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Research Methods
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PARIS
COURSE: DBA674
July 3, 2016
Research Methods
Horizons University
Author Note
This paper was submitted as “Essay 1” for the course “DBA674: Quantitative and
Qualitative Methods”.
Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 5
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 6
References ........................................................................................................................... 7
Research Methods
methods to choose from when carrying out business research, depending on a number of
factors involved in the research. On the one hand, the researcher may use a quantitative
research method to test hypotheses and make predictions by using measured amounts and
ultimately describe an event by using figures. This method enables the researcher to use
numbers in statistical tests to ensure that the results have a statistical relationship, and
uses numbers to explain their findings. On the other hand, the researcher may use a
qualitative research method in which they describe the kind and quality of a subject while
interpreting and attempting to understand an event. This method enables the researcher
to use texts to explain their findings. Through this research method, the audience is given
a mental picture of what the researcher is seeing, making it difficult to quantify results
with statistical procedures. Also, a researcher may choose to employ a mixed method in
with one method (quantitative or qualitative) are thought to cancel out (Creswell, 2003).
According to Creswell (2003) the decision of what method a researcher employs depends
on (a) the research problem, (b) the researcher’s experience, (c) the reporting audience,
(d) whether the researcher wants to specify the kind of information to be collected or let it
arise from the data being collected, and (e) whether data to be collected is numeric or text
(Creswell, 2003). In this paper, I intend to briefly compare and contrast the three
research methods above, identify which method is preferable under what circumstances,
1
Quantitative Research Method
Quantitative research methods are those methods in which numbers are used to
explain findings (Kowalczyk, 2016). The research procedures are through “experiments”
Maxwell & Delaney, 2004 ). Using numbers implies that the researcher has to have a
(2015a) explains that the general purpose of quantitative research is to explain, predict or
described in Maxwell & Delaney (2004).The researcher is not a part of the research
instruments and close ended questions are used. According to Creswell (2003), the
knowledge being researched is “conjectural” (p. 7), meaning that there is no absolute
truth of it. Quantitative research methods would be used in situations in which the
researcher wants to study how a specified variable affects another, disregarding the
effects of other variables. Such a method is suitable in the sciences, and quantitative
methods have been use in the sciences for a really long time compared to the other
“positivists” and therefore may be referred to as the “scientific method” (Creswell, 2003,
p. 6). Such a research method when used in the social sciences would be used to test
hypotheses. Creswell ( 2003) asserts that with quantitative research the researcher starts
with a theory, collects data that either supports or contradicts the theory, makes revisions,
and conducts additional tests. The advantages of quantitative research methods are that it
2
draws conclusions for large numbrs of people, it employs efficient data analysis, it
examines probable cause and effect, bias is controlled , and people generally like
numbers. Its limitations are that it is impersonal, the words of the participants are not
in existence only for a few decades (Creswell, 2003). Rather than use numbers,
understanding of the phenomenon being studied (CRQ, 2015b). In this research method,
the researcher may be a part of the research instruments. For example, a social sciences
the researcher would actively interact with the people they are studying. Open ended
questions are used, rather than closed ended in quantitative methods. According to
Creswell (2003), “qualitative research is largely inductive, with the inquirer generating
meaning from the data collected in the field” (p. 9). This method could be employed if
the researcher is not certain of which variables to control (Creswell, 2003). Therefore
qualitative research methods would be useful in cases where the researcher wishes to
gather a general (not specific) idea from the subjects, the goal being to explore, interpret
and describe a situation. The advantages of qualitative research methods include (a) it
provides a detailed perspective of a few people, (b) the voices of participants can be
heard, (c) the context of participants can be understood, (d) it is built from views of
participants, not researcher, and (e) people like stories. Its limitations are its limited
generalisability, data is not as hard as numbers, few people are studied, it is highly
3
interpretive, and there is reliance on participants which minimizes the researcher’s
expertise (Creswell, 2013). Table 1 compares the two types of research methods
described.
Mixed research methods is relatively new and still under development (Creswell,
2003). A mixed method combines quantitative and qualitative methods in the same study
in order to get a full understanding of the phenomenon under study. Thus a mixed
opines that mixed research methods are quite new and developing in the health and social
sciences, and involves combining both statistical trends and stories to study human and
social problems. The main assumption is that when an inquirer combines both
than using either method alone. In Creswell (2003) this research method is likened to
pragmatism and it is stressed that “mixed methods researchers look to many approaches
to collecting and analyzing data rather than subscribing to only one way… using both
quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide the best understanding of a research
problem.” (Creswell, 2003, p. 12). Mixed methods research, therefore, can be very useful
in getting a deep understanding of any research. However, given that mixed research
method requires more time and effort than either of qualitative or quantitative methods, it
is imperative that this method be used only for that research in which a profound
4
setting, mixed research would be more costly and should be used only when the research
Discussion
methods discussed above, and then discuss some actual applications. In particular, I will
refer to one or more study(s) I conducted and discuss how some of the methods above
were applied and applications of the “key considerations to planning your business
Quality or meaning of
Focus Quantity, frequency, magnitude
experience
Constructivism,
Philosophical roots Positivism
interpretivism
Understand, describe,
Goals Predict, control, confirm, test
discover
Design
Flexible, evolving, emergent Structured, predetermined
characteristics
External instruments: tests,
Data collection Researcher as instrument
surveys, etc.
Question types Open ended Closed ended
5
As mentioned in CRQ (2015b), qualitative research data could come from
reported as the final project for the course DBA 658, I collected data from documents and
MNC staffing strategies across different world regions (Powoh, 2016). It, therefore,
would not be an overstatement to conclude that my study was a mixed research method,
though a shallow one, since I was not quite informed of research methodologies at that
moment. In that research I also made use (unawares) of the “key considerations to
designing your research” (McNamara, n.d.), since I basically answered all the eight
Conclusion
method combines both qualitative and quantitative elements to produce a better research
their choice should depend on the nature of the phenomenon being studied, what they
want to know about the phenomenon, and their goals. It should, however, be noted that a
research can neither be purely quantitative nor purely qualitative as there will always be
6
References
Creswell, J. W. (2013). What is mixed methods research [video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OaNiTlpyX8
CRQ. (2015a). Overview of quantitative research methods [video file]. Center for
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwU8as9ZNlA
CRQ. (2015b). Overview of qualitative research methods [video file]. Center for Research
paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 14-26. Retrieved from
http://mintlinz.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/83256376/Johnson%20Mixed%20metho
ds%202004.pdf
methodologies-quantitative-qualitative-mixed-method.html
Maxwell, S. E., & Delaney, H. D. (2004). Designing experiments and analyzing data : A
McNamara, C. (n.d.). Basic Advice About Planning Your Research. Retrieved from
Managementhelp.org: http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/planning.htm
Powoh, T. V. (2016). International staffing: Strategic considerations for different world regions.