Chapter 2: QUALITATIVE VERSUS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Rob McBride and John Schostak

As mentioned in the previous chapter, qualitative research is often contrasted with

quantitative research. The picture is complicated when we consider that within each
of these broad categories, which we described in Chapter 1, there are what can be
called 'sub schools of thought'. Nevertheless, there are some critical issues in which
researchers have a tendency to jump one way or the other, depending on the set of
beliefs they hold. We believe too, that some of these issues are more important to
students who are carrying out research for the first time, especially in an age when
quantitative measures such as school league tables have such a high profile in the
public eye. Let us consider an example:

A researcher found that in a school of twenty teachers, fifteen preferred children

with special educational needs to be withdrawn from the classroom and five
preferred in-class support. Should the school adopt a policy of withdrawal or should
it have a mixed policy depending on which teachers were involved? The evidence,
as it stands, could be used to support either. More importantly, we cannot be sure of
the strength of feeling of the teachers nor why they hold their views. It might be
that the fifteen dislike a particular kind of in-class support and would prefer a
different kind to withdrawal. Indeed, until we find out more details of why these
teachers hold their opinions, a range of possibilities can be imagined for policy and,
of course, for practice.

Qualitative researchers are interested in answering those why? questions and are
not prepared to simply accept the quantitative answers. That is not to suggest that
the quantitative data is not important for to know that fifteen out of twenty have
one view rather than another is useful. It is just not enough on its own. We could go
further and say that when placed alongside qualitative evidence, quantitative
evidence is both clear and powerful. Unfortunately it sometimes appears so
powerful that it overpowers the opinions of the people involved and this is a danger
we have to watch. In addition there are still many researchers, especially the less
experienced ones, who are not prepared to 'go the extra mile' and add the extra
understanding to the figures they have collected. This course is centred upon the
qualitative element in research and while it is not without problems qualitative
research is the major form of educational research now practised. Let us now
consider the major points of contrast and debate between the broad categories of
qualitative and quantitative research. The section that follows rests heavily upon a
structure used by Hammersley [1991]. The arguments used here, however, are very
different from his.

A. DATA
Where a quantitative researcher might seek to know what percentage of people do
one thing or another the qualitative researcher pays much greater attention to

individual cases and the human understandings that feature in those cases.
Nevertheless, one finds the latter using terms such as 'frequently' and 'the majority
of people' and so on.
It could be argued that the quantitative researcher is more precise but the response
would be that with people it is not possible to be so precise, people change and the
social situation is too complex for numerical description. We could also ask if it is
any more help to know that 58.6% of teachers in a school take one view than to
know that to one degree or another, most teachers take this view? We, as
qualitative researchers, would argue the qualitative perception in this last case is a
more precise reflection of the situation than the numerical perception. When you
begin to interview, as part of this course, you will often find people who will offer
conflicting or unclear views. Some of your respondents will say "I think this is a good
idea but ..." Now in those sorts of situations do you place this person in the 58.6% or
in the remaining 41.4% or create a third category? Quantitative research has a
tendency to 'clarify' where clarification is not appropriate.
At the heart of this discussion is a point about knowing. We might ask, "How sure
can we be about what we claim to know?" In education we have to deal with what is
sometimes called 'soft' knowledge, as opposed to 'hard' knowledge. We see claims
[not always justified] about certainty in the natural sciences and mathematics.
Qualitative researchers, and indeed educationists, have to be more circumspect. As
we have seen above, quantified evidence can be very powerful but it can also hide a
great deal about people, especially their understanding.

B. RESEARCH SETTING
Many qualitative researchers have long criticised laboratory based research as
'artificial' and noted that people react differently in other contexts. There are also
criticisms about those researched being influenced by the researchers so that
conclusions are not sound, especially when compared to research in 'natural'
settings. One response to these arguments are criticisms about the artificiality of
structured interviews which qualitative researchers carry out. Of course, interviews
need not be structured though the central issue is about the extent to which the
research act interferes with what is researched. In other words are the conclusions
valid, do they reflect what they believe they are reflect or are people responding,
above all, to the researchers?
Hammersley argues: [p231]
"In my view this distinction between natural and artificial settings is spurious. What happens in a school
class or in a court of law, for example, is no more natural [or artificial] than what goes on in a social
psychological laboratory."
To us this is simply wrong. There is an enormous difference. If Hammersley had
argued that there is some form of reaction to all forms of research we could have
accepted that. He is, however, going much further. In qualitative research we seek
to minimise the impact of our interventions [see triangulation below, for example]
but also recognise that there are other ways in which we do intervene. This is not
too much of a problem if we remember that we are not trying to create objective
knowledge. Our knowledge is much softer. We cannot be certain that practical work
will always make learning easier. We cannot prove that a pupil will respond

