The Use of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods of Data Collection - Coursework Example

Qualitative and Quantitative research Name Date Course Abstract The use of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection has been widely used by researchers. However, there are differences between the qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. The differences affect the quality of the data collected and hence impacting on the credibility of the research. Qualitative method of data collection does not involve a lot of numerical details. However, the quantitative method of data collection involves a lot of numerical analysis which are used for the purpose of making conclusion. However both methods have their own limitations. The uses of both qualitative and quantitative methods are useful in terms of decision making in business. The quantitative method of data collection is more accurate as compared to the qualitative research data. Introduction The qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection are usually used for the purpose of carrying out different research including the business research. The qualitative method of data collection mainly involves the use of interviews while the quantitative method of data collection mainly involves the interviews and surveys. On the other hand, it is important to note that both methods have their own strengths as well as limitations. The business managers usually rely on both the qualitative and quantitative research data for the purpose of making important business decisions. The paper thus discusses the differences between the qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection together with their limitations and application in business. Differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods data Lower number of respondents is usually involved in the research when using the qualitative method. This is because the methodology and the concepts used require a lot of direct contact with the people involved in the research. As a result of this, the number of respondents is usually few. However, when using the quantitative method of research, it is easy to reach a higher number of respondents. This is because of the tools that are usually used in the collection of data in quantitative research. The number of respondents has an impact on the quality of the data. The levels of accuracy are high when using the quantities method of data collection due to the high number of respondents (Creswell, 2013). The level of accuracy of the data when using a limited number of respondents may be affected. In most of the business research, quantitative research is usually used as opposed to the qualitative research. This is due to the high level of accuracy and the high number of respondents that are attracted through the use of quantitative research. The tools that are usually used during the quantitative research enable a higher number of respondents to participate in the research and hence impacting negatively on the data collection process. However, it is important to note that the use of qualitative research allows for a low number of respondents due to the tools used. The data collected through the quantitative research is thus more accurate as compared to that collected through qualitative research due to the number of respondents. In qualitative research, open ended questions are usually used for the purposes of collecting data. This is also for the purpose of ensuring that detailed information can be obtained from the respondents with the regards to the research that is being carried out. In quantitative research, the research questions are specific and they require specific answers only. The use of specific questions also plays an important role in ensuring that the research is effective as only the required information is obtained. The questions that are usually used during the quantitative research are also easy to answer as some of them may only require the yes or no answers (Bernard, 2012). The level of accuracy of the data collected through the qualitative research may be biased as the respondents may answer the questions in a specific way. However, this may not be possible when using the quantitative research as the respondents have to answer the questions in a specific manner. The analysis of the data in the qualitative research is also east through the open ended questions that are used. However, this is different in the quantitative research as the questions used are specific and hence requiring critical analysis of the data obtained. It is important to note that the data differs when the open ended questions is used during the research and when the data is not collected through the open ended question. The open ended questions may also lower the quality of the data as the respondents may be influenced. The data collection techniques vary when using the quantitative and qualitative method of data collection. In qualitative research, the main technique of data collection mainly involves the use of interviews and discussions. This means that the respondents have to be contacted either directly or indirectly during the research. The use of the interviews and discussions during the data collection process may have an impact on the respondents and it may influence them to answer questions in a particular way. This means that the quality of the data collected through the qualitative method may not be accurate. However, quantitative method of carrying out research relies on the surveys and questionnaires (Östlund, 2011). The use of this method is useful in terms of reaching a high number of people. Due to the nature of the surveys and questionnaires, it is difficult for the respondents to be influenced. On the other hand, the respondents may not meet the people carrying out the research and hence eliminating any incidences of bias. This plays an important role in ensuring that the quality of the data is improved. The use of surveys and questionnaires enhances the quality of the data collected as it is based on specific information. This means that the respondents cannot influence the outcome of the research as the data has a high level of accuracy. