Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Methods of Research

18 Sep, 2024
Author : Vipul Jain

Getting confused between quantitative and qualitative research methodology. Do not worry we are here to help you understand both research methodologies in the best way. These are types of research methodology. So understanding what is research methodology is important before understanding the difference between qualitative research vs quantitative research.  Research methodology is a simple way to understand how the research must be conducted. It's about how the researcher will be designing a study to make sure that the result of their research is accurate and valid.

This blog will help gain knowledge for qualitative research vs quantitative research. These are the most used types of research methodology not just at the professional level but at the academic level as well, where students might use them to write their assignments, dissertations, and thesis. Due to some difficulties in this research students seek help from assignment helper

What Is Qualitative vs. Quantitative Study?

What Is Qualitative vs. Quantitative Study

Before understanding the difference between quantitative and qualitative research methodology you must know what qualitative and quantitative methodology is to get complete exposure to the topic. 

Qualitative Research Study

Qualitative research focuses on understanding experience, opinions, and concepts. This is the research in which data collection is done through non-numerical data. Mostly this research is used when there is a need to gather in-depth insight into the problem statement or to generate new ideas.

Majorly it is used in the thesis as in the thesis students are asked to generate their ideas with the knowledge and research they have done. While carrying on with research students must also understand what is thesis statement before starting with research for your thesis. 

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Quantitative Research Study

Opposite to qualitative research methodology is quantitative research methodology. Quantitative research collects and analyzes the data through numerical data and according to that it predicts, describes, and controls all variables of interest. This uses various software tools, statistics, Gantt charts, and mathematics for analyzing the provided data. Many students face issues in using the Gantt chart which is compulsory in some dissertations for this you may need a dissertation Gantt chart template. This type of research is used in the fields of sociology, marketing, psychology, and economics.

Difference Between Qualitative vs Quantitative Research

Understanding the difference between both research methodologies qualitative and quantitative can help you out in getting knowledge of which research methodology will be best suited for you in which condition. How to write a research design will depend on your choice of research methodology only.

Field Qualitative Research Methodology Quantitative Research Methodology
Tools for Data Collection Focus groups, Interviews,  Previously published literature reviews, and observations Questionnaire, surveys, and structure observation. 
Analysis of Data Collected Narrative in nature, through theories, inductive, and thematic. Statistics, mathematics, deductive, numerical in nature, and different software tools.
Focus of Research Understanding behavior, exploring contexts, and ideas, and formulating new theories. Collecting and Analyzing numerical data. Other than this using logical, mathematical, and statistical techniques for testing and proving the hypothesis.
Nature of Data Textual, non-numeric, and visual narrative and all those things that are expressed using words. Numerical, measurable, and statistical. And all such things that are expressed using numerical data or in any form of graphs and values. Many students face issues finding valid numerals this is why they use research paper writing services.
Perspective of Research Subjective Objective
Types of Questions while Collecting Data Open-ended questions Multiple choice option questions. Mostly yes or no.
Type of Findings Contextual and descriptive Generalizable and quantifiable
Application To dive more into deeper topics to understand the underlying patterns, concepts, and themes. For analyzing cause-and-effect relations among variables for understanding complex phenomenon. 
Sample size Typically not representative, limited sample size. The large sample size for the concluding population.

Examples of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodology: 

You need to identify your research questions to understand which example and which methodology will be best suitable for you. Also, You must know how to write research questions

Qualitative Research Methodology Example

  • Case study: A case study provides detailed deep-dive information. Most case study is focused on a single case or many small cases. The researcher goes through all the case studies to get a detailed understanding of the subject or the topic the researcher is looking for.

  • Ethnography: This example studies behavior, social interactions, and perceptions of people in a community, organization, and group. In this students do not get proper resources for collection for their thesis/dissertation. This is why they seek expert advice and tips for dissertation and thesis success.

  • Content Analysis: Content analysis is going through all the previously published articles and collecting information from there. Analyzing the written text, and images that are published in either articles, news articles, or any peer-reviewed work. 

  • Interview: This is a face-to-face observation. In this researcher meets with the person and asks them a set of questions that they prepared for getting information for their research. For this method, students find the perfect dissertation help as they can’t gather so many people for personal interviews.

  • Focus Group: This involves general group discussion among all these people on a particular topic given by the researcher, And then using all the reactions, experiences, and context observed by the researcher. 

Quantitative Research Methodology Example

  • Experimental research: This example works on cause-and-effect relationships between two variables. In this one variable is intentionally caused and what is the effect of the other variable is analyzed. In this one independent variable gets manipulated and then the impact of the independent variable is observed on the dependent variable.

  • Test and Assessments: Tests and assessments are the other examples of tests and assessments that are used for systematically measuring the knowledge, skills characteristics, and abilities of an Individual. The use of statistics is common in this method, which is the reason students seek statistics assignment help for this method.

  • Surveys and Questionnaire: A questionnaire is provided to the number of candidates to get a set of questions, and asking them to answer all the questions. All this is done to get the numerical data from the participants. 

  • Correlation Research: Correlation research investigates two or more variables. It focuses on understanding can any kind of change in one variable can make a change in another variable.  

  • Existing Data: Among all the examples this is the one that is most easily accessible for researchers and this even stands out as one of the most powerful as well. This approach includes collecting and gathering information from the data that is already available.

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Conclusion

In summary, there is a big difference between both the qualitative and quantitative methodology. The reason why it is important to choose the right dissertation topic is because according to that you have to select what research methodology you will use. As these both are opposite to each other, in simple language one is east then the other is west they can’t be never in the same direction.

So using them in the same research is a lot more difficult as both will provide you results for different things. It’s not that they will provide you with wrong information but you can’t find the same result using these. The difference between qualitative research and quantitative research can give you an understanding of which research must be used in what conditions. 

FAQs

Q.1 Can a student get all the data easily accessible for quantitative research for their research in Dissertation?

Ans. No, it is very hard for a student to get access to the data that you require for completing your dissertation. You can seek help from a dissertation writing service to help you with this.

Q.2 Is there any research methodology that has combined the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative research techniques?

Ans. Yes, the Mixed method is one research technique that can be used as it combines the benefits of both research methodologies. 

Q.3 Stating the problem statement of the research is essential in a literature review.

Ans. Yes, it's important to mention your research problem statement in the literature review. Understanding how to write a systematic literature review can make you score good marks so add everything related to your research.

Q.4 Can we use both research methodologies in the same assignment or project?

Ans. If you have two or more things to research then you can use both research methodology qualitative and quantitative, but in case you are researching for a single thing, then it would be confusing to use both. 

Q.5 Which research must be used for the thesis and which for the dissertation?

Ans. You cannot pre-decide that you should choose only this research methodology according to whether you are writing a thesis or a dissertation. It depends on the subject/ topic of your research. But commonly in the case of a thesis, quantitative research methodology is used. So if you have less knowledge regarding quantitative seek our from thesis helpers

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Author Bio
Workingment

Hi, I am Vipul Jain ( Founder of Workingment). I have contributed my writing expertise and collaborated with a team of experts to support UK students in achieving higher grades. My mission is to assist students who face various challenges in completing their academic writing projects.

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