K-12 SPECIAL EDUCATION

Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies in K-12 Special Education

Abstract

In this study, the focus is to identify the use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in the area of K-12 special education. The Research aims to identify the effectiveness of the two approaches in the field of special education. In addition, the study also analyzes how researchers view quantitative and qualitative approaches in the investigation of practices in special education. Furthermore, the research also discusses some of the aspects of the two approaches in finding results and conclusions.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Thesis Statement1

Aims and Objectives1

Discussion and Analysis2

Qualitative and Quantitative Data2

Research in K-12 Special education3

The Debate4

Ideographic and Nomothetic Data5

Conclusion6

References7

Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies in K-12 Special Education

Introduction

The objective of this paper is to explain the differences in data and knowledge that can come across when studying a K-12 special education using quantitative and qualitative methods. Alan Bryman (1992) has discussed the increasing attention that has emerged about the differences in results and findings gained through various research methodologies. He has questioned the integration of findings of research study pertaining to K-12 education through different methodologies, namely quantitative analysis and qualitative research. Furthermore, he states that the two methods are fundamentally different, both of the research topic in question, and of the nature of human knowledge and understanding in general (Bryman 1992). Bryman seeks to explain the kind of the fundamental difference in the forms of data, which is collected during the special education research using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Thesis Statement

There is a significant contribution of qualitative and quantitative research in the field of K-12 special education.

Aims and Objectives

The aim and objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness of qualitative and quantitative approach in the field of K-12 special education.

Discussion and Analysis

Qualitative and Quantitative Data

Qualitative and quantitative distinctions are grounded in two contrasting approaches to categorizing and explaining data. Different paradigms produce and use different types of data. Early studies distinguished the two methods according to the kind of data collected, whether textual or numerical (Thorpe, 2008). The classic qualitative approach includes study of real-life settings, focus on participants' context, inductive generation of theory, open-ended data collection, analytical strategies based on textual data, and use of narrative forms of analysis and presentation. Basically, the qualitative method refers to a research paradigm that addresses interpretation and socially constructed realities. The classic quantitative approach encompasses hypothesis formulation based on precedence, experiment, control groups and variables, comparative analysis, sampling, standardization of data collection, statistics, and the concept of causality. Quantitative design refers to a research paradigm that hypothesizes relationships between variables in an objective way.

Quantitative methods are related to deductive approaches, positivism, data variance, and factual causation. Qualitative methods include inductive approaches, constructivism, and textual information. In general, quantitative design relies on comparisons of measurements and frequencies across categories and correlations between variables whereas the qualitative method concentrates on events within a context, relying on meaning and process. When the two are used together, data can be transformed. Essentially, “qualitized” data can represent data collected using ...