QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this write-up is to provide the reader with some insight into the basic research process, emphasizing the role of statistics in behavioral science research. When we talk of “research” here, we mean “empirical research”. The word “empirical” means something that has been observed. In other words, the type of research that we are dealing with is research that is done by making observations of some kind. There are many different methods that can be used to do research. However, one of the most common distinctions is between qualitative and quantitative methods.

This study explores the epistemological and methodological use of qualitative and quantitative methods in research. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches in education have arisen from different research needs. The quantitative research approach endlessly pursues facts while the qualitative research approach recognizes that the researcher's viewpoint is central. The quantitative research approach is used when the researcher desires to obtain entire trends or statistical truth in the research while the qualitative research approach is used if the researcher wants to observe in detail by his/her own research viewpoint. (Garcia 2007)

QUALITATIVE VERSUS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

The table below gives a very brief summary of the most important differences between qualitative and quantitative research. (Creswell, 2006)

 

Qualitative Research

Quantitative* Research

Objective / purpose:

To gain an understanding of underlying reasons and motivations To provide insights into the setting of a problem, generating ideas and/or hypotheses for later quantitative research To uncover prevalent trends in thought and opinion

To quantify data and generalize results from a sample to the population of interest To measure the incidence of various views and opinions in a chosen sample Sometimes followed by qualitative research which is used to explore some findings further

Sample

Usually a small number of non-representative cases Respondents selected to fulfil a given quota

Usually a large number of cases* representing the population of interest Randomly selected respondents

Data collection

Unstructured or semi-structured techniques e.g. individual depth interviews or group discussions

Structured techniques* such as on-street or telephone interviews

Data analysis

Non-statistical

Statistical*; data is usually in the form of tabulations Findings are conclusive and usually descriptive* in nature.

Outcome

Exploratory and/or investigative Findings are not conclusive and cannot be used to make generalizations about the population of interest Develop an initial understanding and sound base for further decision making

Used to recommend a final course of action

Learning taxonomies assist the educationalist to describe and categorize the stages in cognitive, arective and other dimensions, in which an individual oper ates as part of the learning process. In simpler terms one could say that learning taxonomies help us to "understand about understanding" (Anderson, 2006). It is this level of meta-cognition that is often missing in information security education. Accord ing to Siponen awareness and educational campaigns can be broadly described by two categories, namely framework and content. The framework category contains issues that can be approached in a structural and quantitative manner. These issues constitute the more explicit knowledge. The second category, how ever, includes more tacit knowledge of an interdisciplinary ...