Research Methodologies



Research Methodologies

Overview of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Approaches

There have been differences between the results of the research from the quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Both methodologies have different approaches and their aims are not the same. In a lot of ways, they aslo having differing views of what qualifies as truth (Barnham, 2012, p.736). The difference between the two approaches is in their classification of research problems and the literature review. Qualitative research is more to do with the study of the subject in the form of words, whereas the quantitative approach is to do with the study of numbers.

Quantitative research is considered to be the more scientific approach. The focus is on using particular definitions and carefully giving meaning to specific concepts and variables. Qualitative research methods provide more emphasis on understanding and gives a complete overview. It looks at the contexts, environmental interests and a deeper interpretation of the concepts. (Tewksbury, 2009, p.39)The approach takes into consideration, all of the persepctives of people's behavior, attitudes and experiences. The methods of data collection in qualitative include participation, observation, interview and analysis.

Qualitative research further explores the understanding and attempts to further add to an existing theory. Qualitative research is done on a woder perspective and the number of subjects under study can be small. The researcher in qualitative approach relies on the observations or experiences of the repondents. The numerical data and statistical analysis is the foundation for quantitative research. The questions asked from the responden ts are specific and the sample size is large. Statistics provide a trend that can be studied and the relation between the variables can be establsihed by the researcher.

Despite the differences in both these appraoches, the two methodologies effective combination together and each gives the other a level of understanding that would not have been achieved otherwise Using both the approaches can provide better results and can be used effectivley in various fields. Both the methods can offer significant insgihts into research problems and can answer multiple questions. The following part talks about using both the approaches ; the mixed method approach.

Overview of the Mixed Method Research Approach

A mixed method approach can work with different strategies. The mixed method approaches are researchs that are the result of pragmatisit paradigm and they integrate the qualitative and quantitative approach within different stages of the research process (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2008, p.22). Quantitative research ...