What is Qualitative Research?

Qualitative research is a process of real-life inquiry that aims to understand

social phenomena. It focuses on the "why" and “how” rather than the "what" of
social phenomena and depends on the direct experiences of human beings as
meaning-making agents in their everyday lives.

It is a scientific research method used to gather non-numerical data. Qualitative

research focuses on human behavior from a participant's point of view.

The three major focus areas are individuals, societies and cultures, and language
and communication – employed across academic disciplines, qualitative market
research, journalism, business, and so on.

Qualitative researchers use varying methods of inquiry for the study of human
phenomena including biography, case study, historical analysis, discourse
analysis, ethnography, grounded theory and phenomenology.

The common assumptions are that knowledge is subjective rather than objective
and that the researcher learns from the participants in order to understand the
meaning of their lives.

Types of Qualitative Research

Just as quantitative, there are varieties of qualitative research methods. We shall

look at five types of qualitative research that are widely used in business,
education and government organizational models.

 Narrative Research

This method occurs over extended periods of time and garners information as it
happens. It laces a sequence of events, usually from just one or two individuals
to form a consistent story.

Narrative research can be considered both a research method in itself but also
the phenomenon under study.

Businesses use the narrative method to define buyer personas and use them to
identify innovations that appeal to a target market.
  Ethnographic Research

This method is one of the most popular and widely recognized methods of
qualitative research, as it immerses samples in cultures unfamiliar to them. The
researcher is also often immersed as a subject for extended periods of time.

The objective is to understand and describe characteristics of cultures the same

way anthropologists observe cultural variations among humans.

"Ethnographic research allows us to regard and represent the actors as

creators and execute their own meanings. The very way in which they tell us
about what they do, tells the researcher a great deal about what is meaningful
for and in the research. It adds richness and texture to the experience of
conducting research." (Stuart Hannabuss).

The ethnographic method looks at people in their cultural setting; their behavior
as well as their words; their interactions with one another and with their social
and cultural environment; their language and its symbols; rituals etc. to produce
a narrative account of that culture.

 Historical Research

This method investigates past events in order to learn present patterns and
anticipate future choices. It enables the researcher to explore and explain the
meanings, phases and characteristics of a phenomenon or process at a particular
point of time in the past.

It is not simply the accumulation of dates and facts or even just a description of
past happenings but is a flowing and dynamic explanation or description of past
events which include an interpretation of these events in an effort to recapture
implications, personalities and ideas that have influenced these events (ibid).

The purpose of historical research is to authenticate and explicate the history of

any area of human activities, subjects or events by means of scientific processes
(Špiláčková, 2012).

Businesses can use historical data of previous ad campaigns alongside their

targeted demographic to split-test new campaigns. This would help determine
the more effective campaign.
  Grounded Theory

The grounded theory research method looks at large subject matters and
attempts to explain why a course of action progresses the way it did.

Simply put, it seeks to provide an explanation or theory behind the events.

Sample sizes are often larger to better establish a theory.

Grounded theory can help inform design decisions by better understanding how
a community of users currently use a product or perform tasks. For example, a
grounded theory study could involve understanding how software developers
use portals to communicate and write code.

Businesses use grounded theory when conducting user or satisfaction surveys

that target why consumers use company products or services.

 Case Study

This involves deep understanding through multiple data sources. Case studies
can be explanatory, exploratory, or descriptive. 

Unlike grounded theory, the case study method provides an in-depth look at one
test subject. The subject can be a person or family, business or organization, or a
town or city.

Businesses often use case studies when marketing to new clients to show how
their business solutions solve a problem for the subject.

What is quantitative research?

Quantitative research is used to quantify behaviors, opinions, attitudes, and
other variables and make generalizations from a larger population. quantitative
research uses quantifiable data to articulate facts and reveal patterns in research.
This type of research method involves the use of statistical, mathematical tools
to derive results.

