Qualitative Research gathers data about lived experiences, emotions or behaviors, and the meanings individuals attach to them. It assists in enabling researchers to gain a better understanding of complex concepts, social interactions or cultural phenomena. This type of research is useful in the exploration of how or why things have occurred, interpreting events and describing actions.
Quantitative Research gathers numerical data which can be ranked, measured or categorized through statistical analysis. It assists with uncovering patterns or relationships, and for making generalizations. This type of research is useful for finding out how many, how much, how often, or to what extent.
Qualitative Methods |
Quantitative Methods |
|---|---|
| Interviews: can be structured, semi-structured or unstructured. | Surveys or Questionnaires: the same questions asked to large numbers of participants (e.g., Likert scale response) (see book below). |
| Focus Groups: several participants discussing a topic or set of questions. | Experiments: test hypothesis in controlled conditions (see video below). |
| Observations: can be on-site, in-context, or role play (see video below). | Observations: counting the number of times a phenomenon occurs or coding observed data in order to translate it into numbers. |
| Document Analysis: analysis of correspondence or reports. | Document Screening: using numerical data from financial reports or counting word occurrences. |
| Oral History or Life Stories: memories told to a researcher. |
Correlational Research cannot determine causal relationships. Instead they examine relationships between variables.
Experimental Research can establish causal relationship and variables can be manipulated.
Empirical Studies are based on evidence. The data is collected through experimentation or observation.
Non-empirical Studies do not require researchers to collect first-hand data.