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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Methods in Education Research
All educational (and other) research falls into two broad methodological categories: qualitative and quantitative (Lincoln & Denzin, 1994; Charles, 1998; Merriam, 1998; Holliday, 2001). "Research that relies on verbal data is called qualitative research, while research that relies on numerical data is called quantitative research [emphasis original]" (Charles, p. 30). Various opinions exist, depending on one's viewpoint, experience, or preference, about which of the two major approaches to education research, qualitative or quantitative, is better. In my own opinion, neither quantitative research in education nor qualitative research in education is inherently "better" or "worse"; one's research method must spring from the design and content of the project itself. To decide on one research method or another, based on other reasons, seems to me both artificial and possibly harmful to the project. I believe that both of these methods are inherently, equally useful...
The concern may have arisen because of a need, an interest, or a requirement, or a commissioned work, and may have been present for a long time or may have arisen unexpectedly. For example . . . educators have identified a disturbing pattern of academic achievement in . . . schools -- students from certain ethnic
groups seem to progress more rapidly than others, despite the educators'
efforts to provide equal educational opportunities for all. (p. 10).
Further:
We would use qualitative research . . . To investigate and describe…
References
Charles, C.M. (1998). Introduction to educational research. New York: Longman.
Holliday, A. (2002). Doing and writing qualitative research. London: Sage.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Denzin, N.K. (2003). Turning points in qualitative research. (2nd
ed.) Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press.
The high stakes testing proponents believes that the use of testing will motivate students, their families and teachers to take education more seriously. (Nathan, 2002, p.595) Many opponents on the other hand believe that "teaching to the test" will likely prove disastrous for the schools and curriculums involved and this is especially true if the test is the only gauge of success or if there is any question as
Mixed Methods Research Two important aspects of qualitative research relates to the role of the researcher and the manner in which knowledge is viewed. These two aspects fundamentally distinguish qualitative research from quantitative research (Creswell, 2014). In qualitative research, the researcher seeks to cultivate a closer relationship with the subject(s). This means that the researcher focuses on a single or a small number of subjects, and utilises designs that allow closer
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research According to Lopez-Alvarado (2017) and Muijs (n.d.), research design decisions are linked to ontology and epistemology. Ontology refers to the researcher’s beliefs about whether reality is absolute or contextual, universal or relative. Whether the researcher is a realist or a relativist determines research questions and designs, with an increased tendency for relativists to focus on phenomenological and qualitative methods and a realist to use quantitative methods. Muijs
Background of the Issue Parental involvement has long been established as an important variable in student achievement along various outcome parameters. Prior research has shown that parental involvement can lead to the cultivation of strong reading habits (Castro, Exposito-Casas, Lopez-Martin, et al., 2015), student self-esteem and self-efficacy (Ule, Zivoder & DuBois-Reymond, 2015), future success (Hill, Witherspoon & Bartz, 2016), and quantitative measures of academic success (Benner, Boyle & Sadler, 2016; Castro,
(Niglas, 2004) Stated to be research questions that should guide the empirical study design are those as follows: (1) How have quantitative and qualitative elements been related? What type of combined designs have been sued? What is the level of integration between qualitative and quantitative aspects of studies? (2) Why have the authors chosen to prefer multimethod or mixed design to monomethod approach? Do they offer a rationale for their choice? What
Mixed Method Qualitative, quantitative, mixed methodologies Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodology research Quantitative methodologies tend to be data-driven in nature. The presumption of the correct 'way of knowing' in quantitative research is positivistic in nature. It is assumed there is an objective, concrete truth that can be learned through empirical observation and the careful construction of an experiment. Quantitative methods of research often use the scientific method or quasi-scientific methods of study