When trying to quantify a problem, quantitative data will conclude on its

purpose and understand how dominant it is by looking for results that can be
projected to a larger population.
This data collection method includes various forms of online, paper, mobile,
kiosk surveys; online polls; systematic observations; face-to-face interviews,
phone interviews and so on.

Researchers who use quantitative research method are typically looking to

quantify the degree and accentuate objective measurements through polls,
questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating an existing statistical data using
computational techniques. 

Summarily, the goal in quantitative research is to understand the relationship

between an independent and dependent variable in a population.

5 Types of Quantitative Research

There are four main types of quantitative research designs: correlational,
descriptive, experimental and quasi-experimental. But there’s another one;
survey research.

 Descriptive Research

Descriptive research method is more focused on the ‘what’ of the subject matter
rather than the ‘why’.i.e. it aims to describe the current status of a variable or
phenomenon.  Descriptive research is pretty much as it sounds – it describes
circumstances. It can be used to define respondent characteristics, organize
comparisons, measure data trends, validate existing conditions.

Data collection is mostly by observation and the researcher does not begin with
a hypothesis but, creates one after the data is collected. Albeit very useful, this
method cannot draw conclusions from received data and cannot determine cause
and effect. 

 Correlational Research

Correlational research is a non-experimental research method, where the

researcher measures two variables, and studies the statistical relationship i.e. the
correlation between variables. The researcher ultimately assesses that
relationship without influence from any peripheral variable.

Let’s take this example, without classroom teaching, our minds relate to the fact
that the ‘louder the jingle of an ice cream truck is, the closer it is to us’. We also
memorize the jingle that comes from the speakers of the truck. And if there are
multiple ice cream trucks in the area with different jingles, we would be able to
memorize all of it and relate particular jingles to particular trucks. This is how
correlational method works.

The most prominent feature of correlational research is that the two variables
are measured – neither is manipulated.

A correlation has direction and can be either positive or negative. It can also
differ in the degree or strength of the relationship.

 Experimental Research

Often referred to as ‘true experimentation’, this type of research method uses a

scientific method to establish cause-effect relationship among a group of
variables.

It is commonly defined as a type of research where the scientist actively

influences something to observe the consequences.

It is a systematic and scientific approach to research in which the researcher

manipulates one or more variables, and controls/randomizes any change in other
variables.

Experimental research is commonly used in sciences such as sociology and

psychology, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine and so on.

 Quasi-experimental Research

The prefix quasi means “resembling”. Quasi-experimental research resembles

experimental research but is not a true experimental research. It is often referred
to as ‘Causal-Comparative’.

In this type of research, the researcher seeks to establish a cause-effect

relationship between two variables and manipulates the independent variable.

Although the independent variable is manipulated, participants are not randomly

assigned to conditions or orders of conditions (Cook & Campbell, 1979).

Abraham & MacDonald (2011) states:

"Quasi-experimental research is similar to experimental research in that there
is manipulation of an independent variable. It differs from experimental
research because either there is no control group, no random selection, no
random assignment, and/or no active manipulation."

Quasi-experimental involves ‘comparison.’ The study of two or more groups is

done without focusing on their relationship.

 Survey Research

Survey Research uses interviews, questionnaires, and sampling polls to get a

sense of behavior with concentrated precision. Researchers are able to judge
behavior and then present the findings in an accurate way.

Survey research can be conducted around one group specifically or used to

compare several groups. When conducting survey research, it is imperative that
the researcher samples random people. This allows for more accurate findings
across a greater number of respondents.

This kind of research can be done in person, over the phone, or through email.
They can be self-administered.

Why choose Quantitative Research over Qualitative

Research?
Quantitative research is more preferred over qualitative research because it is
more scientific, objective, fast, focused and acceptable. However, qualitative
research is used when the researcher has no idea what to expect. It is used to
define the problem or develop and approach to the problem.

