Quantitative And Qualitative Approaches

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This essay carry an aim to explore quantitative and qualitative approaches which it is a whole design including assumptions, the process of inquiry, the type of data collected and the measuring of findings.
The quantitative approach view human phenomena being amenable to objective study, for example, it is able to be measured. It has its root in positivism. Quantitative research is similar to traditional scientific methods as it stating in advance hypothesis and research questions. Besides, it determines the methods of data collection and analysis. The findings of quantitative research are presented in statistical language. Quantitative approach to research involves data collection methods such as structured questionnaire, interviews, and observations …show more content…

Qualitative research it to care for people and promote change in behaviour, it is required to understand in-depth concepts such as experience, believes, motivation and intentions. So, listening and observing may give more information instead of sending questions. It is also an approach which seeks to understand, by means of exploration, human experience, perceptions, motivations, intentions and behaviour. It is interactive, inductive, flexible, holistic and reflexive method of data collection and analysis. There are few main features of qualitative research which is exploration, inductive approach, interactive and reflective, holistic and flexible. Exploration is the essential feature of qualitative approach in order to understand the perceptions and actions of participants. Exploration is to discover new people, customs and to learn from them. It is a difficult task that requires training and experience as it should be inductive, interactive, reflexive and holistic. The inductive approach is useful when little is known about the topics one wants to study. The purpose of qualitative approach is to develop concepts and generates hypothesis. The researcher is open to ideas which emerge from listening or observing people. Interactive and reflexive process is to avoid bias in quantitative approach as the researchers will try to study the phenomena and a detached way. In …show more content…

Ethnography is an approach relying on the collection of the data in the natural environment. Ethnographers are interested in how the behaviours of individuals is influenced or meditated by culture in which they live. So, human behaviour can only be understood if studied in the setting in which it occurs. As people can influence and can be influenced by the groups they live in. Phenomenology focuses on individuals’ interpretation of their experience and the ways in which they express them. Therefore, the researches’ task is to describe phenomena as experienced and expressed by individuals. Discourse analysis is a term used to describe the system we use in communication with others. This includes verbal, non-verbal and written material. What people say, how they say it, their choice of words, tone and timing are full of values, meanings and intentions. So, analysis of discourse increases our understanding of human behaviour through language and interaction. Whereas grounded theory is an inductive approach to research whereby hypothesis and theories emerge out or are grounded in data. The above 4 approaches are similar in that they place emphasis on interpretation rather than objective empirical observations. Thus, they are interactive. They are different in; ethnography focuses on culture, phenomenology focuses on consciousness, discourse analysis

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