Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research Designs

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research Designs

Quantitative methods have been used extensively due to the fact that things that can be measured or counted get scientific reliability over the non-measurable. But the quantitative research alone cannot adequately encapsulate and solve the level of biological abnormality, severity, consequences and the impact of illness. In such conditions qualitative methods take a holistic stance conserving the intricacies of human behavior by addressing the 'why' and 'how' questions. (Lakshman; Sinha; Biswas; Charles; Arora, 2000)

The market research methods can be classified into two main types like the quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative Research: Intensity in numbers describes the several merits of quantitative research. Quantitative research is a number-based research discipline and it figuratively measures the customer approach, behavior and functioning. Quantitative research makes use of a chain of tests and methods and often gives data that can be projected to a large population. Quantitative research has the capacity to efficiently interpret data into easily quantifiable charts and graphs as it is extremely entrenched in numbers and statistics. The efficiency of quantitative research in calculating product awareness, setting up customer profiles and finding out the market size has been clearly revealed by the real-world examples. But there are some restrictions for quantitative research. Huge samples are needed and the logistical difficulties present in collecting the large sample can interrupt the study before it even gets started. By means of its short interviews and stiff structure, quantitative research is not the most supple method of market research and when conducted wrongly is particularly at risk of giving a statistical error. The wrong use of sampling and weighting can entirely weaken the exactness, strength, and projectability of a quantitative research study. (Fitzgerald, 2000)

Qualitative Research: Quantitative research reasserts the truism bigger is better when it comes to dealing with large sample size. But when it comes to being concerned with smaller, more highlighted samples, qualitative research proves that size does not matter. Qualitative research is a highly slanted research discipline, calculated to look beyond the percentages to get an insight of the customer's feelings, impressions and perspectives. With the help of smaller, highly intended samples, acquiring of insight into the hearts and minds of the customer is possible. Proficient moderators, unfettered by the strict time and structure restrictions of a quantitative survey, use a large number of methods to get thorough information. Consultations are extensive, which may go for four hours, allowing the moderator to extract tremendously straight, highly complex reactions. Good, thorough qualitative research has much strength. It is supple, highly concentrated, and is intended to be completed promptly. Management interacts with the results easily, as the results are seen or heard immediately.

But qualitative research has also its own limitations and restrictions. The usual mistake is the wrong use or misinterpretation of the capacities of qualitative research. Companies frequently fall in love with the data-rich results and think that the results are projectable. This supposition is wrong. Projectabilty is not possible, as the analysis is slanted and deals with a small size. Another general misapprehension is the belief that qualitative research will always give perfect deductions. Actually, the results will not give companies with perfect deductions, but only with adequate information to set up a firm basis for decision-making. Hence, if one wants strength in numbers, we can select quantitative research; when size is not the main factor, qualitative research is one's best choice. (Fitzgerald, 2000)

The choice of whether to select a quantitative or a qualitative design is a theoretical one. It must be kept in mind that these are two different viewpoints, which are not essentially polar opposites, though they seem to be opposites. Actually, basics of both methods can be used together in mixed-methods studies to get more information than could be got by using either one alone. Some features of Quantitative Research are: Objective, Literature appraisal need to be done early in study, Tests theory, and concentration is brief and thin, Measurable, Report statistical analysis. (Quantitative Research vs Qualitative Research)