Qualitative Or Quantitative Research?

The many fundamental disagreement and debates among social researchers since the 19th century only proves that the distinction of quantitative and qualitative approaches of research has been a concern for a long time. Quantitative research have denominated the field for several decades since the 1970s and 1980s to the extent that some authors named it “paradigm wars” (Gage 1989; Hammersley 1992b). But there are more critics arising to the development of present social research practice (Tooley 1998; Hargreaves 1996). Concerned authors believed that there is lack of general agreement in the theoretical analysis of the method applied and the continuing paradigm wars may have serious consequences ion the basic features of social research (Hammersley

Quantitative research, on the other hand, generates reliable population-based and generalizable data that is suited to establishing cause-and-effect relationships. The decision of whether to choose a quantitative or a qualitative design is ultimately a philosophical question. Which methods to choose will depend on the nature of the project, the type of information needed and the availability of resources (time, money, and human). Combination of qualitative and quantitative research is becoming more and more common. It is important to keep in mind that these are two different philosophies, not necessarily polar opposites. In fact, elements of both designs can be used together in mixed-methods

It is the analysis of social phenomena, and statistics are not used at all. Instead researchers will look at biographies, interviews, case studies, and try to understand why people act as they do. Qualitative research is considered to be particularly suitable for gaining an in-depth understanding of underlying reasons and motivations. It provides insights into the setting of a problem. At the same time, it frequently generates ideas and hypotheses for later quantitative research. Qualitative analysis involves a continual interplay between theory and analysis. In analyzing qualitative data, we seek to discover patterns such as changes over time or possible causal links between variables. Qualitative Research is also used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive deeper into the problem. Qualitative data collection methods vary using unstructured or semi-structured techniques. Some common methods include focus groups (group discussions), individual interviews, and participation/observations. The sample size is typically small, and respondents are selected to fulfill a given