JAVA BASED SNEEQL INTERPRETER

Java based SNEEql Interpreter



CHAPTER 04: METHODOLOGY

Mixed Method Research

This research approached data gathering using the multi-method strategy, or the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Basically, the quantitative approach pursues facts and is employed when researchers desire to acquire statistical truth. According to Gall, Gall and Borg (2003), quantitative research assumes that the social environment has objective reality that is relatively constant across time and settings, while qualitative research assumes that individuals construct reality in the form of meanings and interpretations, and that these constructions tend to be transitory and situational. The dominant methodology in the quantitative approach is to describe and explain features of the objective reality by collecting numerical data on observable behaviors of samples and by subjecting these data to statistical analysis. According to Smith (1983), “neutral, scientific language” (p. 9) must be used in quantitative research in pursuing exact facts. This means that the research itself must be expressed by universally acceptable digits. In this approach, in order to make generalizability, objectivity of the research is emphasized by using neutral scientific language. On the other hand, the qualitative approach aims to discover meanings and interpretations by studying cases intensively in natural settings and by subjecting the resulting data to analytic induction (Gall, Gall, and Borg, 2003).

In Creswell's (2001) explanation, quantitative studies are based on postpositivist claims for developing knowledge, use experiments and surveys, and collect data on predetermined instruments that yield statistical data. On the other hand, qualitative studies use constructivist perspectives or advocacy/participatory perspectives, or both, and use narratives, phenomenologies, grounded theory studies, or case studies as strategies of inquiry. In this approach, research facts and researcher's value judgments or interpretations are inseparable. Thus the researcher becomes an insider to the research (Carr and Kemmis, 1986).

            One of the major benefits of employing quantitative research approach points to generalizability: because the research results are derived by discovering exact facts, the same research methods and the results can be generalized. In short, such approach is applicable to many other situations because of its objectivity and being value-free. As for the qualitative research approach, one of its major benefits is that it highlights the researcher's viewpoint in the research process as well as on its results. Moreover, qualitative studies encompass interpersonal, social, and cultural contexts of project management more fully than the quantitative research approach. Because the researcher's viewpoint takes a central role in the research process, the researcher provides a much richer and wider-ranging description compared to what the quantitative research approach provides.

While the two research approaches and their respective mode of inquiries provide enormous benefits to researchers who utilize them, there are several limitations that must be considered. One criticism of the quantitative research approach is that the researcher's perspective is not considered in the explanation of the research. Clearly, there are limitations in a numerical presentation in the complexity of human behavior. The quantitative research approach often has difficulties in expressing the problems particularly if the researcher deals with the ...