LESSON 3: RESEARCH APPROACHES

"All research ultimately has a qualitative grounding"

– Donald Campbell
"There's no such thing as qualitative data. Everything is either 1 or 0"
- Fred Kerlinger

What are the approaches of research? Is a

researcher limited to utilize a single research approach?
What are the considerations of a researcher in choosing
the approach of research to use? Is it dependent on the
objectives or the data to be gathered? Which set of data is
more appealing and convincing: numbers and graphs or
words and pictures? Is it possible to combine all of them?
These are interesting questions that are to be answered in
this lesson. Enjoy your reading as you navigate the
concepts presented below.

LET’S LEARN

Research Approaches

Research involves a process of interrelated activities rather than the application of isolated,
unrelated concepts and ideas. As a researcher, there is a need to be knowledgeable on the
different research approaches to find answers to the problems concerning complex
educational as well as societal issues. The following are the different research approaches:

Quantitative Research. This is an approach in which the researcher decides what to study,
asks specific and narrow questions, gathers numeric data from the respondents, analyzes
these numbers using statistical tools, and conducts the inquiry in an objective manner.

Qualitative Research. This is an approach in which the researcher depends on the

perspectives of the participants, asks broad and general questions, gathers data consisting
largely of words (or text), describes, and analyzes these words to come up with themes, and
conducts the inquiry in a subjective manner.

Mixed Methods Research. This is an approach that combines both quantitative and
qualitative methods in a single study or a series of studies (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011).
The basic assumption is that the use of both approaches provides a better understanding of
the research problem and question than using a single approach.

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 Quantitative vs Qualitative Research Approaches

Below is a table presenting the comparison between quantitative and

qualitative research.

Areas of
Quantitative Qualitative
Comparison

It describes a It gives a complete,

phenomenon using thick, and detailed
Objective
numbers and statistical description of a
models phenomenon.

Data are presented

Data are expressed in
Data words, pictures, objects,
numbers and statistics.
and symbols.

Data are analyzed

Data are analyzed
objectively through exact
Interpretation measurement using
surveys, tests, checklists,
questionnaires, etc.
objectively through
participants’
interpretation of events
using participant
observation, in-depth
interviews, focus group
discussion, immersion,
etc.

The design is The design is flexible as

Design fixed before data it can be modified as the
are gathered. study progresses.

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 The researcher utilizes
instruments such as The researcher serves as
Role of the researcher questionnaires or the main data gathering
equipment to gather instrument.
numerical data.

It uses inductive
It utilizes deductive
approach as the
approach as the
researcher builds
Process researcher tests
abstractions, concepts,
hypotheses, concepts,
hypotheses, and theories
and theories.
from details.

Mixed Research as an approach utilizes and combines the advantages of both

quantitative and qualitative research in order to provide in-depth and comprehensive
examination of a phenomenon. It allows
complementation of diverging perspectives in answering the research objectives.