Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Approaches
Lecture 4
Research Methods
Geog 316
JA Yaro
What is a research strategy
• Research strategy means the general orientation to the
conduct of social research
• A research strategy is a plan of action that gives
direction to your efforts, enabling you to conduct
research systematically rather than haphazardly.
• Quantitative research can be construed as the research
strategy that emphasizes quantification in the
collection and analysis of data – numeracy
• Qualitative research can be construed as the research
strategy that emphasizes words/interpretation rather
than quantification in the collection and analysis of
data
What is qualitative research?
• Concerned with words rather than numbers
• Inductive view of the relationship between theory and
research
• Adopts an interpretivist position
• Stress is on the understanding of the social world
through an examination of the interpretation of that
world by its participants
• Constructionist in that social properties are outcomes
of the interactions between individuals, rather than
phenomena
Features of qualitative research
• Data can come in the form of words, images, impressions,
gestures, or tones which represent real events
• The word “qualitative” implies an emphasis on process
and an in-depth understanding of perceived meanings,
interpretations, and behaviors,
• Qualitative data collection and analysis are labor intensive
• The general rule in qualitative research is that you
continue to sample until you are not getting any new
information or are no longer gaining new insights.
An outline of the main steps in qualitative research
1. General research questions
2. Selecting research sites and subjects
3. Collection of relevant data
5b. Collection of further data
4. Interpretation of data
5. Conceptual and theoretical
framework
5a. Tighter specification of the research questions
6. Write up findings and conclusions
When to use qualitative research strategy
• Used to study human behavior and behavior changes
• Study the variations of complex, human behavior in context
• Connecting quantitative data to behavior using qualitative
methods
• Use qualitative methods to find patterns
• Hypothesis-generating or testing
• New area of research
• Causes and effects
• Exploratory study
WHAT IS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH?
• It is a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical
data are utilised to obtain information about the world
• It exhibits a strong link between theory and research
• Deductive with an objectivist conception of social reality.
• They pose the questions who, what, when, where, how much,
how many, how often?
• Quantification is preoccupied with measurement, causality,
generalization and replication.
• Data is hard, rigorous, credible, and scientific.
• Quantitative research is rigid and formalised with rules of strict
practice.
• Quantitative research provides snapshots of events at fixed
historical periods
THE PROCESS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
1 Theory or set of ideas
2 Hypotheses or set of concerns
3 Research design
4 Measures of concepts: operationalisation
5 Select research sites
6 Select respondents sampling
7 Questionnaire administration or collect data
8 Process data
9 Analyse data
10 Interpret data: findings and conclusion
11 Write up findings and conclusions
Figure 1. The process of quantitative research
Survey research
• Describes a population- it counts and describes ‘what is out
there’.
• It is an invaluable tool when primary data are required about
people, their behaviour, attitudes, and opinions and their
awareness of specific issues
• Involves systematic observation or interviewing.
• Extensive: Used to quickly and/or easily get lots of information
from people
• The three most important considerations for the surveyor are:
speed, low cost, and increased accuracy and analysis of the data.
• Social scientists use the cross-sectional design, which asks
questions of people at one point in time.
• Also longitudinal panel studies
• Large-scale, small-scale, and cross-cultural studies
• Survey research uses Questionnaires
Quantitative research differs from
qualitative research in the following ways
• The data is usually gathered using more structured
research instruments
• The results provide less detail on behaviour,
attitudes and motivation
• The results are based on larger sample sizes that are
representative of the population,
• The research can usually be replicated or repeated,
given it high reliability; and
• The analysis of the results is more objective.
Quantitative Mode Qualitative mode
Assumptions
Assumptions
Social facts have an objective
Reality is socially constructed
reality
Primacy of subject matter
Primacy of method
Variables are complex, interwoven,
Variables can be identified and
and difficult to measure
relationships measured
Emic (insider's point of view)
Etic (outside's point of view)
Purpose Purpose
Generalizability Contextualization
Prediction Interpretation
Causal explanations Understanding actors' perspectives
Approach Approach
Begins with hypotheses and Ends with hypotheses and grounded
theories theory
Manipulation and control Emergence and portrayal
Uses formal instruments Researcher as instrument
Experimentation Naturalistic
Deductive Inductive
Component analysis Searches for patterns
Seeks consensus, the norm Seeks pluralism, complexity
Reduces data to numerical Makes minor use of numerical
indices indices
Abstract language in write-up Descriptive write-up
Researcher Role Researcher Role
Detachment and impartiality Personal involvement and partiality
Objective portrayal Empathic understanding
