Qualitative and Quantitative research methods by Sir DR Sohail Ansari

Qualitative Research

 Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research.It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. 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 fulfil a given quota.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research presents non-quantitative type of analysis. Qualitative research is collecting, analyzing and interpreting data by observing what people do and say. Qualitative research refers to the meanings, definitions, characteristics, symbols, metaphors, and description of things. Qualitative research is much more subjective and uses very different methods of collecting information,mainly individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups.

The nature of this type of research is exploratory and open ended. Small number of people are interviewedin depth and or a relatively small number of focus groups are conducted. Qualitative research can be further classified in the following type.

I. Phenomenology:-a form of research in which the researcher attempts to understand how one or more individuals experience a phenomenon. Eg:-we might interview 20 victims of bhopal tragedy.

II. Ethnography:- this type of research focuses on describing the culture of a group of people. A culture is the shared attributes, values, norms, practices, language, and material things of a group of people. Eg:-the researcher might decide to go and live with thetribal in Andaman island and study the culture and the educational practices.

III. Case study:-is a form of qualitative research that is focused on providing a detailed account of one or more cases. Eg:-we may study a classroom that was given a new curriculum for technology use.

IV. Grounded theory:- it is an inductive type of research,based or grounded in the observations of data from which it was developed; it uses a variety of data sources, including quantitative data, review of records, interviews, observation and surveys

V. Historical research:-it allows one to discuss past and present events in the context of the present condition, and allows one to reflect and provide possible answers to current issues and problems. Eg:-the lending pattern of business in the 19th century.

In addition to the above, we also have the descriptive research. Fundamental research, of which this is based on establishing various theories

Also the research is classified into:

1. Descriptive research

2. Analytical research

3. Fundamental research

4. Conceptual research

5. Empirical research

6. One time research or longitudinal research

7. Field-setting research or laboratory research or simulation research

8. Clinical or diagnostic research

9. Exploratory research

10.            Historical research

11.            Conclusion oriented research

12.            Case study research

13.            Short term research

Qualitative Research[edit]

·         Many times those that undertake a research project often find they are not aware of the differences between Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research methods.  Many mistakenly think the two terms can be used interchangeably.

·         So what is the difference between Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research?

Quantitative Research

·         Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into usable statistics. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables – and generalize results from a larger sample population. Quantitative Research uses measurable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research. Quantitative data collection methods are much more structured than Qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data collection methods include various forms of surveys – online surveys, paper surveys, mobile surveys and kiosk surveys, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, longitudinal studies, website interceptors, online polls, and systematic observations.

·         Snap Survey Software is the ideal survey platform and online research software where structured techniques such as large numbers of respondents and descriptive findings are required. Snap Survey Software has many robust features that will help your organization effectively gather and analyze quantitative data.

Quantitative Research

This research is based on numeric figures or numbers. Quantitative research aim to measure the quantity or amount and compares it with past records and tries to project for future period. In social sciences, “quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships”. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories or hypothesis pertaining to phenomena.

The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships. Statistics is the most widely used branch of mathematics in quantitative research. Statistical methods are used extensively with in fields such as economics and commerce.

Get Better Data and Simplify Analysis: Qualitative vs. Quantitative Questions

Lisa works in Human Resources at Widgets, Inc. Lately, she’s heard rumblings that employees are unhappy with their supervisors, but she’s not sure why. Determined to find out what’s going wrong, she sets up one-on-one meetings with every single employee. Unfortunately, none of the meetings are helpful, because no one is willing to say anything negative about their supervisor out loud.

Frustrated, Lisa decides to send a survey instead—hoping that the anonymity of a survey will make employees feel more comfortable about sharing what they really think. She sits down to create her survey, however, and feels a little stuck and overwhelmed.

Okay, thinks Lisa, let’s start with the basics…

This type of question is known as an “open-ended” or “qualitative” question. It is called “open-ended” because the person responding to it is free to answer in any manner he or she chooses.

There are no response options specified. It is known as “qualitative” because responses are judged and measured by feel rather than by mathematics.

Lisa, anxious for her survey to be a success, thinks about how she’d answer this question about her own supervisor…

The great thing about this data is that if Lisa has no idea why people are upset with their supervisors, it gives them free reign to answer. For example, Lisa might not have thought to ask specifically aboutwhether a supervisor fosters work-life balance—but this might emerge as a theme among responses.

There are, however, some problems with open-ended, qualitative questions…

1. Whaddya mean by that? Qualitative questions can be vague. What do I think about my supervisor? Are you referring to his management style? His fashion sense? His punctuality? His credentials? Re-writing open-ended questions to be more specific can help with that. For example: Please describe your supervisor’s management style.

However, questions may still linger when specific responses are not provided. It’d be much easier to answer the following question about supervisor management style:

This type of question is known as a “closed-ended” or “quantitative” question. It is called “closed-ended” because the person responding to it is constricted in the range of options he or she has to choose from as answers. It is known as “quantitative” because the response options can be converted to numbers. Why does that matter?

2. What on earth should I do with all this data? Figuring out what questions to ask is tough but figuring out what to do with the answers you get can be even tougher. With qualitative questions, you need to read all of the responses carefully in order to extract common themes. However, this process can be riddled with bias, as you often see only what you want to see in open-ended response answers. That’s why quantitative questions can be so great!

All you have to do is compute an average of the responses you get, a simple calculation in a spreadsheet with no hours of reading required. This also makes more complex analyses–like group comparisons–lightning fast. Simply compute an average for each group, compare, and you’re done!

3. What else is in it for me? The other thing to know about qualitative questions is that they take a really long time to answer. As a survey respondent, it’s much faster to choose one of five pre-formulated options than to have to take the time to write your own response. And, as we’ve mentioned before, keeping surveys short keeps respondents focused and interested. So not only will you get to ask more questions when you use quantitative questions, but it will also get you better data! Getting the most accurate data possible means that you’ll make the right decision every time.

So what’s the bottom line? Qualitative questions are a fantastic first step at exploring the minds of the people you want to survey, but they shouldn’t be your last. Using quantitative questions makes questions clearer, analysis simpler, and data quality better.

Take the time to think of specific quantitative questions to ask now—trust us, you’ll be glad that you did. As for Lisa, here’s hoping she figured out the right quantitative questions to ask to get the answers she needed.