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the data collected through the quantitative research can be independently verified as it involves the use of surveys and questionnaires and hence improving on its levels of accuracy. In the qualitative research, control group is usually not required throughout the process. This means that the data collected does not have to be compared with any other research or information. This makes the process of collecting the data easier and the analysis of the data is also easy to perform. This is because conclusions and analysis are only based on the data collected. This may have a negative impact on the outcome of the research and its level of accuracy. On the other hand, it is also important to note that it may prove difficult for the data to be independently verified. The data collected through the qualitative research may end up with conclusions that are not satisfactory and it may also be prone to errors due to the lack of a control group. However, the quantitative research always has a control group. Comparisons of the data collected are also necessary for the purposes of determining the levels of accuracy (Jensen, 2013). The control group is also important in measuring the deviation of the data collected through the use of quantitative research. This is important in terms of making conclusions and also obtaining the limitations of the data. This plays an important role in enabling the researchers to make recommendations for future research regarding the topic based on the deviations. The control groups also acts as a datum for the research and hence guiding the researchers and hence improving on the accuracy of the data. During the analysis of the data through the use of qualitative research, varied techniques are usually used. The varied techniques used depend on the type of data. It is also important to note that the use of varied techniques plays an important role in simplifying the data analysis. This means that the analysis of the data during the qualitative research is much simple as varied techniques can be used for the purpose of analysis. It is also important to note that the varied techniques play an important role in ensuring that the data is analyzed within a short period of time. Through the use of varied techniques, the results may also be varied (Robson, 2011). However, the used of the varied techniques also plays an important role in terms of enhancing the accuracy of the data. In quantitative research, the data analysis is carried out through the use of standard data analysis method. The analysis process mainly utilizes the analysis of the data through the use of statistical methods. This process is complicated and the chances of making errors during the analysis process are high. It is thus import that to note that the process of data analysis using the quantitative method is complicated and it also requires a lot of expertise on the use of statistical methods of data analysis. Statistics software can be used for the purposes of data analysis in the quantitative research. This plays an important role in improving on the accuracy of the process. The time and resources also plays an important role during any research. In qualitative research, less time and resources are required during the entire process. This is because the number of respondents that are required to participate in the research is low. The low number of respondents has an impact on the quality of the data collected. On the other hand, the quantitative research requires a lot of time and resources as compared to the qualitative research. This is because quantitative research requires a lot of respondents and hence it may time a lot of time for the data collection process to be completed. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the quantitative research requires the statistical analysis of the data (Flick, 2014). This may time a lot of time and it requires expertise. The time taken during the data collection and analysis may have a negative impact on the quality of the data. However, it is also important to note that the techniques that have been put in place plays an important role in ensuring that the levels of accuracy are high in the quantitative research. The process of collecting data through the qualitative research also ensures that the respondents are empowered which may have a positive impact on the data collection process. However, the respondents are not empowered during the quantitative method of research. This may have some negative impacts on the process of data collection process as it may take a longer time to find the required number of respondents. In the qualitative research, the sampling process is dependent on what needs to be learned. This means that the process may require the selection of the clients through the use of key variables. This may include the selection of the respondents according to variables like gender or age. This also means that the research deals directly with what is require This plays an important role in ensuring that only specific data is collected in relation to research (Creswell, 2012). It thus ensures that the research process is simplified and only the required data is collected. This is different from quantitative research. In quantitative research, sampling is mainly focused on probability and representativeness. This means that the data collected is obtained through a random process. The variables like gender and age may not be considered during the data collection process. This plays an important role in obtaining data from a wide base of respondents. The use of random data is also important in terms of ensuring that a high amount of data can be collected as no variables are considered. However, this method may impact negatively on the research that requires the consideration of certain variables. This also affects the quality of the data as it may not represent the variables like age and gender and hence impacting negatively on its quality in some of the research. However, the random collection of data is important in terms of eliminating any form of bias and hence impacting positively on the overall research. The data collected through the qualitative research is usually specific and it may only be applicable for the specific research being carried out. This is because the research usually provides specific context to a certain specific population under the research. This means that the data that has been obtained through the qualitative research cannot be applied in other areas and hence its limitation. This is dues to the number of people who are involved in the research and also the sampling process. The sampling process during the qualitative research only targets a particular group or population and hence preventing its application in the other populations. However the data from the quantitative research can be used for making comparisons in other populations or groups. This is because the data collected through the quantitative research targets a wide range of people within the population. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the random nature of the data collected through quantitative research plays an important role in ensuring that the data can be applied to a wide range of population (Maxwell, 2012). It is also important to note that the qualitative research usually generates hypothesis during the process. However, this is different from the quantitative research which tests a hypothesis. The qualitative research does not require a hypothesis before the research. However in Quantitative research, a hypothesis has to be put in place before the research is conducted and the data obtained is used for the purposes of determining whether the hypothesis is correct or not. Limitations of qualitative research The use of qualitative research in business may prove to be expensive and time consuming. This is because it requires the training of the researchers. The training of the researchers is required since a lot of assumptions have to be made during the process of carrying out the qualitative research. The assumptions are also required for the purposes of making conclusions with regards to the research. