StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Studies - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
"Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Studies" paper discusses three basic characteristics of both qualitative and quantitative research in order to get a better understanding of how both forms of study or research differ from each other…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.4% of users find it useful
Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Studies
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Studies"

Download file to see previous pages

"Quantitative research is all about quantifying relationships between variables” (Hopkins, 2008). Quantitative research determines the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable to establish an association between the two variables.

Quantitative research is a better way to prove a hypothesis based on the numeric results of research. Relationship with What is Being Researched Another difference between qualitative and quantitative forms of research is related to the relationship, which the researchers have with what they are researching. In qualitative research, the researchers do not know much about the topic being researched; rather they have to make interactions with people to get a better understanding of the research topic.

The researchers are interested in getting awareness of the meanings created by the people. In a qualitative form of research, the researchers interact personally with what is being researched whereas in a quantitative research, the researchers are independent of what is being researched. “Qualitative research may be necessary in situations where it is unclear what exactly is being looked for in a study” (McGuigan, 2011). Qualitative research is purely fieldwork in which a researcher needs to go to different people at different places to observe their actions and behaviors, whereas quantitative research is based on the opinions of different people, which the researchers use to produce the facts.

In qualitative research design, researchers use focus group technique and in-depth interviews to explore attitudes and behaviors of people whereas in quantitative research design, the researchers measure opinions and behaviors of people using structured research instruments. In qualitative research, the primary instrument used for data collection and analysis is the research, whereas, in quantitative research design, researchers make use of interviews and questionnaires to collect data in a numeric form.

“Quantitative research involves gathering data that is absolute, such as numerical data so that it can be examined in as unbiased a manner as possible” (McGuigan, 2011). Time and Efficiency Another difference between the characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research is based on the time and efficiency of the two forms of research. 

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Design Differences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1414780-design-differences
(Design Differences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1414780-design-differences.
“Design Differences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1414780-design-differences.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Studies

How Different are Quantitative and Qualitative Investigation

discusses the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, it would be necessary to refer to their fundamental characteristics as well as to their role, as key research methodologies.... This essay "How Different are quantitative and Qualitative Investigation?... At this point, reference should be made to the forms of qualitative research, as used by researchers studying different social phenomena.... The most common types of qualitative research are the following ones: a) ethnography, i....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research

The purpose of the paper 'differences between qualitative and quantitative Research' is to evaluate key factors, which make qualitative research and quantitative research different from each other.... Relationship with the Research Topic Understanding of the research topic also creates a big difference between qualitative research and quantitative research.... Qualitative researchers and quantitative researchers have different approach towards the research because of different levels of understanding of the topic....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Approaches to Qualitative and Quantitative Interviews

467) explain that the difference between qualitative and quantitative evidence in two levels.... The paper "Approaches to qualitative and quantitative Interviews" describes that a positivist approach is adopted in the quantitative approach where it aims at understanding the social world by discovering universal laws by measuring steady union of events in two or more phenomena.... The two approaches are qualitative and quantitative interviewing....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Quantitative and Qualitative Social Researches

The fundamental differences between quantitative and qualitative research involve the data and results that they can obtain.... The paper "quantitative and Qualitative Social Researches" discusses that the questionnaire will contain questions pertaining to their belief whether the government's effort is sufficient or not in alleviating the problem of late diagnosis in Alzheimer's patients.... For instance, qualitative data is more on words and contexts whereas quantitative data entail numbers; this fundamental difference led some researchers to regard the latter as more scientific than the former because it can produce hard and solid results....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Proposal

Approaches to Qualitative and Quantitative Interviews

467) explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative evidence on two levels.... This work called "Approaches to qualitative and quantitative Interviews" describes the qualitative approaches to the interview and assesses how these differ from quantitative approaches.... The author outlines that the methods used in the quantitative interviews are not as developed as those of qualitative interviewing.... The widely defined distinction between quantitative and qualitative approaches is that the quantitative approach is usually objective and uses statistics and figures while the qualitative approach is subjective and relies on language and descriptions Although this differentiation is correct; they assert that it does not capture the different settings that the two operate....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

The paper "differences between qualitative and quantitative Research Methods" states that a mixed methodology can also be employed that can involve case studies as a qualitative research method and a survey in form of a questionnaire as a quantitative research method.... qualitative and quantitative research methods represent two different approaches to studying crime and criminals.... qualitative and quantitative research methods are quite different from each other....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment

Qualitative And Quantitative Methods Of Research

he debate between qualitative and quantitative researchers is based upon the differences in assumptions about what reality is and whether or not it is measurable.... This research proposal "qualitative and quantitative Methods Of Research" describes the main aspects of different research methods.... There are different degrees of belief in these sets of assumptions about reality among qualitative and quantitative researchers.... ualitative and quantitative methods' versatility can be analyzed from the fact that in recent years specializations such as medical anthropology and medical sociology have relied heavily on qualitative methods to explore issues relating to health and illness, from the micro-context of the hospital ward or clinic through to the broader socio-cultural context....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Proposal

Strengths and Weaknesses of Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Research

This paper "Strengths and Weaknesses of Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Research" will establish the comparison and differences in strengths and weaknesses existing in the qualitative and quantitative research approaches as used in young people and sexual health in the published researches.... he qualitative and quantitative methods are sometimes referring to positivism.... In converse, qualitative researchers do not anticipate all the required methods to be employed in carrying out their research; in place, they actively devise their methods as they progressively carry out their studies....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us