Comparing Qualitative and Quantitative Research - Essay Example

Comparing qualitative and quantitative research and their function in combination BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANISATION HERE HERE OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION HERE Comparing qualitative and quantitative research and their function in combination Introduction Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies maintain significant differences, both in terms of the role of the researcher and in the instruments utilised to conduct the appropriate research study. However, when utilised in combination, issues of validity are improved. This paper discusses the general differences between the two aforementioned research approaches whilst describing their usage in combination. Quantitative research Depending on the topic or scope of the proposed research study, quantitative research is a valuable tool when the researcher already recognises what he is seeking to investigate. For instance, three professionals in research methodology offer that quantitative research seeks the “quantification of parameters such as number, size, connectivity, and the spatial arrangement of the different components of the structure under study” (Evans, Janson & Nyengaard, 2004: 87). In this definition, quantification essentially suggests a confirmation by utilising various research instruments designed to provide, in the broadest hope, irrefutable evidence that certain events related to the research topic can be correlated or proven to be accurate. Perhaps a more appropriate method to describe quantitative research is to recognise how various business and organisational researchers measure change over time. By adopting a longitudinal study, quantitative research methods can be utilised in a study programme which measures the impact of organisational change on various employees (the sample population). For instance, the utilisation of surveys or closed-ended questionnaires distributed to the appropriate sample group prior to the implementation of an organisational change initiative can measure pre-existing attitudes using a numerical or statistical approach to data analysis to determine whether a noticeable trend in employee behaviours exists. After the implementation of the change programme, similar survey instruments can be distributed to the same sample group to determine whether attitudes have changed over time. Thus, in this scenario, quantitative research provides a numerical representation for elements of human behaviour and avoiding issues of subjective analysis (which can be questioned by peer researchers) because the data returned is quite concrete. The measurement of outcomes associated with change are often important research areas in nearly all scientific disciplines (Duncan, 1999: 114). Thus, when attempting to link particular subject behaviours with elements of their general environment, quantitative research approaches allow a series of events to be represented numerically rather than utilising another discipline (such as researcher knowledge in psychology) to make subjective analyses of behaviour in a method that is somewhat outside of the quantitative approach. The somewhat irrefutable research evidence returned in the form of surveys or closed ended questionnaires clearly indicates whether human trends exist as related to the topic of research and thus either proves or refutes a researcher’s general hypothesis. Qualitative research Qualitative research is generally used in research situations in which obtaining the required information by means other than observations or interviews would be quite difficult (Smith, 1991: 19). These are the typical research instruments utilised in qualitative research, designed during the beginning stages of research. Qualitative approaches might be utilised in a research scenario such as a group home for battered women in order to determine how these disadvantaged groups are coping with their abuses. In this scenario, the researcher has no advanced knowledge of what types of data will be returned from interviewed samples as they have no pre-existing knowledge of the attitudes or behaviours of the battered women. Measuring emotional issues would be quite difficult to quantify using closed ended questionnaires as the likely respondent replies will vary widely based on personal experiences. Hence, this type of research allows the researcher the ability to make a series of subjective assessments based on the type of information that is returned from the interview sessions. Additionally, qualitative research is conducted because in some research scenarios, human emotional properties cannot be measured statistically (Kincheloe, 2003). Participants in an observational or interview research environment provide meaning to the situations being measured in the study, thus data gathering methods should not be limited to just statistical representations. If the research aim of a study was to determine whether subjects in a battered group home felt mostly positive or negative about their situation, a quantitative approach would be feasible and appropriate. However, without a qualitative approach to the research, determining underlying factors which actually drove the majority of subject emotions would be impossible to achieve. Combining methods The largest advantage to combining quantitative and qualitative research methods is in the improved validity granted to the study which adopts both. Validity measures whether the research data accurately depicts the reality of the situation under investigation (Sykes & Warren, 1991). Consider a qualitative research study designed to determine whether consumers preferred one product over another. Observations in the surrounding supermarket environment might provide the qualitative data necessary to suggest whether one product receives more attention than another. However, this small-scale observational approach is quite subjective as it would not measure consumer behaviours over a long period of time. Thus, the research might consider a quantitative approach in the same study, perhaps by distributing surveys to every patron who walks through the market doors as a broader sample population strategy. This would indeed measure preferences for the product. However, if the marketing firm wanted to understand why the consumers preferred the product better, it would be necessary to combine both quantitative and qualitative research instruments. This would provide a series of statistics regarding actual (reality) consumer behaviours and would also address, perhaps in an interview format, the connection between why the subjects prefer one product over another. In essence, the ability to accurately test the results of a combined approach is the most positive benefit of a blended approach (Kaplan & Duchon, 1988). Conclusion Clearly, quantitative and qualitative research methods maintain their unique contributions to researchers and are often quite interchangeable depending on what is specifically being measured in the study. Quantitative research is objective and quantifiable whilst qualitative research is much more subjective and can be open to increased professional scrutiny in terms of validity or reliability. Together, however, validity is increased due to the increased volume of data provided by a blend of methodologies. Bibliography Duncan, Terry E. (1999). An Introduction to Latent Variable Growth Curve Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications. Quantitative Methodology Series. NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, 114. Evans, S.M., Janson, A. & Nyengaard, J.R. (2004). Quantitative Methods in Neuroscience: A Neuroanatomical Approach. Oxford University Press, 87. Kaplan, B. & Duchon, D. (1988). ‘Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Information Systems Research: A Case Study’. MIS Quarterly, 12(4), 571. Kincheloe, Joe L. (2003). Teachers as Researchers: Qualitative Inquiry as a Path to Empowerment. London, Taylor & Francis. Smith, Elizabeth A. (1991). ‘The Role of Qualitative Information in Productivity Measurement’. Industrial Management. Norcross, 33(2), pp.19-24. Sykes, W. & Warren, M. (1991). ‘Taking Stock: Issues from the literature on validity and reliability in qualitative research; Another day, another debrief: The Use and Assessment of Qualitative Research’. Journal of the Market Research Society. London, 33(1), pp.3-9. Read More