A distinction is made between qualitative and quantitative research methods
particularly from the researchers who are concern in using qualitative and quantitative approaches in their field research. In this paper I will explore what is qualitative and quantitative approaches and how these research methods are carry out into the research process. In doing so, I will be discussing both research methods and the differences as well. Research in any field seeks to generate new information of knowledge that can be applied to solve problems, improve the quality of life and provide a better understanding of conditions in a field. One of the things which research requires people to do is to question assumptions and perceptions which are taken for granted in the normal run of everyday life !lough and "utbrown #$$#%. It draws together a variety of thoughts and opinions in order to move these issues or interests forward and therefore build upon the research findings. &oreover, it offers an opportunity to investigate a theory that requires further interpretation and greater understanding from a particular perspective. ðodology refers to the process and procedures of the research. 'nderstanding of research methodology leads to the ability to be more effective and an excellent way to faster the rational process in thinking. (he choice of best method always comes from the research purpose &orse and Richard #$$#%. (he obvious first question is whether the research purpose is best answered by qualitative or quantitative methods. )ach method gives a unique perspective. *ebates about qualitative and quantitative research took root in the +,-$s which have been felt in many disciplines especially sociology, social psychology, education, research, organi.ation studies and evaluation research /ryman +,00%. Robert said that 1most debates over methods are debates over assumptions and goals, over theory and perspective2 /ogdan and (aylor +,345+%. *uring the +,3$s and 1 Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods +,0$s qualitative research began to be used in other disciplines and became a dominant or at least significant type of research in the fields of women6s studies, disability studies, education studies, social work studies, information studies, management studies, nursing service studies, human service studies and others. In the late +,0$s and +,,$s after a spate of criticisms from the quantitative side, new methods of qualitative research have been designed to address the problems with reliability and imprecise modes of data analysis /ogdan and (aylor +,34%. 7iergiorgio states 1the debate between the qualitative and the quantitative approaches to sociological research has seen both ebb and flow.2 !orbetta #$$858$%. 9he also added that 1the lively and fruitful clashes of the +,#$s and +,8$s gave rise to valuable outputs on both sides of the divide and contributed significantly to the advancement of the discipline with particular regard to the qualitative perspective, we can quote the so:called ;!hicago 9chool<%2 !orbetta #$$858$%. 7iergiorgio also discussed in the +,=$s and +,4$s and in the first half of the +,-$s quantitative perspective dominated and 1qualitative research was considered a sort of stepchild of social research2 !orbetta #$$858$% and later throughout +,,$s continued until today, qualitative research experienced vigorous development. (o support this, Robert /ogdan +,34% writes that interest in qualitative methodology declined throughout the +,=$s and into the fifties with the growth in prominence of positivist theories and quantitative methods. >e Robert% also added 1in any case, the use of qualitative methods first became popular in American sociology in the studies of the ;!hicago 9chool< sometime after the turn of the century2 /ogdan and (aylor +,3458% and in the +,-$s and +,3$s have, nevertheless seen a reemergence in the use of qualitative methods. (he phrase 6qualitative research6 was until then marginali.ed as a discipline of anthropology or sociology and terms like ethnography, fieldwork, participant observation and !hicago school approach were used instead. ?ualitative research is used broad in social sciences and has been taken in many fields of study and its influence in the social sciences has been growing steadily. 7eter defines that 1the word qualitative implies an emphasis on the qualities of entities and on processes and meanings that are not experimentally examined or measured if measured at all% in 2 Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods terms of quantity, amount, intensity, or frequency2 !lough and "utbrown #$$#5+,%. As for /ruce the term quality refers to 1the what, how, when and where of a thing, its essence and ambience. ?ualitative research thus refers to the meanings, concepts, definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols, and descriptions of things2 /erg +,,458%. ?ualitative methods allow researchers to understand, explain, discover and explore. (he researchers made effort to validate the findings by referencing to previous studies done by other researchers. It provides with a certain type of knowledge and with the tools to answer our confusion. Researchers have to be able to see how messy data can be transformed into elegant understanding. All qualitative methods seek to discover understanding or to achieve explanation from the data. ?ualitative work is to some extent always theory driven /rannen +,,#%. (hus in order to achieve such understanding, the researcher needs ways of exploring complexity. In discussing qualitative research, 9haran /. writes on the nature of qualitative research as, 1(he key to understanding qualitative research lies with the idea that meaning is socially constructed by individuals in interaction with their world. (he world, or reality, is not the fixed, single, agreed upon, or measurable phenomenon that it is assumed to be in positivist, quantitative research. Instead, there are multiple constructions and interpretations of reality that are in flux and that change over time2 &erriam #$$#58:=%. 