Critically assess the characteristics of quantitative and qualitative research with specific

attention to the philosophical assumptions of both methodologies.

Creswell (2013) defines qualitative research as a research methodology to explore and

understand the meaning that some individuals or groups of people think come from social or
human problems. In the same vein, Denzin & Lincoln (2005) describes qualitative research as a
situated activity that locates the observer in the world. The author further argues that qualitative
research comprises of interpretative, material practices that make the world visible. Qualitative
research begins in the field which is based on natural environments, not theory. The data and
information that have been obtained from the field are taken for the meaning and concept,
presented in descriptive analytic and generally without using numbers, because they prioritize
the processes that occur in the field.

Characteristics of qualitative research

The following is a discussion on the characteristics of the qualitative research methodology,

based on the philosophical assumption of the research methodology:

Natural Environment or Natural Setting. Qualitative research data is collected at the locations
where participants experience the problem or issue to be studied. Qualitative researchers do not
change the environmental settings and activities of the participants. Information is gathered by
talking directly to people and seeing them act directly in a natural context. Denzin and Lincoln
(2005) posit that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make
sense of, and to interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings of what people bring to them.

Researcher as a key instrument. Qualitative researchers generally collect their own research
data through participant observation, documentation, or direct interviews with participants.
These researchers generally do not use instruments or questionnaires made by other researchers,
because they are the only key to the study.

Multiple data sources. Qualitative researchers generally choose to collect the required data
from various sources such as interviews, documentation, and observations, rather than relying
only on one source data. This is based on the ontological assumption, which relates to the state
and nature and reality of characteristics. When qualitative researchers conduct research, they are
embracing the idea of multiple realities. Different researchers embrace different realities, as do
individuals being studied and the readers of a qualitative study.

Inductive data analysis. Qualitative researchers build categories, patterns and themes from the
inductive or from separate data into a complete conclusion. This is hinged on the
methodological assumption which stresses that inductive, emerging characteristics of the
research are shaped by the researcher’s experience in collecting and analysis of data.

The participant’s meaning. In the entire research process, the researcher must focus on
studying the meaning obtained from the participants about the issue or research problem, not the
meaning conveyed by other authors or researchers in certain literatures. This is premised on the
epistemological assumption, which means that when conducting a qualitative study, researchers
try to get as close as possible to the participants being studied. This therefore means that
subjective evidence is assembled based on individual views.

Emergent design. Qualitative researchers argue that qualitative research is always evolving and
dynamic. This can mean that the initial plan is not a standard that must be adhered to, all stages
of research may change after the researcher goes into the field and collects data. Provided that
these changes are still in line in achieving the research objectives, namely obtaining information
about the problem or research issue.

Theoretical perspective. Qualitative research often uses certain perspectives in conducting

research such as ethnography, cultural concepts, gender differences, race and others.
Ethnography is a branch of anthropology to analyze the culture of a nation or society in its
natural environment over a long period of time in collecting main data, observational data and
interviews. The purpose of the analysis is to understand a view of life from the perspective of the
indigenous people. The research is conducted with observation, long enough observations of a
group, tribe or community, to find the meaning of each behavior, the language of interaction or
something related to the community itself.

Interpretive. Qualitative researchers make an interpretation of what they see, hear and what
they understand. Usually there are differences in interpretation between researchers and readers
and participants, so it appears that qualitative research offers different views on a content or
problem.
A holistic account. Qualitative researchers usually try to make a complex picture of a research
issue or problem. Researchers describe the perspectives and factors associated with the problem
as a whole.

Quantitative Research

Creswell J.W (2013) argues that quantitative research deals in numbers, logic, and an objective
stance. Quantitative research focuses on numeric and unchanging data and detailed, convergent
reasoning rather than divergent reasoning, that is, the generation of a variety of ideas about a
research problem in a spontaneous, free-flowing manner. Rajeev L (2005) further corroborated
the above as he stated that quantitative research focuses on gathering numerical data and
generalizing it across groups of people or to explain a particular phenomenon.  The final written
report has a set structure consisting of introduction, literature and theory, methods, results, and
discussion.