 More scientific: A large amount of data is gathered and then analyzed

statistically. This almost erases bias, and if more researchers ran the
analysis on the data, they would always end up with the same numbers at
the end of it.
 Control-sensitive: The researcher has more control over how the data is
gathered and is more distant from the experiment. An outside perspective
is gained using this method.
 Less biased/objective: The research aims for objectivity i.e. without bias,
and is separated from the data. Researcher has clearly defined research
questions to which objective answers are sought.
 Focused: The design of the study is determined before it begins and
research is used to test a theory and ultimately support or reject it.
 Deals with larger samples: The results are based on larger sample sizes
that are representative of the population. The large sample size is used to
gain statistically valid results in customer insight.
 Repeatable: The research study can usually be replicated or repeated,
given its high reliability.
 Arranged in simple analytical methods: Received data are in the form
of numbers and statistics, often arranged in tables, charts, figures, or other
non-textual forms.
 Generalizable: Project can be used to generalize concepts more widely,
predict future results, or investigate causal relationships. Findings can be
generalized if selection process is well-designed and sample is
representative of a study population.
 Relatable: Quantitative research aims to make predictions, establish facts
and test hypotheses that have already been stated. It aims to find evidence
which supports or does not support an existing hypothesis. It tests and
validates already constructed theories about how and why phenomena
occur.
 More structured: Researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or
equipment to collect numerical data.
 Pertinent in later stages of research: Quantitative research is usually
recommended in later stages of research because it produces more reliable
results.
 Consistent with data: With quantitative research, you may be getting
data that is precise, reliable and consistent, quantitative and numerical.
 More acceptable: It may have higher credibility among many influential
people (e.g., administrators, politicians, sponsors, donors)
 Fast: Data collection using quantitative methods is relatively quick (e.g.,
telephone interviews). Also, data analysis is relatively less time
consuming (using statistical software).
 Useful for decision making: Data from quantitative research—such as
market size, demographics, and user preferences—provides important
information for business decisions.
"There's no such thing as qualitative data. Everything is either 1 or 0" - Fred
Kerlinger
When to use Quantitative Research Method

Quantitative research ends with conclusions/recommendations, as it tries to quantify a problem

and understand how prevalent it is by looking for results that can be projected to a larger
population. It can help you see the big picture.

A researcher may want to determine the link between income and whether or not more people
pay taxes. This is a question that asks “how many” and seeks to confirm a hypothesis.

The method will be structured and consistent during data collection, most likely using a
questionnaire with closed-ended questions. The data can be used to look for cause and effect
relationships and therefore, can be used to make predictions.

The results will provide numerical data that can be analyzed statistically as the researcher looks
for a correlation between income and tax payers. Quantitative methodology would best apply to
this research problem.

Use quantitative research methods such as A/B testing for validating or choosing a design based
on user satisfaction scores, perceived usability measures, and/or task performance. The data
received is statistically valid and can be generalized to the entire user population.

Basically, quantitative research is helpful when you get feedback from more than a handful of
participants; need to present a more convincing case to an audience; you want to gather feedback
from a diverse population of users NOT all located in the same place; you have a limited budget.

When to use Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is explanatory and is used when the researcher has no idea
what to expect. It is used to define the problem or develop and approach to the
problem.

It is used to delve deeper into issues of interest. Qualitative data adds the details
and can also give a human voice to your results.

Use this type of research method if you want to do in-depth interviews, want to
analyze issues affecting focus groups, want uninterrupted observation and
ethnographic participation.
You can use it to initiate your research by discovering the problems or
opportunities people are thinking about. Those ideas can later become
hypotheses.

Quotes from open-ended questions in qualitative research can put a human

voice to the objective numbers and trends in your results. Many times, it helps
to hear your customers describe your organization honestly which helps point
out blind spots.

Choose qualitative research if you want to capture the language and imagery
customers use to describe and can easily relate with a brand, product, service
and so on.