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Qualitative v/s Quantitative Research

Article in Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare · October 2019

DOI: 10.18410/jebmh/2019/587

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Sharique Ahmad

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Sumaiya Irfan

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Jebmh.com Review Article

J. Evid. Based Med. Healthc., pISSN- 2349-2562, eISSN- 2349-2570/ Vol. 6/Issue 43/Oct. 28, 2019 Page 2828

Qualitative v/s. Quantitative Research- A Summarized Review

Sharique Ahmad1, Saeeda Wasim2, Sumaiya Irfan3, Sudarshana Gogoi4, Anshika Srivastava5, Zarina Farheen6

1Professor, Department of Pathology, Era’s Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Era University, Lucknow,

Uttar Pradesh. 2IVF Consultant, Nova IVF Centre, Shahnajaf Road, Hazratganj, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 3Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Era’s Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Era University,

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 4Junior Resident, Department of Pathology, Era’s Lucknow Medical College and Hospital,

Era University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 5Junior Resident, Department of Pathology, Era’s Lucknow Medical

College and Hospital, Era University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 6Junior Resident, Department of Pathology, Era’s

Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Era University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Qualitative research is a process of naturalistic inquiry that seeks an in-depth

understanding of social phenomena within their natural setting. It focuses on the

"why" rather than the "what" of social phenomena and relies on the direct

experiences of human beings as meaning-making agents in their everyday lives.

Rather than by logical and statistical procedures, qualitative researchers use

multiple systems of inquiry for the study of human phenomena including

biography, case study, historical analysis, discourse analysis, ethnography,

grounded theory, and phenomenology. Quantitative methodology is the dominant

research framework in the social sciences. It refers to a set of strategies,

techniques and assumptions used to study psychological, social and economic

processes through the exploration of numeric patterns. Quantitative research

gathers a range of numeric data. Some of the numeric data is intrinsically

quantitative (e.g. personal income), while in other cases the numeric structure

is imposed (e.g. ‘On a scale from 1 to 10, how depressed did you feel last week?’).

The collection of quantitative information allows researchers to conduct simple to

extremely sophisticated statistical analyses that aggregate the data. Quantitative

research includes methodologies such as questionnaires, structured observations

or experiments and stands in contrast to qualitative research. Qualitative research

involves the collection and analysis of narratives and/or open-ended observations

through methodologies such as interviews, focus groups or ethnographies. The

purpose of quantitative research is to generate knowledge and create

understanding about the social world. Quantitative research is used by social

scientists, including communication researchers, to observe phenomena or

occurrences affecting individuals. Social scientists are concerned with the study of

people. Quantitative research is a way to learn about a particular group of people,

known as a sample population. Using scientific inquiry, quantitative research relies

on data that are observed or measured to examine questions about the sample

population.1-2

KEYWORDS

Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Observation

Corresponding Author:

Dr. Sharique Ahmad,

Department of Pathology,

Era’s Lucknow Medical College and

Hospital, Era University, Lucknow, Uttar

Pradesh, India.

E-mail: [email protected]

DOI: 10.18410/jebmh/2019/587

Financial or Other Competing Interests:

None.

How to Cite This Article:

Ahmad S, Wasim S, Irfan S, et al.

Qualitative v/s. quantitative research- a

summarized review. J. Evid. Based Med.

Healthc. 2019; 6(43), 2828-2832. DOI:

10.18410/jebmh/2019/587

Submission 05-10-2019, Peer Review 12-10-2019, Acceptance 21-10-2019, Published 28-10-2019.

Jebmh.com Review Article

J. Evid. Based Med. Healthc., pISSN- 2349-2562, eISSN- 2349-2570/ Vol. 6/Issue 43/Oct. 28, 2019 Page 2829

Research is the most widely used tool to increase and brush-

up the stock of knowledge about something and someone.