Characteristics of Quantitative Research

Structured research instruments. Taylor R (1997) stated that structural research methods like
questionnaires, polls, and surveys are used to conduct quantitative research. In-depth information
about the preferences of the audience can be drawn using these structured research methods.
Mayoux L (2005) further argued that with the help of the Internet and social media, it is
effortless to reach the vast population irrespective of geographical boundaries. In addition to
this, these research methods are easy to conduct through offline means. Also, a participant is
only required to fill out the questionnaire and is not required to be part of the research process for
a long time.

Large sample sizes.

Neill J (2005) stated that the most obvious characteristic of quantitative research is the large
sample size to conduct research. Quantitative research is done on a large number of audiences to
ensure reliability. The sample size used in quantitative research represents the whole target
market. Because of this characteristic of quantitative research, most organizations prefer to invest
in quantitative research rather than investing in qualitative research.
Highly reliable outcome

The outcome of quantitative research methods is quite reliable, as participants of the research
face close-ended questions. Therefore, there are fewer chances of getting vague information or
wrong information from the participants. Quantitative research methods are used for industrial
research purposes because of its reliability. Moreover, the Outcome of quantitative research is
easy to understand and explain.

Neill J (2005) contends that researchers present the outcome of the research to get the approval
of the management, and management can understand this information quickly because it is
represented in the form of tables and graphs. The researcher has a clearly defined research
question to which objective answers are sought. Data are in the form of numbers and statistics,
often arranged in tables, charts, figures, or other non-textual forms. Project can be used to
generalize concepts more widely, predict future results, or investigate causal relationships.

Reusable Outcomes

Mayoux L (2005) stated that one of the characteristics of quantitative research is that the
outcome of quantitative research can be used multiple times. Data collected for one research
purpose can be used for the prior study of another research problem. Sometimes, researchers
make the use of the outcome of research for similar research problems, which reduces the
expense and time required for conducting research. For example, if you have researched how
much money a man will be willing to pay to buy an electronic gadget. One can use the output of
the previous study to get a reliable answer to the research problem of how much a man will be
willing to pay to buy an earphone. In this way, the outcome of the previous research problem is
used to support the output of new but related research problems.

Close ended questions

Another characteristic of quantitative research is close-ended questions. Close-ended question’s

answers are more specific and right to the question than the open-ended questions. Responses to
open-ended questions are more detailed and scattered, and it requires real skills to pick out the
answers that you need. Moreover, responses to Close-ended questions are more reliable than the
answers to questions of open-ended questions. In addition to this, people also prefer to answer
close-ended questions than open-ended questions for various reasons. The followings are a few
examples of close-ended questions.

Numerical outcome

The outcome of quantitative research is always in numerical form. For example, the result of
research can be represented in percentage, range of numbers. A numerical output is easy to read
and understand, and it is easy to deduce a conclusion from the numerical outcome than a detailed
result.

Generalization of outcome

The outcome of quantitative research can be generalised easily for the whole population. Rajeev
L (2005) posits that the reason behind this is that quantitative research is conducted on a large
sample of the population. A decision can be taken for the entire population based on the outcome
of the sample population.

Prior or pilot study

Taylor R (1997) contends that the outcome of quantitative research can be used for a previous
study of another research. The author further stated that any scholars and researchers study and
analyze the outcome of previous research to establish their research hypothesis or research
problem. The results of quantitative research are more reliable than qualitative research and can
be used easily to deduce conclusions.

Reference List
1. Mayoux L (2005) “Quantitative, Qualitative or Participatory which Method, for What
and When,”, Research Methods.
2. Neill, J (2005) Qualitative vs Quantitative Research: Key Points in a Classics Debate”
Research Methods.
3. Rajeev L (2005) Methods of Qualitative Research. www.buzzle.com
4. Taylor R (1997) What is Qualitative Research? Education and Debate.

5. Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods

approach. Sage publications.
6. Denzin and Lincoln (2005) Handbook of Qualitative Research 3rd Edition, Thousand
Oaks, CA, Sage.