Difference Between Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research

The research can be divided into three main categories: quantitative research, qualitative research and mixed research. There are many differences between these important research paradigms. The main difference between quantitative research and qualitative research is that the purpose of quantitative research is to describe ongoing processes, while the goal of quantitative research is to find cause and effect relationships.

What is qualitative research?

Qualitative research is a term that refers to research used in the social sciences and also to market research and NGO research and service demonstrations. It is a major field of academic research study and the basis for awarding theses and dissertations in the United States and around the world. It emphasizes how people feel, what they think, and what their options are. For the most part, it takes place with discussions about certain concepts or ideas with open questions. Participants explain their reasons for having certain responses which may reveal underlying motivations, behavioral triggers, and associations.

What is quantitative research?

The term quantitative research is widely used in the natural and social sciences and represents the systematic empirical investigation of apparent and observable phenomena through statistical, mathematical, and other methods. The purpose is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and hypotheses about phenomena. In social sciences, it is used in economics, marketing, sociology, psychology, community health, human health and development, political science, and gender. Qualitative methods produce information about only one of the particular classes.

Key differences

1. Objective data collection is necessary in quantitative research. This is not the requirement for qualitative research, as data collectors may communicate with attendees.
2. There is a previous research design before the start of the research in quantitative research. In qualitative research it remains flexible and can be developed throughout the research process.
3. Quantitative research data is represented and summarized numerically, while qualitative research data is represented verbally or narratively.
4. In quantitative research, samples are selected to represent the population. In qualitative research, samples are selected on purpose or individual cases are studied.
5. Quantitative research and the purpose of qualitative research is to describe ongoing processes, while the goal of quantitative research is to find cause and effect relationships.
6. The breakdown of the phenomena is required to study the quantitative data of the investigation. While in qualitative research, the phenomena are studied in an integral way, as a complex system.