positively to using a word processor. Yet we can have a pretty good idea that these
maybe helpful to us in certain situations. More importantly we endeavour to 'build'
theory from the ground of experience or practice. For qualitative researchers the
context in which practice takes place has an important bearing upon that practice
and research should be rooted accordingly.
There are other implications of our position. One of those is how we might transfer
our research findings from one situation to another. This is called generalisation and
we will discuss that below. Another is that qualitative research does not avoid the
complexity of social life. Instead great efforts are made to illuminate and understand
social situations and human feelings through immersion and detailed, in-depth
exploration.

C. MEANINGS VERSUS BEHAVIOUR

In an earlier version of this introduction to qualitative research we wrote the
following:
"Where quantitative forms of research, employing questionnaires and sampling procedures attempt to
eradicate the individual, the particular and the subjective, qualitative research gives special attention to the
subjective side of life. Rather than asking how many people in a given locality have an IQ of 90,
qualitative researchers are more likely to ask how it feels to be considered having an IQ of 90, what
intelligence means to a given community, and, what is or is not considered to be intelligent by that
community. That is to say, they focus upon the social construction of such things as 'intelligence', 'special
educational needs', 'behaviour problems', and so on.
In order to find out what a given phenomenon, like special educational needs, means to people it is
necessary to ask them and to observe what they do. That is why both interview and observation are key
techniques in qualitative research. Rather than starting with a definition of special needs, the definition
'grows' from the data that is gathered from interview and observation. Thus theory tends to be built from
the ground of experience rather than through academic reasoning distant from the scene of everyday
experience."
Hammersley [op. cit.] accepts that qualitative researchers seek to articulate the
views of people studied but adds that qualitative researchers often analyse the
data in ways that are likely to be alien to those studied. He also asserts that much
quantitative research concerns itself with the 'attitudes' of those studied and is
therefore grounded in the realities of people.
We hold our position in these matters. Quantitative research remains, in our view,
more interested in what people do without a very complete understanding of
those actions. It tends, therefore, to be concerned with behaviour as an end in itself
without paying sufficient attention to understanding that behaviour. This is
behaviourism. Even where 'attitudes' are explored it is usually through prestructured questionnaires which do not allow respondents to provide their own
agenda. The researcher decides on the important questions. One observes this sort
of practice especially amongst those who are not experienced researchers.
A Professor of Education at UEA once argued, in a discussion about the researcher
and objectivity, that by the end of an evaluation the evaluator tends to lose his/her
personal views about the project being evaluated. Instead the evaluator becomes
an information broker on behalf of others, adopting an even-handed impartiality.
This, he thought, was the best we could expect as somebody has to carry out

evaluations. The listening brief and the intentions of quantitative researchers is far
more 'people centred' than that of quantitative evaluators. The qualitative
researcher seeks to understand and to relate the subjective understandings and the
actions of those being studied. Moreover, in some cases, the relationship between
the researcher and the researched can be a very close one even to the point of
collaboration.

D. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND NATURAL SCIENCE

As qualitative researchers we have often found ourselves being criticised by natural
scientists for not providing quantified conclusions and, equally, we have defended
ourselves and criticised their work. Hammersley [op. cit.] points out that there is
more than one research methodology in the natural sciences and a number of
interpretations of these. Nevertheless, some writers, such as H-G Gadamer, have
criticised the broad approach of the research methodologies of the natural sciences.
We, among others, have found patterns in these criticisms which are very similar to
those noted by writers such as Gadamer and I turn now to these issues.
What has been most disconcerting is the rigidity of thought that we have
experienced when discussing qualitative research. We have found that natural
scientists place great store on what they call objective knowledge. This is
knowledge which fits into a scheme that they are familiar with and about which they
claim to be certain. Unfortunately, many natural scientists are not aware that even
within their disciplines there are fads and fashions and different ways of
conceptualising the data they gather. Different academics carry out pioneering work
and come up with different terms for describing their findings and the new terms
then take over from the old ones. At the same time some of the concepts widely
used begin to change. In short, the frameworks used by all the forms of knowledge
we have change and what was once considered objective becomes less certain and
more problematical. A great deal of science is involved with solving the puzzles that
are predominant rather than actually critically deconceptualising the basic
assumptions.
The view described in the paragraph above might be called the objectivist view
and we see it sewn into the heart of the national curriculum which has a clear
unquestionable framework which encompasses all of the knowledge that children
need. A different set of views are held by someone we might call a subjectivist.
Decisions made by a thorough going subjectivist rest upon whim, personal taste or
bias. Both objectivism and subjectivism can be contrasted to relativism which is
the basic idea that when we consider fundamental notions such as rationality, truth,
reality, good and so on, each is as acceptable as any other. The relativist relates
ideas to a given conceptual scheme or set of social practices or historical era while
the subjectivist relates ideas to him or herself.
We could actually accuse anybody who stuck rigidly to any of these perspectives as
intransigent and unable, as a researcher, to represent other people in these terms.
Qualitative researchers need to be 'good listeners' and have some flexibility as they
carry out their craft. In this respect dialogue between people is a critical element of
and the qualitative researcher needs to always be available and, indeed, willing to
engage in discussion with all the participants in a piece of research.

E. THE USE OF HYPOTHESES

Another tendency among quantitative researchers is to see their studies as centrally
concerned with testing an initial hypothesis. It is rarer but not unknown among
qualitative researchers. One contrast drawn in this respect is that between
explanation and understanding. It is argued that the quantitative researcher
seeks to explain an initial hypothesis but the qualitative researcher strives to
understand the views of the 'actors' in a school or a project, for example.
We have found that initial hypotheses tend to be poorly informed and that after a
period of 'immersion' in a situation the researcher is better able to draw hypotheses
[mature hypotheses] which emerge from experience in a setting. By way of example
we know of a teacher who was told by her headteacher to ensure that all of her
class were engaged in silent reading for twenty minutes every Tuesday afternoon. It
worked particularly badly in her class, two statemented pupils were especially
fractious in this time. Her initial hypothesis was concerned with explaining how her
colleagues, who she took to be good practitioners, were making this activity work
well. To her surprise she found that most teachers in the school were largely
ignoring the headteachers instruction and not really doing silent reading at all. She
found then that her hypothesis became more concerned at understanding how the
policy was formed and how best a school might embrace and influence the actual
practice of teachers. Her first hypothesis was rooted in her rather limited early
grasp of the situation rather then the better informed understanding she acquired
after her first round of research.
While qualitative researchers are more concerned with understanding then
explaining this is not always the case. It is sometimes radically suggested that a
thorough understanding requires the researcher to have direct contact with the
social reality to the point of actually taking part. This is often stressed in the
ethnographic literature and opens up the issue of whether the researcher can be or
is an 'insider' or an 'outsider' or some mixture of the two. Qualitative research does
aspire to an 'insider' view and this requires the researcher to mix in in some way
rather than adopting a detached stance. We will return to this question below. In
addition we will suggest some ways, below, in which researcher bias might be
minimised in the 'insider' situations.

F. THE PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL ELEMENT

Consider these quotations:
"There is no standing ground, no place for enquiry, no way to engage in the practices of advancing,
evaluating, accepting and rejecting reasoned argument apart from that which is provided by some
particular tradition or other." [MacIntyre, 1988, 350]
"There is no way to engage with or to evaluate rationally the theses advanced in contemporary form by
some particular tradition except in terms which are framed with an eye to the specific character and
history of that tradition on one hand and the specific character and history of the particular individual or
individuals on the other." [ibid, 398]
These are the comments of an influential philosopher and in more simple words he
is making two points. The first is that our perspectives in areas such as rationality,
truth, reality, truth and so on are influenced in part by traditions of thought that
have historical importance. We are not always aware of the complexity of these

