Value of Qualitative vs. Quantitative

¶ … value of qualitative vs. quantitative research is occasionally debated in the natural and social sciences, both are generally acknowledged to be fundamentally useful constructs, although they are used to answer very different types of research questions. Quantitative research is data-driven and often used to answer an experimental or quasi-experimental question. It may use a comparison between an experimental group and a control group to establish scientifically valid and falsifiable results. "It is commonly asserted that quantitative research is based on positivistic assumptions, whereas the qualitative approach is grounded on anti-positivistic positions, often some sort of phenomenology, constructivism, hermeneutics, or naturalism" although the idea of 'positivism' is not generally thought to be applicable to the social sciences in the same way that it is to the natural sciences (Lund 2005: 118). The research data collected is structured, often in the form of questionnaires or other methods which enable numerical calculations. The sample size is sufficiently large to make assumptions beyond the anecdotal. Because of the generalizable intention of the research, participants are randomly selected to be representative of the general population under study (Qualitative vs. quantitative research, 2012, Snap Surveys).

In contrast, qualitative research takes the form of case studies, ethnographies, and other forms of research which are experiential, hands-on, and focus upon a particular population. The research is not always generalizable to the general population. In fact, it might be designed specifically to only encapsulate the worldview and experiences of a very narrow group, such as Native Americans with diabetes. It is non-experimental and does not begin with a hypothesis. The researcher may simply decide to explore a phenomenon without expecting to draw specific scientific conclusions. The research is open-ended, semi-or unstructured, and involves interviews, observations, and sometimes participant-observation by the researcher (Qualitative vs. quantitative research, 2012, Snap Surveys).

Qualitative research seldom keeps track of results using statistics, and instead reports the results in a narrative form, much like a story. Responses may be 'coded' so that some numerical data can be amassed but overall, the most important part of the research is the lived 'experience' that is recorded. In contrast, with quantitative research, it is the data that is more significant. However, quantitative studies can provide the springboard for qualitative studies, as they point out phenomena in the general population that needs to be studied in more 'micro-level' detail. Similarly, qualitative studies can act as early fact-finding expeditions that provide the basis for quantitative analysis, to see if the study of the smaller population is reflective of a larger phenomenon. Neither one type of research needs to come before the other.