In the field of marketing, business, sociology, psychology,

science & technology, economics, etc. there are two

standard ways of conducting research, i.e. qualitative

research or quantitative research.2 While the qualitative

research relies on verbal narrative like spoken or written

data, the quantitative research uses logical or statistical

observations to draw conclusions. In a qualitative research,

there are only a few non-representative cases are used as a

sample to develop an initial understanding. Unlike,

quantitative research in which a sufficient number of

representative cases are taken to consideration to

recommend a final course of action. There is a never-ending

debate on, which research is better than the other, so in this

article, we are going to shed light on the difference between

qualitative and quantitative research.

Definition of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is one which provides insights and

understanding of the problem setting. It is an unstructured,

exploratory research method that studies highly complex

phenomena that are impossible to elucidate with the

quantitative research. Although, it generates ideas or

hypothesis for later quantitative research. Qualitative

research is used to gain an in-depth understanding of human

behaviour, experience, attitudes, intentions, and

motivations, on the basis of observation and interpretation,

to find out the way people think and feel. It is a form

of research in which the researcher gives more weight to the

views of the participants. Case study, grounded

theory, ethnography, historical and phenomenology are the

types of qualitative research.2

Definition of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a form of research that relies on the

methods of natural sciences, which produces numerical data

and hard facts. It aims at establishing cause and effect

relationship between two variables by using mathematical,

computational and statistical methods. The research is also

known as empirical research as it can be accurately and

precisely measured. The data collected by the researcher

can be divided into categories or put into rank, or it can be

measured in terms of units of measurement. Graphs and

tables of raw data can be constructed with the help

quantitative research, making it easier for the researcher to

analyse the results.2

Researchers using qualitative methods tend to-

 Think that social sciences cannot be well-studied with

the same methods as natural or physical sciences

 Feel that human behaviour is context-specific;

therefore, behaviour must be studied holistically, in situ,

rather than being manipulated

 Employ an 'insider's' perspective; research tends to be

personal and thereby more subjective.

 Do interviews, focus groups, field research, case

studies, and conversational or content analysis.3

Basis for

Comparison

Qualitative

Research

Quantitative

Research

Meaning

Qualitative research is a

method of inquiry that

develops understanding

on human and social

sciences, to find the way

people think and feel.

Quantitative research is a

research method that is

used to generate

numerical data and hard

facts, by employing

statistical, logical and

mathematical technique.

Nature Holistic Particularistic

Approach Subjective Objective

Research type Exploratory Conclusive

Reasoning Inductive Deductive

Sampling Purposive

Data Verbal Measurable

Inquiry Process-oriented Result-oriented

Hypothesis Generated Tested

Elements of

analysis

Words, pictures and

objects Numerical data

Objective

To explore and discover

ideas used in the ongoing

processes.

To examine cause and

effect relationship

between variables.

Methods

Non-structured

techniques like In-depth

interviews, group

discussions etc.

Structured techniques

such as surveys,

questionnaires and

observations.

Result Develops initial

understanding

Recommends final course

of action

Table 1. Comparison Chart

Qualitative Research: An Operational Description4

 Purpose: explain; gain insight and understanding of

phenomena through intensive collection and study of

narrative data

 Approach: inductive; value-laden/subjective; holistic,

process-oriented

 Hypotheses: tentative, evolving; based on the particular

study

 Lit. Review: limited; may not be exhaustive

 Setting: naturalistic, when and as much as possible

 Sampling: for the purpose; not necessarily

representative; for in-depth understanding

 Measurement: narrative; ongoing

 Design and Method: flexible, specified only generally;

based on non-intervention, minimal disturbance, such

as historical, ethnographic, or case studies

 Data Collection: document collection, participant

observation, informal interviews, field notes

 Data Analysis: raw data is words/ ongoing; involves

synthesis

 Data Interpretation: tentative, reviewed on ongoing

basis, speculative4

Trends

 Qualitative research with more structure and less

subjectivity

 Increased application of both strategies to the same

study ("mixed methods")

 Evidence-based practice emphasized in more fields

(nursing, social work, education, and others).