traditions but most of us know that we have some kind of allegiance to notions of
democracy, freedom, the wisdom of the practitioner and so on. MacIntyre goes
further and asserts that we can only take part in discussion with others insofar as
we recognise the views of others and they recognise ours. It is very difficult to hold
a discussion with someone who believes that all children with special educational
needs should be removed from schools altogether.
The second point raised is that there is a bit of each individual in his or her own
views. Ultimately we cannot remove this piece of us. Now when we are speaking of
research these two points have major ramifications. One of these is for the validity
of the conclusions we draw. Are we actually representing people and situations fairly
and accurately if our own views are present? This leads us to two further issues,
namely, what do we do about the personal/tradition element and also can we
generalise our research findings to other people and places? Let us deal with these
in this order.
Let us begin by saying that we take it that in this case the most important tradition
that affects most teachers is the educational one. Over the last century and a half,
and indeed before, a huge stock of experiences, ideas, a history and a an
educational literature have grown. Practitioners and theorists have developed both
separately and together to create a culture or social practice of similar minded
people. They do not all agree but there are strong ties, often expressed as stories or
jokes, which enable us to debate what we do and believe. It is the strength of this
tradition which is an important part of what is called a profession. Currently this
professional standing is under rigorous and aggressive attack, primarily from central
government.
Rather than suppress our traditions and our personal views - steps sometimes taken
when quantitative researchers claim objectivity - qualitative researchers tend to
draw attention to them. This form of reflection allows the reader to judge the
biases and position of the researcher and simultaneously gives the researcher the
opportunity to rigorously explore his or her own interpretations of the data s/he has
collected.

G. GENERALISATION.
We are told that we have an entitlement curriculum which all children should
receive. This goes beyond mere entitlement to become compulsory. Implied
therefore is the notion that all children should experience the national curriculum.
We are told that all children should experience a course in English grammar and
should be able to speak standard English. Again, implied in this expression is the
idea that this is the case for all children. We hear similar statements about what is a
good school with respect to the pastoral systems they require, the way they are
managed, classroom conduct and so on. These are examples of generalisation.
In research we have to be very careful not to suggest that what we have concluded
from one piece of research is then applicable to all other classrooms, teachers,
schools etc. It is not necessarily the case that quantitative researchers generalise
but there is a tendency for conclusions to be drawn from what appears to be the
numerically largest group. Recently when bidding for research funding we were told
that our conclusions had to be quantified so that a board could make well informed

decisions. By this was meant that a single decision could be made for all to adhere
to.
In our experience the tendency to generalise is most marked among those who seek
clear and simple conclusions and among policy makers. The reader might imagine
that the policy making process would have a different complexion if policy makers
were given clear numerical data in contrast to the data from qualitative research.
The latter might present a small number of cases which were researched in great
depth. Policy makers would not be able to treat the conclusions as hard knowledge
but as a soft understanding of what was making their employees tick. The policy
would not tend towards being firm and prescriptive but flexible and open to some
interpretation. For those policy makers who believe that they need to be in control,
the second of these two possibilities can be extremely threatening, even in a
democracy.
Up to this point the term generalisation has been used to refer to the move from
one case to all others. We can talk about generalisation from one to any number of
other cases. In qualitative research we tend to study individual cases and once we
have drawn conclusions we have at least two ways forward. The first is to say that
this is soft knowledge but the conclusions are probably plausible to most
practitioners. The strength of this case is increased if we have tested our
conclusions on other practitioners. A second is to say we are not sure if our findings
can be applied to other social situations and that the judge of this should be those
practitioners who work in other situations. There is plainly an overlap in these two
positions. Either way we have to be extremely careful not to jump from one situation
to another and thereby make unfounded claims.

H. ACTION
Qualitative research pays considerable attention to the action it seeks to bring
about. In this respect there are efforts to ensure that the gap between theory and
practice is minimised, or more commonly, that theory and practice interact.
Qualitative researchers are concerned to 'build' theory from the ground of the
experience of practitioners; to research face to face levels of interaction; to focus on
the everyday or routine. These are allied to a fundamental respect for individual
human beings, sometimes exemplified by a concentration upon the 'underdog'.
Qualitative researchers do not seek the 'detached objectivity' of the quantitative
researcher. Rather he/she tries to engage practitioners in his/her research and to
report findings in terms which are familiar to the subjects of investigation.
Ultimately, it is this engagement which gives subjects a stake in, and an
understanding of, the research. This is considered the basis for action and change.
Indeed we might consider an understanding of action and change as the stock-intrade of the qualitative researcher.