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the qualitative research requires a lot of financial resources as it may require frequent travels to the field for the purposes of interviewing the respondents (Silverman, 2013). The amount of time taken to interview the respondent may also be high which increases the time taken to carry out the research. This is also due to the open ended questions which may take a lot of time depending on the type of respondent. Different techniques are also required during the data collection process and analysis of the data when using the qualitative analysis method. This means that the process requires proper training by experts. It may be costly to hire the experts to train the researchers and hence the weakness of qualitative method of collecting data during a business research. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the researcher has to be knowledgeable in order to enhance the accuracy of the process. This is due to the open ended nature of the questions that are used during the qualitative research. The qualitative research usually involves a small number of respondents. This has a negative on the outcome of the research. This is because the small number of respondents may not be in a position to provide conclusive information regarding the area under investigation. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the research may not be taken seriously due to the small number of respondents used. This also affects the overall quality of the research. On the other hand, it is important to note that the small number of respondent used during the research may not give the true picture of the subject under investigation. This is therefore affects the level of accuracy of the qualitative research. The small number of respondents also limits the ability of the research from coming up with conclusive information regarding the subject under investigation (Tesch, 2013). This small number of respondents also makes it difficult for the management to make serious business decisions from the results and conclusion of the qualitative research. The policy makers may also find it difficult to make decisions when using the results of qualitative research. On the other hand, it is also important to note that wrong business decisions may be made in case a small number of respondents are used during the research. The levels of accuracy are also low in the qualitative research due to the low number of respondents. This has a negative impact on the use of qualitative research when important business decisions are required. Qualitative research mainly involves the use of open ended questions. This means that the questions do not necessarily requires specific answers. The respondents are also given enough time to respond to the open ended questions. The use of the open ended questions gives room for manipulation and hence leading to the wrong information. The respondents may give false information during the interviews due to the open ended questions and hence impacting negatively on the quality of the data and the research. The use of wrong information leads to low levels of accuracy in the research and its findings. In most cases, the respondents are usually in a direct contact with the researchers. This gives rise to manipulation as the respondents may answer the interview questions in a specific way in order to please the researcher (Streiner, 2013). This also impacts negatively on the accuracy of the data collected. The researchers may also ask leading questions during the discussions which may influence the way the respondents answers the questions. This has a negative impact on the accuracy of the research. On the other hand, qualitative research gives room for the breach of ethics. This is due to the use of the open ended questions that the researcher may easily manipulate in order to obtain their desired outcome. Qualitative research therefore has low levels of accuracy due to the limitations that is has. On the other hand, the lack of a control group impacts negatively on the accuracy of the data. The lack of extensive statistical analysis has a negative impact on the overall results of the research. This is because the statistical analysis is usually important in dealing with the data for the purposes of making conclusions regarding the research. The use of varied techniques during the analysis of the data in qualitative research may also expose the research to errors. This is because it requires a lot of expertise during the process. The lack of a control group is also has a negative impact on the process as comparisons cannot be made and hence impacting negatively on the results of the research. On the other hand, it is also important to note that it is difficult for the researchers to determine the whether the information they are provided by the respondents is true or not (McNabb, 2013). This is also due to the lack of the control group and the use of the open ended questions. The qualitative research is also open to bias by the researcher. This is because the respondents are not required to answer the questions in a specific way or provide specific answers. This means that the researcher may be biased by omitting certain information from the respondents or adding information that was not provided by the respondents. This has a negative impact on the accuracy of the information obtained through qualitative research. This discourages the executives or policy makers to use the results of qualitative research as it may provide misleading information. Limitations of quantitative research The quantitative research usually provides narrow explanations for the data obtained. This is because numerical descriptions of the data are usually provided in quantitative research as opposed to the ordinary explanations. This means that it is difficult for an ordinary person to fully understand the results and conclusions of the quantitative data due to the numerical explanation. This may present difficulties to the managers of business organizations who are not experienced on the numerical concepts. The quantitative analysis also provides less elaborate accounts due to the numerical data and hence affecting its interpretation by the people who are not experts. The quantitative research has a control mechanism for the process. However, it is important to note that the controls do not necessarily reflect the aspects and concepts in the real world. This may impact negatively on the data analyzed through the control that has been put in place. This also impacts negatively on the conclusions made through the use of the quantitative research. The quantitative research usually has a hypothesis which is considered as preset answers. However, the hypothesis is usually developed by the researcher. This is not necessarily a reflection of how the respondents or the general public feels about the topic (Tacq, 2011). This therefore means that the hypothesis could be wrong and hence producing misleading information regarding the issue under investigation. This means that the business managers are likely to make wrong decisions in case a wrong hypothesis is used. This also lowers the accuracy of the data collected. Some of the results important business