Comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

similarity of Qualitative and Quantitative question MethodsNAME LUCKY AMADIDISCUSS QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS.INTRODUCTION. What is Research?Research is an inquiry to describe, explain, predict and control the notice development. Research helps to acquire knowledge about a particular thing it is through to infrastand.It can as well as be seen as the systematic investigation into and discipline of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.Research methods ar often divided into both main typesQualitative Research methodsQuantitative Research methodsQualitative Method of Research.Qualitative research which is in like manner called Field research is done to gain a deep understanding of a specific transcription or event rather than the surface description.it is aimed at getting a better understanding through send-off experience, truthful reports and quotation of actual conversations, also aims to know how participants derive centre from their surroundings and how their centre influences their behaviour.Qualitative research makes use of observation as a selective information collection method this is the excerpt and recording of behaviours of people in their environment, observation is useful for generating in-depth descriptions of organisations or events, for obtaining information that is new(prenominal)wise inaccessible, and for conducting research when other methods atomic number 18 inadequate. The context or background of behaviour is included in observations of both people and their environment.Stages in Participatory ObservationSelection of a site and definition of problems, concepts and indicators.The problem or phenomenon of interest is first place by the tec he tries to discern what will yield the coarseest understanding of that problem. The police detective then identifies preliminary concepts and what entropy will be gathered as indicators of those concepts.The investigator chooses a system to move into the police detective.This involves an overt or a covert role for the researcher, issues may include how to record observations (writing notes, magnetic tape recordings, video tape) as well as ethical issues (privacy, confidentiality, etc.)Strategies include adopting a passive role at first, learning the ropes dont seek data aggressively until later be a researcher not a therapist, answer questions but dont become closely identified with some(prenominal) one person until you are sure it will not cost you information in the vast run, be non-persistence.Selecting people and events to observe.Primary sources also known as list informants of information are identified by the researcher. These people may be relied upon in the beginning to help the researcher get acculturated to the situation. The statements of key informants can be taken as evidence, even if their statements are somewhat self-serving. The researcher must also be aware of possible differences be tween the validity and intention of volunteered statements that are made in solution to the researchers questions.Develop relationships with the participants.Researchers must have the trust and confidence of the informants. Researchers must speak their wording and understand their world. The researcher can note the differences rather than accept one and reject the other. The researcher must determine whether certain things are not being said because of his or her role as researcher or whether they can use their position as neutral outsider to gain more than information.Analysing observations.The researcher can check whether none, all or some proportion of behaviours or events occur under distinct circumstances. A preliminary model can be generated to explain the data collected. Further observations are then collected which can strengthen or weaken the researchers preliminary model.Final analysis and interpretation.Models are checked against the evidence. Advanced concepts and evi dence for their support and refutation are checked. The major problem is how to present the data in a brief but meaningful form.Advantages of Qualitative research.It gives the researcher freedom to let the discipline unfold more naturally.The researcher gains more detailed and rich data in the form of oecumenical written descriptions or visual evidence such as photographs.It looks at the context and social meaning and how it impresss individuals.Disadvantages of Qualitative research.It is time consuming.It is tight to code data.It is not applicable to widely dispersed social settingsIt is difficult to control for researcher bias.Quantitative Research of Method.Quantitative research can be seen as explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analysed using mathematically based methods this method reduces the data into numbers, the researcher helps to analyse the data with the help of statistics. The researcher knows in advance what he/she is face for and all aspect s of the report card are carefully designed before the data is collected. Its verifiable is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories or hypotheses pertaining to phenomena.Process of Quantitative research method.Developing models, theories, and hypotheses of what the researcher expects to find.Developing instruments and methods for measuring the data.Experimental control and employment of variables.Collecting the data.Modelling and analysing the data.Evaluating the results.Principles of Quantitative Research.Objectivity is important.Methods and conclusions are examined by researchers for any possible bias.Researchers go to great length to ensure that they are really measuring what they claim to be measuring.External factors which might affect the result must also be controlled as it might be the other factor which produces the result.When looking at results the P value is important, P stands for probability. It measures the likelihood that a particular finding or observ ed difference is collectable to chance, P is between 0 and 1, the closer the result is to 0 the less potential it is that the observed difference is due to change, the closer the result is to 1 the greater the likelihood that the finding is due to chance and that there is no difference between the variables.Advantages of Quantitative method of research.It allows researchers to measure and analyse data.It helps to pay out test for hypotheses in experiments because of its ability to measure data using statistics.The researcher is more objective about the findings of the research.Disadvantages of Quantitative research.It doesnt study things in a natural setting or deal the meaning things have for different people unlike qualitative method of research.A large exemplar of population must be studied the larger the sample of people researched the more statistically completed the results will be.CONCLUSION.Each of these researches are done for a purpose just like Qualitative is done to gain understanding of a specific organisation or phenomena, Quantitative is done by analysing data with the help of statistics it has to do with numbers. Just like everything they both have their advantages and disadvantages.REFERENCESAnderson, ML and Taylor, H.F (2009) sociology.The essentials Belmont C.A Thomson Wadsworth.