We explain what qualitative research is and what quantitative research is, their differences and main characteristics.
Qualitative and quantitative research
An investigation is an exploration of the information available on a topicin order to obtain some type of conclusions once the information has been obtained and analyzed. But there are different types of research. When classifying them according to their work methodology, a distinction is made between two main forms: qualitative research and quantitative research.
A quantitative investigation is one that uses numerical magnitudes to express their work, through experimental or statistical techniques, whose results are then mathematically representable. Its name comes from amount either quantificationthat is, numbering.
They are the type of investigations focused on the cause and effect of thingsas in most natural sciences. They provide descriptive results that can then be generalized.
A qualitative investigation is one that collects the existing discourses around the topic. and then performs a rigorous interpretation. It does not require numerical, statistical or mathematical procedures, but rather obtains descriptive data through a possible diversity of methods.
It is the research method used in the social sciences. Does not raise a hypothesis a prioribut uses induction to obtain answers to his own questions formulated on the fly. Its name comes from qualitythat is, of the attributes of something.
See also: Research project
Differences between qualitative and quantitative
The main differences between these two modes of research have to do with the approach. Although both obtain descriptive results, quantitative uses experimental methods in which chance intervenes to a large extent, as a guarantee of objectivity of the results. Furthermore, to represent them it requires numbers and formal languages.
Instead, In qualitative methods, the methods are analytical, inductive.. Its objective is to obtain conclusions from the very perspective with which the problem is approached. Its results are expressed through an interpretive verbal discourse, an explanation that takes the context into account.
In that sense, Qualitative research is multi-methodical and it does not start from a hypothesis to be tested, but from addressing a problem. It could be said that quantitative values value objectivity (the object), while qualitative values value subjectivity (the subject).
Other differences are:
- In their methods of obtaining informationquantitative uses statistics, mathematical descriptions and formulas; qualitative uses stories, narratives, explanations and questionnaires.
- The quantitative uses large, random samples, while the quantitative uses selected and representative samples. Their sampling methods They also differ: the first uses standardized and numerical methods, the second flexible and narrative.
- The conclusions obtained in quantitative research are definitive, formal and appear at the end of the study; In a qualitative one they are provisional, changeable, and are being reviewed continuously throughout the work.
- Regarding the type of science in which they are usedquantitative ones are generally used for the exact sciences, while qualitative ones are commonly used for the social sciences and humanities.
Types of qualitative and quantitative research
There are various types of research of each type, such as:
Quantitative research:
- Descriptive. Often equivalent to the initial stage of scientific research, in which the results obtained from direct observation of reality are organized around a hypothesis.
- Analytics. Establishes comparisons between the numerical data (variables, statistics, etc.) of the different groups studied, as they occurred during the sampling stages.
- Experimental. Those that depend on the repetition and verification of natural events in a controlled environment, in order to obtain generalizable conclusions.
Qualitative research:
- Ethnographic. Based on participant observation, that is, on a kind of objective testimony (despite the contradiction), he tries to obtain conclusions regarding the different human groups of interest. It is usually used in human sciences such as anthropology.
- Participatory research. It tries to relate a series of specific events with the participation that various human groups have in their area, to find the objective or subjective link between the two.
- Action research. It goes one step further than the description, proposing ways to act or participate in the problem studied and often provide a solution, considering the researcher as an actor and not a spectator.
Quantitative research example
A common example of quantitative research is a drug testing. A study population is taken, different concentrations of the medication are supplied in determined, controlled and regulated doses, in order to objectively measure the result, and thus determine a margin of effectiveness of the product.
This result has nothing to do with the perspectives of the subjects, nor with what they think, nor with who they are, but with the response obtained after the administration of the drug. Then, The results will be expressed in percentages (%) and will be referred to based on the number of tests done on a randomly chosen population.
Qualitative research example
A common example of qualitative research, however, is a political opinion poll. Although it also uses a random population (in the sense that it interviews people on the street), it does choose which questions to ask based on the topics they want to address.
These questions will be answered subjectively by each interviewee, accumulating a database of answers that They must then be interpreted by the researcherwho will be able to obtain certain conclusions regarding the voting intentions of the population by extrapolating the sample to the whole.
The results also allow you to conclude certain trends, whether or not they are the ones that later affect the time of voting. The result will be partial, subjective, and will influence its own compliance, since the publication of the survey may guide the vote of the total electoral population in some way.
Continue with: Dependent and independent variables
References
- “Qualitative research” on Wikipedia.
- “Quantitative research” on Wikipedia.
- “Difference between qualitative and quantitative research” (video) in Edition Islands.
- “Differences between qualitative and quantitative research” (video) in IDICO.
- “Quantitative and qualitative research: advantages and disadvantages” in Torresburiel study.
