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    Introduction To Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

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    This document provides an introduction and overview of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It defines key terms and concepts for each approach, including their purposes, techniques, and how they differ and can be used together. Quantitative research focuses on measuring and testing objective theories by examining large samples, while qualitative explores subjective human behaviors and interpretations through smaller samples. Both have valid uses depending on the research question and goals.

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    Introduction To Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

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    533 views19 pages
    This document provides an introduction and overview of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It defines key terms and concepts for each approach, including their purposes, techniques, and how they differ and can be used together. Quantitative research focuses on measuring and testing objective theories by examining large samples, while qualitative explores subjective human behaviors and interpretations through smaller samples. Both have valid uses depending on the research question and goals.

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    Introduction to Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

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    This document provides an introduction and overview of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It defines key terms and concepts for each approach, including their purposes, techniques, and how they differ and can be used together. Quantitative research focuses on measuring and testing objective theories by examining large samples, while qualitative explores subjective human behaviors and interpretations through smaller samples. Both have valid uses depending on the research question and goals.

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    533 views19 pages

    Introduction To Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

    Uploaded by

    caroline_8585
    This document provides an introduction and overview of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It defines key terms and concepts for each approach, including their purposes, techniques, and how they differ and can be used together. Quantitative research focuses on measuring and testing objective theories by examining large samples, while qualitative explores subjective human behaviors and interpretations through smaller samples. Both have valid uses depending on the research question and goals.

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    Introduction to Qualitative vs.

    Quantitative research
    June 23, 2007
    Outline
    • Qualitative Research
    • Quantitative Research
    • Comparison
    • How they work together
    • Examples of techniques and methods
    Quantitative
    • Quant: what, where, and when of natural
    phenomena
    – develop and employ mathematical models,
    theories and hypotheses pertaining to natural
    phenomena
    – Involve large samples of subjects; deal with
    cause/effect
    – Associated with positivism: that objective
    truth can be known with certainty, that it can
    be gained through rational methods
    Positivism
    • a single, tangible reality "out there" that can be broken
    apart into pieces capable of being studied
    independently
    • the separation of the observer from the observed
    • what is true at one time and place will also be true at
    another time and place.
    • An assumption of linear causality; there are no effects
    without causes and no causes without effects.
    • the results of an inquiry are essentially free from
    beliefs, interpretations
    “Experimental” Designs
    R X1 O (R = randomly assigned subjects; X = treatment)

    R X2 O (O = observation/outcome)

    Should be:
    – Replicable: repeat with the same results in another setting
    – Generalizable, representative
    – Cumulative: observations from earlier experiment used as a basis for
    new one
    – Causal: establishes cause and effect (predictive)
    Quasi-Experimental
    X1 O (R = randomly assigned subjects;
    X = treatment)
    X2 O (O = observation/outcome)

    Randomness is approximated through


    pre-tests to ensure “equivalence”
    Qualitative Research
    • why and how of human behaviour
    – Work with a range of models, theories,
    pertaining to human phenomena
    – Involve small groups of participants;
    interpretation & reflection
    – Speech and texts, and their interpretation are
    very important
    – People's accounts of their actions significant
    – Not Positivist: no objective truth; different
    interpretations; no final certainty in knowledge
    Quantitative issues
    Quant: Indispensable in areas like user
    demographics, issues of equity, patterns
    of use; BUT:
    – Can produce a false sense of certainty
    – Takes the subject outside of natural
    setting/tasks
    – With the experimental method, can result in:
    • “no significant difference” phenomenon
    • “Hawthorne” (placebo) effect
    Qualitative issues
    Qual: Requires a different way of thinking to
    address issues like:
    – Reliability: repeatable with same/comparable
    results
    – Validity: relationship between conditions and
    results
    – Generalizability: historical and cultural
    limitations
    “Conventional vs. Naturalistic terms”
    (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Hoepfl, 1997)

    Conventional Naturalistic
    • Credibility (are the results
    • Internal validity credible from the perspective of the
    (inference regarding cause- participant?)
    effect relationships; did the • Transferability (achieved by
    treatment make a difference? thoroughly describing the research
    Or did other factors context and the assumptions that were
    central to the research)
    intervene?)
    • Dependability (emphasizes the
    • External validity (how need for the researcher to account for
    did you define your sample?) the ever-changing context within which
    research occurs)
    • Reliability (repeatability of • Confirmability (the degree to
    observations & of measures) which the results could be
    confirmed or corroborated by
    others)
    When is Qualitative Useful?
    • Qualitative research relies on imprecise and
    everyday notions of what is valid, etc.
    • But it does so reflexively; in a self-aware and
    theoretically-mediated manner.
    • Qualitative is useful in relationship to
    quantitative if:
    – The topic has been researched for a long time in the
    same way
    – The topic is new to research
    – You would like in-depth information that may be
    difficult to convey quantitatively
    Relationships:
    • "All research ultimately has a qualitative
    grounding“ (Campbell, 1974)
    • First address why and how;
    then what, where, and when can be more
    meaningfully asked and answered
    • Interdependent: Facts/Numbers &
    Interpretation/values (e.g. Web logs;
    demographics)
    • Mixed methods: Sequential or concurrent
    Grounded Theory
    • theory that is developed inductively from a
    corpus of data
    • Is case-oriented; no hypothesis is tested
    • Interviews & other data collection can be used

    • “constant comparison”
    data set  theory

    (Source: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/grounded.html)
    Action Research
    • disciplined inquiry into practices
    undertaken by those involved in them
    • done to inform and change the practice
    studied. To address problems
    • Often undertaken as a collaborative
    activity among colleagues
    • Often undertaken in situ
    • Could focus on a single issue in a
    classroom, a program, etc.
    Action Research
    • a cycle of posing questions, gathering data,
    reflection, and deciding on a course of action
    • Participatory action research:
    – collaborative & political,
    – involving all stakeholders;
    – critical reflection on the historical, political, cultural,
    economic, geographic and other contexts which make
    sense of it.
    • Source: http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/themes_ed/act_research.pdf
    • Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_action_research
    Participatory Action Research
    Cycle

    Source; http://www.communitysolutions.com.au/papers/LMpartnerships.html#alr
    Case Study
    • a research strategy, sometimes likened to
    an experiment, a history, or a simulation,
    though not linked to any particular type of
    evidence or method of data collection
    • an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a
    single instance or event
    • investigates a phenomenon within its real-
    life context
    – Source: Wikipedia
    Ethnography
    • “The study and systematic recording of human
    cultures; also : a descriptive work produced from
    such research (m-w.com)
    • Field work; observation, interviews,
    questionnaires, producing description
    • Often related to social constructivism: how do
    people make sense of their world; how do they
    accomplish things through their practice?
    • Emic (observer perspective) vs. etic (actor
    perspective
    – Source: Wikipedia
    Recommended Resources
    • Hoepfl M.E. (1997). Choosing Qualitative Research: A
    Primer for Technology Education Researchers. Journal
    of Technology Education 9(1).
    http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v9n1/hoepfl.html
    • Creswell, John W. (2002). Educational Research:
    Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
    Qualitative Research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
    • Flyvbjerg, B. (2001). Making Social Science Matter: Why
    Social Inquiry Fails and How it can Succeed Again.
    Cambridge UP

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