9haran /. also points out that qualitative research covers several philosophical or theoretical orientations and the most common being interpretive, critical and postmodern. Apart from that, a basic interpretative study, phenomenology, grounded theory, case study, narrative analysis, ethnography, critical qualitative research and postmodern or post structural research are several designs or genre of qualitative research &erriam #$$#%. ?ualitative research helps us make sense of the world in a particular way. @udy Aalenta cited in )ly, et al +,,3% points her view on qualitative research as, 1(here always seems to be a question that develops that needs to be answered. I have reali.ed that it is that feeling of discomfort which seems to keep me moving toward new learning. It appears to be a part of moving on to the next step. I have compared it to the grain of sand in the oyster which causes irritation but ultimately creates a thing of beauty.2 )ly, et al +,,3580+:80#% 3 Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods Booking at what @udy has said, thus it is similar like when we can<t believe in what we are reading, we feel a lack of depth understanding. It leaves us thinking which leads us in an excellent ways to approach in searching for truth. /y utili.ing qualitative research may raise new and unexpected findings leading to reformulation of old theories. 1?ualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world. (his means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them2 *en.in and Bincoln #$$$58%. In addition, 1qualitative methodologies refer to research procedures which produce descriptive data5 people<s own written or spoken words and observable behaviour2 /ogdan and (aylor +,345=% though we do not accept their perspectives as truth, develop an empathy which allows us to see the world from their points of view. I turn now to a different type of research method that is quantitative research method. ?uantitative methods are useful for describing social phenomena, especially on a larger scale. Bawrence writes that 1the capacity of quantitative research to describe, predict and explain social and psychological phenomena has provided significant part of the foundation on which social sciences have been erected2 Bocke, et al #$$=5+8#%. ?uantitative is seen somehow as more respectable, closer to the common understanding of science, implying more precision and more readily analy.ed by computers and summari.ed in tables Can &aanen +,0#%. Indeed, quantitative research is often involved with mathematical models. (he term quantity is 1elementally an amount of something2 and refers 1to counts and measures of things2 /erg +,,458%. In fact, quantitative is a research method dealing with numbers and anything that is measurable. (hey are therefore to be distinguished from qualitative methods. !ounting and measuring are common forms of quantitative methods. (he result of the research is a number or a series of numbers. (hese are often presented in tables, graphs or other forms of statistics as what /ruce has states that in quantitative research, the findings or results commonly presents percentages and proportions of the data in the form of charts, tables and graphs /erg +,,4%. In contrast with qualitative, quantitative data can be analy.ed statistically, it is possible to examine complicated theoretical problems >irschi cited in /ryman +,00%. 4 Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods ?uantitative research is often an iterative process whereas evidence is evaluated, theories and hypotheses are refined, technical advances are made and so on. It seems that quantitative method often be faster, easier for a researcher lacking qualitative training. As quantitative research uses numbers while qualitative research uses words. As a result, qualitative research sometimes critici.ed for being nonscientific and thus invalid. Bot of qualitative research is simply descriptive whereas quantitative research is more specific. ?uantitative methods might be used with a global qualitative frame. ?ualitative methods might be used to understand the meaning of the numbers produced by quantitative methods. 'sing quantitative methods, it is possible to give precise and testable expression to qualitative ideas. ?uantitative involves many phenomena with few variables while qualitative research usually involves few cases with many variables. Allan +,,+, &erriam #$$#%. ?uantitative methods are based on a natural science, positivist model of testing theory while qualitative methods are based on interpretivism and are more focused around generating theories and accounts !ook and Reichardt +,3,%. 7ositivists treat the social world as something that is 6out there6, external to the social scientist and waiting to be researched. Interpretivists, on the other hand believe that the social world is constructed by social agency and therefore any intervention by a researcher will affect social reality /ogdan and (aylor +,34, Duba and Bincoln +,,=%. >ere, lies the supposed conflict between quantitative and qualitative approaches. ?uantitative approaches traditionally seek to minimi.e intervention in order to produce valid and reliable statistics, whereas qualitative approaches traditionally treat intervention as something that is necessary often arguing that participation can lead to a better understanding of a social situation /ogdan and (aylor +,34, !orbetta #$$8%. (o summari.e my essay, qualitative and quantitative research are different ways of conducting research and that the choice between them should be made in terms of their appropriateness in answering particular research questions. ?ualitative and quantitative paradigms bring together quite distinctive forms of both knowledge production and conceptions of reality. As Bawrence points out that 1qualitative and quantitative research are two types of research that are shaped by different paradigms 5 Research Paper 1: Writing on Research Methods different sets of assumptions about the nature of reality%2 Bocke, et al #$$=5+#=%. For several reasons, both qualitative and quantitative approaches are empirical methods in that they involve the collection, analysis and interpretation of observations or data. Although a distinction is commonly drawn between qualitative and quantitative aspects of scientific investigation, it has been argued that the two go hand in hand. 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