I. PROFESSIONAL DECISION MAKING, THE REPRESENTATION OF THE

CASE AND GENERALISATION FROM CASES
Decisions are made all the time, often with hardly a thought given to how the
decision was made. When asked, we might say 'I drew upon my experience'. That
implies that something about the present situation raises an echo of previous

similar situations. The reasoning may be: 'If I did 'x' on previous similar situations,
then I should the same in this situation as described more fully in Chapter 8 on
learning theories. In schematic form this can be expressed in simplified format as
follows:

The above diagram was inspired by a discussion with a group of health professionals
who were reflecting upon how they came to decisions. They were in agreement that
no matter how similar one situation may be to a past situation, no case is identical.
Thus it is always important not only to recognise the similarities but also to identify
the differences. Over the years a professional develops a rich repertoire of cases
together with their similarities and differences. This enables sophisticated
modifications in courses of action as cases are monitored for their variations. This
process is an example of generalisation across cases to formulate general
principles, categories of explanation and theories as a basis for organising
experiences about immediate cases.
By studying cases, considerable sophistication can be brought to bear upon the
analysis of each new instance of previous similar cases. A teacher, for example, may
have found behaviourist strategies to control a child's behaviour effective in the
past. Thus when confronted by behaviour defined by the teacher as 'undesirable', is
likely to adopt the same strategies that worked previously. Through practice, the
teacher may become increasingly sophisticated in the application of behaviourist
principles. In short, the teacher becomes a behavioural technician. This is the kind
of technicist approach criticised in chapter 8. The child is always only seen as the
'problem to be solved'. However, a wider vision can be developed as chapter 8
makes clear, in which the whole technicist approach can be critiqued. To do this the
teacher must move to another level of analysis. The child must be seen in context.
There is the immediate context of the child which relates to his or her own
biography, local community and family experiences. Then there is the context of the
classroom with its particular style of learning management, teacher control and so
on. Then there is the school, its ethos, its values, its style of management, its levels
of resourcing and so on. And so on. This is represented in the following diagram:

Rather than focusing on the child as the source of 'the problem', the teacher now
applies a professional critique to the context within which the child, the teacher, and
other staff are operating. This kind of analysis can be applied to any situation: the
health service, business management, or even the analysis of domestic life. As
increasingly sophisticated analyses of the social situation are made, then the
evidence base upon which the professional decision maker draws is going to be
expanded to include information not previously considered. This will have an effect
on the quality of decision making.
In representing the case, it is insufficient to focus on a single instance such as a
particular child without seeing that child within a greater context. Even the notion of
a child makes no real sense without setting the concept 'child' within the history of
the emergence of 'childhood' as a social category. Many historians have pointed to
the historical fact that childhood is a relatively recent concept. Certainly, childhood
cannot be understood without recourse to the cultural beliefs and values that a
particular group holds about children - particularly about deference to adults, and
sexual taboos. Childhood is also surrounded by a complex of laws relating to
sexuality, work, and welfare. All this is part of an adequate representation of a case
concerning the behaviour of a child. In short, the case of the child's behaviour is
socially constructed and can only be adequately represented within the context of
that social construction. the same is true for any particular focus for research - the
management style of a particular manager, the decision making of a nurse. Each of
these are socially constructed. How did the concept of a 'nurse', 'manager', 'teacher'
arise? What were the historical antecedents of each concept? How is the role of
each constructed within a given society, organisation, department? To arrive at an
adequate representation of a case as the basis for generalisation and decision
making, its many contexts have to be identified and analysed.

CONCLUSION
By allowing theories to form through what people say and do, qualitative research
cannot be easily accused of imposing its theories upon people. Equally by keeping
detailed records of what is said and of what happens qualitative research does not
reduce the complexity of social life to easily manipulated equations. Rather than
skating on the surface of everyday life, its close contact and detailed recording
allows the research to glimpse beneath the polished rhetoric, or the plausible
deceits; it is able to take more time to focus upon the smaller yet powerful
processes which other methods gloss over or ignore. For example, many so called
objective facts of everyday life are revealed as being socially constructed. That is to
say, if a child is categorised as having 'special needs', that can either be treated as
an objective fact which requires no further investigation; or, it can be treated as a
social process requiring explanation. If it is simply an objective fact, then the only
practical consequence is to find the right 'treatment' for the child. If it is seen as a
social process, then the consequence is to inquire into the social functions served by
labelling some people as having special needs. It may be found that some social
classes, or ethnic groups are more likely to be categorised as having special needs
than others. If this is the case, then the objective fact 'special needs' is being deconstructed to reveal how it was constructed; in this fictitious example, constructed
through processes of social discrimination.
(http://www.enquirylearning.net/ELU/Issues/Research/Res1Ch2.html 23/8/2012)