discussion

In general, what I have found is that quantitative studies focus heavily on comparing numbers and the increase or decrease in numbers over a period.  Quantitative research is often very broad. For example, a study can set out to see how many students in a school speak more than one language. A simple questionnaire can aid a researcher in obtaining those numbers. While I certainly believe that there are times when the comparison of numbers as they relate to a study are significant, studies that document numbers in my opinion leaves a lot of information on the table. That is where qualitative research comes into play. Qualitative research seeks to dig deeper into the study and doesn’t just ask how many but rather focuses on specific smaller groups. For example, a qualitative study might show that of the before mentioned students who speak more than one language how did that come to be? Did they travel due to a parent being in the military, do they come from a home where the native tongue is different than English or did, they seek out classes and intentionally learned a second language? Qualitative research allows the researcher to get more specific answers from smaller groups of people.  As someone who works as a helping professional (social worker) I find myself drawn to qualitative research. I need to know the why’s of a family’s situation rather than how many. When I am working with a family who has faced a tragedy of some sort, yes I need to know how many family members are effected but more than that I need to know who the family members are and what specific challenges do each of them face. For example, if they are elderly, I need to know what health related and mobility issues need to be addressed early on. Numbers are important but the details are far more important to me.