issues cannot be quantified. This therefore limits the use of quantitative research in some of the business aspects. On the other hand, it is also important to note that quantitative research mainly involves the use of statistics and mathematical formulas. This means that the process requires a lot of expertise for the purpose of obtaining the correct information. It may thus be challenging for a business organization to carry out quantitative research in case they lack experts. It is also important to note that quantitative research usually involves a higher number of people. This means that the research may take long for it to be completed. The longer it takes the more resource it may require. This means that quantitative research may not only be time consuming but also expensive (Durning, 2013). The quantitative research does not take into account the opinions, intentions or views of the respondents. This is because the research questions are usually structured in a specific way. This has a negative impact on the outcome of the research as it may not give the true reflection of the issues that are being researched. This has disadvantages on business organizations that require the opinions as well as the views of the customers for the purposes of strategizing. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the failure of considering the opinions of the people has a negative impact on the overall results of the research. The research questions for the quantitative research are usually formulated by the researchers. The questions are usually formulated in a specific way. This also gives room for bias as the researchers may formulate the research questions for the purposes of ensuring that it gives a certain outcome. This limits the rate of accuracy as well as ethics when using the quantitative research. The empowering of the respondents is usually not done in the quantitative research. This is because the areas of inquiry are usually predetermined. This has a negative impact on the business research as the opinions of the respondents are ignored. Since each question usually address a specify issue, many questions are usually formulated. This has a negative impact on the respondents as it consumes more time. The respondents may end up being bored in the process and hence not answering the questions in the correct manner (Magilvy, 2011). It is also important to note that this lowers the accuracy of the information provided by the respondents. A huge amount of statistical data is usually involved in the quantitative analysis. This increases the chance of errors being made by the researcher during the analysis. This has a negative impact on the data collected and it may also lead to wrong conclusions. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the random selection of data may impact negatively on research that requires respondents from a specific variable. The use of quantitative research is thus limited to some specific research. Use of quantitative and Qualitative research is business and management In the past, the business managers used to rely on their experience for the purposes of making decisions. However, this has changed and currently most of the business managers use quantitative research methods for the purpose of decision making. The regression analysis is one of the important methods of quantitative analysis that is used by the managers for the purpose of decision making. This method involves the use of statistical equations and regression analysis for the purposes of estimating the impacts of known variables within an organization. A regression analysis is usually used by most of the companies for determining the effects of the advertisement on the profitability of the organization (Bryman, 2012). The Coca Cola Company which is a successful multinational has been using the quantitative analysis to determine the impacts of advertisement on the on its profitability. On the other hand, the regression analysis is usually used by organizations for the purposes of determining the relationship between the experience of the employees and their levels of education. Linear programming is also an important aspect of quantitative analysis. It is commonly used by the manufacturing companies for the purposes of determining the methods that can be used to achieve a maximum output through the use of minimum resources. Factor analysis is also a quantitative analysis method that is usually used for the purpose of determining the consumer behavior in the market. This method is also important for an organization in terms of developing marketing strategies. Qualitative analysis has also found important application in business and management. Some of the business concepts cannot be quantified and yet they are important to an organization in terms of determining the ability of the business to succeed or attract investors. The quality of the management and the business model can only be studied through the use qualitative analysis. This is also important in providing information to the organization on the areas that require investment. The subjective judgment of the investors cannot be quantified. This therefore relies on the use of qualitative research for the purpose of identifying the position of the company in relation to the investors (Silverman, 2011). The governance structure of the company is also difficult to Quantify. Most of the business organizations therefore use the concepts of qualitative analysis for the purpose of determining the governance of the organization. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the relationship with share holders is also important for the growth and development of business organizations. Multinationals like IBM usually use the concepts of qualitative analysis for the purpose of determining its relationship with the investors as well as its market share. The regulatory considerations are usually studied by the business organizations through the use of qualitative analysis. This is for the purposes of determining the levels of compliance with the set laws and regulations. The websites of the companies are usually useful in terms of providing the qualitative information. A comprehensive picture of the company can thus be obtained through the use of qualitative analysis. Conclusion In conclusion, it is worth noting that the quantitative method of research has a higher level of accuracy in terms of the data collected and the assumptions made. This is because of the higher number of respondents that are involved during the data collection process as compared to the qualitative research. On the other hand, the qualitative method has its strengths in terms of carrying out business research. This is because some of the data cannot be quantified. It is also evident that the quantitative method of data collection has a limitation in terms of interpretation of the data as it requires some level of expertise due to the use of numerical data. References Creswell, J, 2013, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, Sage publishers, London. Bernard, H, 2012, Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches, Sage publishers, London. 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