BACKGROUND

Jebmh.com Review Article

J. Evid. Based Med. Healthc., pISSN- 2349-2562, eISSN- 2349-2570/ Vol. 6/Issue 43/Oct. 28, 2019 Page 2830

Researchers using quantitative methods tend to-

 Think that both natural and social sciences strive to

explain phenomena with confirmable theories derived

from testable assumptions

 Attempt to reduce social reality to variables, in the same

way as with physical reality

 Try to tightly control the variable (s) in question to see

how the others are influenced.

 Do experiments, have control groups, use blind or

double-blind studies; use measures or instruments.4

Quantitative Research: An Operational Description

 Purpose: explain, predict or control phenomena through

focused collection and analysis of numerical data.

 Approach: deductive; tries to be value-free/has

objectives/ is outcome-oriented.

 Hypotheses: Specific, testable, and stated prior to

study.

 Lit. Review: extensive; may significantly influence a

particular study.

 Setting: controlled to the degree possible.

 Sampling: uses largest manageable

random/randomized sample, to allow generalization of

results to larger populations.

 Measurement: standardized, numerical; "at the end"

 Design and Method: Strongly structured, specified in

detail in advance; involves intervention, manipulation

and control groups; descriptive, correlation,

experimental.

 Data Collection: via instruments, surveys, experiments,

semi-structured formal interviews, tests or

questionnaires.

 Data Analysis: raw data is numbers; at end of study,

usually statistical.

 Data Interpretation: formulated at end of study; stated

as a degree of certainty4

Quantitative data can help to see the big picture.

Qualitative data adds the details and can also give survey

results.

How to use each method in a research project-

 Formulating Hypotheses: Qualitative research helps you

gather detailed information on a topic. You can use it to

initiate your research by discovering the problems or

opportunities people are thinking about. Those ideas

can become hypotheses to be proven through

quantitative research.

 Validating Your Hypotheses: Quantitative research will

get you numbers that you can apply statistical analysis

to in order to validate your hypotheses. Was that

problem real or just someone’s perception? The hard

facts obtained will enable you to make decisions based

on objective observations.

 Finding General Answers: Quantitative research usually

has more respondents than qualitative research

because it is easier to conduct a multiple-choice survey

than a series of interviews or focus groups. Therefore,

it can help you definitely answer broad questions like:

Do people prefer you to your competitors? Which of

your company’s services are most important? What

ad is most appealing?

 Incorporating the Human Element: Qualitative research

can also help in the final stages of your project. The

quotes you obtained from open-ended questions can

put a human voice to the objective numbers and trends

in your results. Many times, it helps to hear your

customers describe your company in their own words to

uncover your blind spots. Qualitative data will get you

that.4

Balancing Qualitative and Quantitative Research

These two research methods don’t conflict with each

other. They actually work much better as a team. In a world

of Big Data, there’s a wealth of statistics and figures that

form the strong foundation on which your decisions can rest.

But that foundation is incomplete without the information

collected from real people that gives the numbers meaning.

So how do you put these two forms of research

together? Qualitative research is almost always the starting

point when you seek to discover new problems and

opportunities–which will help you do deeper research later.

Quantitative data will give you measurements to confirm

each problem or opportunity and understand it.

For example, Let’s say you held a conference and

wanted feedback from your attendees. You can probably

already measure several things with quantitative research,

such as attendance rate, overall satisfaction, quality of

speakers, value of information given, etc. All these questions

can be given in a closed-ended and measurable way. But

you also may want to provide a few open-ended, qualitative

research questions to find out what you may have

overlooked. You could use questions like:

 What did you enjoy most about the conference?

 How could we improve your experience?

 Is there any feedback on the conference you think we

should be aware of?

If you discover any common themes through these

qualitative questions, you can decide to research them more

in depth, make changes to your next event, and make sure

to add quantitative questions about these topics after the

next conference.

