Knowing the Exact Difference between Qualitative and Quantitative Research Paradigm

Before starting with the actual research, the students should be aware of the type of research methodology they will be using. However, some of them get confused with the difference between a qualitative and a quantitative research and end up interchanging them. The research methodology is the most critical step as if the selected methodology is wrong; the entire research might go wrong. With the help this article, students can distinctively learn the difference between a qualitative and quantitative analysis. In case you still find it difficult, you can get help from dissertation help services.

Most of the time students who conduct a research start out without doing any research or going through the basics. As a result, most of them remain unaware of differences between a qualitative and quantitative research. It is necessary for the students to know the difference while working on a dissertation or research paper.

Qualitative Research

A qualitative research is a research methodology which is exploratory. The main purpose of such a methodology is to gain the knowledge, explore, and discover the ideas. Through the dissertation methodology, you can get insights regarding the problem. It also helps you to frame the hypothesis and generate ideas. It is a holistic research that follows a subjective approach. It employs inductive reasoning where the research methodology sample is purposive. The data collected in this approach is verbal which follows process-oriented inquiry. Furthermore, the researchmethodology dissertation employs is qualitative when in-depth understanding is needed regarding the behaviour of humans, their attitudes, experiences, and much more. To understand all these aspects, it requires the researcher to observe and interpret the feelings and thought processes of people. During this methodology, the views of the participants are given more importance. The qualitative research methods include case study, grounded theory, narrative, ethnography, and phenomenological.

1.      Case Study: A case study is a valuable type of qualitative research. This method helps understand the types of data sources more deeply. Moreover, a case study mainly involves explaining a company, organization, or event.

2.      Grounded Theory: The purpose of a grounded theory is to explain the theory behind the events. The data is built primarily based on the existing documents and interviews.

3.      Narrative: A narrative approach is used to form a cohesive story based on the events described by one or two individuals. Further, an in-depth analysis can be conducted through more interviews and reading out the documents.

4.      Ethnography: This method is one of the most familiar qualitative research methods for UX professionals. While following such an approach the researchers need to understand the goals by putting themselves in the shoes of the participants. In this approach, the researchers do not depend on the survey outcomes or interviewers. They experience the environment all by themselves or behave as a “practical observer.”  

5.      Phenomenological: The phenomenological study is suitable when you need to describe an activity or an event. It involves a combination of methods such as visiting places, conducting interviews, viewing videos, or reading documents.

Quantitative Research

A quantitative research is a research methodology which is particularistic in nature. This dissertation methodology quantifies the entire research through numerical or statistical data. It is a conclusive type that follows an objective approach. Moreover, the method follows deductive reasoning with measurable data. The values, behaviours, attitudes, and all other aspects are quantified for a large research methodology sample. In this case, the hypothesis is tested with an aim to examine the relationships between the variables. Such a method makes use of measurable data so that the facts can be formulated and the patterns can be uncovered. On comparing a qualitative and quantitative research, the latter one is more structured when compared to the former. They generally include surveys through mobile, kiosk, online polls, face-to-face interview, and much more. Once the data is collected they are represented as graphs, tables and the like for easy understanding.  There are four types of quantitative research: descriptive design, correlational design, quasi-experimental design, and experimental design.

1.      Descriptive Design: Through this design, a variable’s current status gets described. In this approach, the hypothesis is developed after the data is collected. The collection of data is observational.

2.      Correlational Design: In this method, statistical analysis is employed to explore the relationship between the variables. It is majorly observational as it does not seek cause and effect.

3.      Quasi-Experimental Design: In this method, the researchers try to identify the cause and effect of more than one variable. The independent variables are not manipulated and no groups are being assigned.

4.      Experimental Design: An experimental design employs scientific methods to establish the cause and effect relationship between variables. Here all the variables are controlled except the one that gets manipulated.

Now that you are clear with the difference between qualitative and quantitative research, you can use the right research methodology dissertation and develop a very good research paper. However, if you still face issues, you can get help from Uniresearchers to complete your dissertation with the right research methodology implied.