The main difference between quantitative and qualitative research is the type of data they collect and analyze.
Quantitative data is information about quantities, and therefore numbers, and qualitative data is descriptive, and regards phenomenon which can be observed but not measured, such as language.
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What Is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative researchis the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting non-numerical data, such as language. Qualitative research can be used to understand how an individual subjectively perceives and gives meaning to their social reality.
Qualitative data is non-numerical data, such as text, video, photographs, or audio recordings. This type of data can be collected using diary accounts or in-depth interviews and analyzed using grounded theory or thematic analysis.
Qualitative research is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.
Interest in qualitative data came about as the result of the dissatisfaction of some psychologists (e.g.,Carl Rogers)with the scientific study of psychologists such as behaviorists (e.g.,Skinner).
Since psychologists study people, the traditional approach to science is not seen as an appropriate way of carrying out research since it fails to capture the totality of human experience and the essence of being human. Exploring participants’ experiences is known as aphenomenological approach(re:Humanism).
Qualitative research is primarily concerned with meaning, subjectivity, and lived experience. The goal is to understand the quality and texture of people’s experiences, how they make sense of them, and the implications for their lives.
Qualitative research aims to understand the social reality of individuals, groups, and cultures as nearly as possible as participants feel or live it. Thus, people and groups are studied in their natural setting.
Some examples of qualitative research questions are provided, such as what an experience feels like, how people talk about something, how they make sense of an experience, and how events unfold for people.
Research following a qualitative approach is exploratory and seeks to explain ‘how’ and ‘why’ a particular phenomenon, or behavior, operates as it does in a particular context. It can be used to generate hypotheses and theories from the data.
Qualitative Methods
There are different types of qualitative research methods, including diary accounts,in-depth interviews, documents,focus groups,case study research, andethnography.
The results of qualitative methods provide a deep understanding of how people perceive their social realities and in consequence, how they act within the social world.
The researcher has several methods for collecting empirical materials, ranging from the interview to direct observation, to the analysis of artifacts, documents, and cultural records, to the use of visual materials or personal experience.
Examples
Here are some examples of qualitative data:
Interview transcripts: Verbatim records of what participants said during an interview or focus group. They allow researchers to identify common themes and patterns, and draw conclusions based on the data. Interview transcripts can also be useful in providing direct quotes and examples to support research findings.
Observations: The researcher typically takes detailed notes on what they observe, including any contextual information, nonverbal cues, or other relevant details. The resulting observational data can be analyzed to gain insights into social phenomena, such as human behavior, social interactions, and cultural practices.
Unstructured interviews:generate qualitative data through the use of open questions. This allows the respondent to talk in some depth, choosing their own words. This helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person’s understanding of a situation.
Diaries or journals: Written accounts of personal experiences or reflections.
Notice that qualitative data could be much more than just words or text. Photographs, videos, sound recordings, and so on, can be considered qualitative data. Visual data can be used to understand behaviors, environments, and social interactions.
Qualitative Data Analysis
Qualitative research is endlessly creative and interpretive. The researcher does not just leave the field with mountains of empirical data and then easily write up his or her findings.
Qualitative interpretations are constructed, and various techniques can be used to make sense of the data, such ascontent analysis,grounded theory(Glaser & Strauss, 1967),thematic analysis(Braun & Clarke, 2006), ordiscourse analysis.
For example, thematic analysis is a qualitative approach that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data. Themes will often emerge once thedata has been coded.
Key Features
Events can be understood adequately only if they are seen in context. Therefore, a qualitative researcher immerses her/himself in the field, in natural surroundings. The contexts of inquiry are not contrived; they are natural. Nothing is predefined or taken for granted.Qualitative researchers want those who are studied to speak for themselves, to provide their perspectives in words and other actions. Therefore, qualitative research is an interactive process in which the persons studied teach the researcher about their lives.The qualitative researcher is an integral part of the data; without the active participation of the researcher, no data exists.The study’s design evolves during the research and can be adjusted or changed as it progresses.For the qualitative researcher, there is no single reality. It is subjective and exists only in reference to the observer.The theoryis data-driven and emerges as part of the research process, evolving from the data as they are collected.
Limitations of Qualitative Research
Advantages of Qualitative Research
What Is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative research involves the process of objectively collecting and analyzing numerical data to describe, predict, or control variables of interest.
The goals of quantitative research are totest causal relationships between variables, make predictions, and generalize results to wider populations.
Quantitative researchers aim to establish general laws of behavior and phenomenon across different settings/contexts. Research is used to test a theory and ultimately support or reject it.
Quantitative Methods
Experimentstypically yield quantitative data, as they are concerned with measuring things. However, other research methods, such as controlled observations andquestionnaires, can produce both quantitative information.
For example, arating scaleor closed questions on a questionnaire would generate quantitative data as these produce either numerical data or data that can be put into categories (e.g., “yes,” “no” answers).
Experimental methods limit how research participants react to and express appropriate social behavior.
Findings are, therefore, likely to be context-bound and simply a reflection of the assumptions that the researcher brings to the investigation.
There are numerous examples of quantitative data in psychological research, including mental health. Here are a few examples:
Another example is the Experience in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), a self-report questionnaire widely used to assess adultattachment styles.
The ECR provides quantitative data that can be used to assess attachment styles and predict relationship outcomes.
Neuroimaging data:Neuroimaging techniques,such as MRI and fMRI, provide quantitative data on brain structure and function.
This data can be analyzed to identify brain regions involved in specific mental processes or disorders.
For example, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is a clinician-administered questionnaire widely used to assess the severity of depressive symptoms in individuals.
The BDI consists of 21 questions, each scored on a scale of 0 to 3, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Statistics help us turn quantitative data into useful information to help with decision-making. We can use statistics to summarize our data, describing patterns, relationships, and connections. Statistics can be descriptive or inferential.
Descriptive statistics help us to summarize our data. In contrast, inferential statistics are used to identify statistically significant differences between groups of data (such as intervention and control groups in a randomized control study).
Limitations of Quantitative Research
Advantages of Quantitative Research
References
Antonius, R. (2003).Interpreting quantitative data with SPSS. Sage.
Black, T. R. (1999).Doing quantitative research in the social sciences: An integrated approach to research design, measurement and statistics. Sage.
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006).Using thematic analysis in psychology.Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.
Carr, L. T. (1994).The strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research: what method for nursing?Journal of advanced nursing, 20(4), 716-721.
Denscombe, M. (2010).The Good Research Guide: for small-scale social research.McGraw Hill.
Denzin, N., & Lincoln. Y. (1994).Handbook of Qualitative Research.Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications Inc.
Glaser, B. G., Strauss, A. L., & Strutzel, E. (1968). The discovery of grounded theory; strategies for qualitative research.Nursing research, 17(4), 364.
Minichiello, V. (1990).In-Depth Interviewing: Researching People.Longman Cheshire.
Punch, K. (1998).Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches.London: Sage
Further InformationMixed methods researchDesigning qualitative researchMethods of data collection and analysisIntroduction to quantitative and qualitative researchChecklists for improving rigour in qualitative research: a case of the tail wagging the dog?Qualitative research in health care: Analysing qualitative dataQualitative data analysis: the framework approachUsing the framework method for the analysis ofQualitative data in multi-disciplinary health researchContent AnalysisGrounded TheoryThematic Analysis
Further Information
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
