Challenges in qualitative research methodology
Empirical research is necessarily designed to provide a workable framework through which a researcher may test a hypothesized explanation for observable phenomena, but the two primary branches of scientific inquiry differ greatly in terms of the analytical scope and style employed throughout an experiment. While quantitative research is capable of recording, sorting and analyzing voluminous amounts of numerical data, from credit card usage rates for various tax brackets to the pace of population acceleration within a given demographic, this methodology is left lacking when researchers seek to explain the trends and configurations they have identified. In order to develop informed explanations of behavioral patterns, emotional capacity, artistic inclination, and any number of similarly intangible phenomena, the use of qualitative research must be employed to ascertain the motivational processes used to determine basic decision making. Although the traditional quantitative method of research is more widely known by laymen, with surveys, questionnaires and tests becoming ubiquitous in today's modern informational age, qualitative methodologies are most often applied to explain shifts in cultural attitude, collective experiences such as childrearing or aging, and other aspects of human or animal behavior which must be firmly comprehended before they can ever be improved upon.