For example, let’s say several attendees said that their

least favorite thing about the conference was the difficult-

to-reach location. Next time, your survey might ask

quantitative questions like how satisfied people were with

the location, or let respondents choose from a list of

potential sites they would prefer.3-4

Open-Ended vs. Close-Ended Questions

A good way of recognizing when you want to switch from

one method to the other is to look at your open-ended

questions and ask yourself why you are using them. For

example, if you asked: “What do you think of our ice cream

Jebmh.com Review Article

J. Evid. Based Med. Healthc., pISSN- 2349-2562, eISSN- 2349-2570/ Vol. 6/Issue 43/Oct. 28, 2019 Page 2831

prices?”, people would give you feedback in their own words

and you will probably get some out-of-the-box answers. If

that’s not what you’re looking for, you should consider using

an easily quantifiable response. For example: Relative to our

competitors, do you think our ice cream prices are-

Higher/About the same/Lower. This kind of question will give

your survey respondents clarity and in turn it will provide

you with consistent data that is easy to analyze.5

How to Get Qualitative Data

There are many methods you can use to conduct qualitative

research that will get you richly detailed information on your

topic of interest.

 Interviews- One-on-one conversations that go deep into

the topic at hand.

 Case Studies- Collections of client stories from in-depth

interviews.

 Expert Opinions- High-quality information from well-

informed sources.

 Focus Groups- In-person or online conversation with

small groups of people to listen to their views on a

product or topic.

 Open-ended Survey Questions. A text box in a survey

that lets the respondent express their thoughts on the

matter at hand freely.

 Observational Research. Observing people during the

course of their habitual routines to understand how they

interact with a product, for example.

However, this open-ended method of research does not

always lend itself to bringing you the most accurate results

to big questions. And analysing the results is hard because

people will use different words and phrases to describe their

points of view, and may not even talk about the same things

if they find space to roam with their responses.5 In some

cases, it may be more effective to go ‘full quantitative’ with

your questions.

Why Collect Quantitative Data?

Qualitative survey questions can run the risk of being too

vague- To avoid confusing your respondents, you may want

to eschew questions like, “What do you think about our

internet service?” Instead you could ask a closed-ended,

quantitative question like in the following example.5

The internet service is reliable- Always/Most of the

time/About half the time/Once in a while/Never

Qualitative Questions Take Longer to Answer

Survey respondents don’t always have the patience to reflect

on what they are being asked and write long responses that

accurately express their views. It’s much faster to choose

one of several pre-loaded options in a questionnaire. Using

quantitative questions helps you get more questions in your

survey and more responses out of it.5

Quantitative Survey Questions are Just More

Quantifiable

Even word responses in closed-ended questionnaires can be

assigned numerical values that you can later convert into

indicators and graphs. This means that the overall quality of

the data is better. Remember that the most accurate data

leads you to the best possible decisions.5

Review of Literature

 If respondents do not see a value for them in the

research, they may provide inaccurate or false

information. They may also say what they think the

researcher wishes to hear. Qualitative researchers

therefore need to take the time to build relationships with

their research subjects and always be aware of this

potential.

 Although ethics are an issue for any type of research,

there may be particular difficulties with qualitative

research because the researcher may be party to

confidential information. It is important always to bear in

mind that you must do no harm to your research

subjects.

 It is generally harder for qualitative researchers to

remain apart from their work. By the nature of their

study, they are involved with people. It is therefore

helpful to develop habits of reflecting on your part in the

work and how this may affect the research.

 Because qualitative data are drawn from a wide variety

of sources, they can be radically different in scope.

 There are, therefore, a wide variety of methods for

analysing them, many of which involve structuring and

coding the data into groups and themes. There are also

a variety of computer packages to support qualitative

data analysis. The best way to work out which ones are

right for your research is to discuss it with academic

colleagues and your supervisor.6-7

Qualitative Quantitative

Methods include focus groups,

unstructured or in-depth interviews,

and reviews of documents for types

of themes

Surveys, structured interviews,

measurements & observations, and

reviews of records or documents for

numeric or quantifiable information

A primarily inductive process used to

formulate theory or hypotheses

A primarily deductive process used to

test pre-specified concepts,

constructs, and hypotheses that

make up a theory

More subjective: describes a problem

or condition from the point of view of

those experiencing it

More objective: provides observed

effects (interpreted by researchers)

of a program on a problem or

condition

Text-based Number-based