which are associated with the research that is being conducted and the researcher has to weigh between a number of qualitative methods before he or she can be able to undertake the research comprehensively. Quantitative epistemological perspective The quantitative inquiry can be defined as a collection of data that is in numerical form and which is based on the positivist foundation creating the notion that it is a scientific technique that is employed to inquiry (Frank & Althoen, 1994). Researchers that favour this approach are of the idea that all phenomena can be undergo reduction to singular variables that can be broken down to fragments which can be used to represent the reality or truth. In the day to day situations, reality might imply the state of issues they way they exist but in terms of research, reality can represent the state of things as they appear to be whether accessible, observable and understandable through science or any other system that can be used for analysis. The ontological perspective of the quantitative framework is that the data that is presented is in numerical form and therefore can be able to be split into classes then subjected to strict objective measurement and accurately described by a set of formulae, which makes the data clear and free from human perception. Qualitative research normally advocates for a single reality that involves the investigation of phenomena without having any influence on it or being influenced by it meaning that the distinction that exists between the researcher and the research should be clear. An epistemological perspective can be regarded as concepts of knowledge used to rationalize the knowledge generation procedure being used enthusiastically or intentionally given the assumptions known by the procedure (Seirafi, 2013). Assumptions will help in evaluation of the knowledge contribution of published work as well as guide decisions about research work. These decisions are based on the research questions, theories, methods and analysis in social enquiry shaped by the epistemology of the researcher. Researches recognize that the researchers bring, data generated, the literature range and moral socio-political contexts to the research product in examining the ways our social locations shape our process of knowing. Quantitative research is supposed to displayuniformity and reliable of technique(Meek & Elder, 1977), which is simply identified by the person, who reads and the reviewer as researchers demonstrate their epistemological engagement with the work. This is possible by means ofcleardebate of their research framework that is important for thorough qualitative research given the importance of epistemology to the whole task. Social work researchers must take explicit decisions in the process of inquiry if they are serious about contributing to the knowledge base of the professional and be accountable to readers regarding the underlying assumptions and logic of work. Such is the burden of proof on the researcher to make his work authentic as well as recognizable in the larger profession. Differences between qualitative and quantitative perspectives The emphasis placed on studying observable facts through numerical means exhibits the ontological assumptions that support the quantitative perspective and highlights the differences that are there compared to the qualitative one. In quantitative research, there is a belief in a world that is objective is autonomous from the researcher and things are measured using various tools or even through conducting experiments. In the qualitative model however, the reality is generated by the people that are part of the research situation and therefore multiple realities are evident in the situations that exist (Nelson & Staggers, 2007). Epistemological Differences In the quantitative model, the researcher has to maintain a certain level of independence from what is actually being researched (Gliner & Morgan, 2000) and this can be seen in the way surveys and experiments try to regulate the bias as well as the purpose on order to maintain objectivity. In the qualitative model, there is an interaction between the researcher and what is being researched and this is because the researchers are concerned with exploring and understanding the social world in ways that the surveys and experiments, which are controlled, cannot(Nelson & Staggers, 2007). Axiological differences In the case of quantitative research, the values that are associated with the researcher are irrelevant since they are not exhibited in the outcomes of these researches. The reports that are generated from the quantitative research are impersonal and this is evident in the prohibited use of the first person I in quantitative reporting. Conversely, the qualitative model permits the researcher to incorporate the perception that he or she owns creating the main difference that exists between quantitative and qualitative research. In the qualitative model, the values and judgments that are held by the researcher are relevant to the point that they are able to influence the final findings (Nelson & Staggers, 2007). Conclusion Research that deals with health as well as social sciences is intricate, diverse, pluralistic, and based on this, the study that is conducted, the objectives and the basic assumptions that are associated with it have significant variations. The two main and most common forms of research are the qualitative methodology, which is founded on an interpretivist framework and the quantitative methodology that is based on the positivist framework. Many of the researchers that are in the health and social sciences industry use these methodologies as guidelines and therefore the researchers are supposed to understand clearly the philosophical issues that provide guidelines for their research study. Quantitative method mainly addresses and attempts to qualify social phenomena(Alvesson, 2002) and in the process gathers and evaluates numerical data while focusing on the connections that exist between a small numbers of attributes that are existent in majority of the cases. Conversely, qualitative methodology mostly focuses on understanding the meanings that are accorded to social phenomena and addresses the connections that exist in a larger number of attributes that are existent in relatively few situations. References Alvesson, M. (2002). Postmodernism and social research (1st ed.). Buckingham [England]: Open University Press. Bryman, A (1988) Quantity and Quality in Social Research, London, Routledge Castagnone--FIERI, E. (2011). Bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative research methods. The case of biographical approach. Frank, H., & Althoen, S. (1994). Statistics (1st ed.). Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. Gliner, J., & Morgan, G. (2000). 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