Compare And Contrast Qualitative And Quantitative Research

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INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS
Research is not only a term but a physical activity which is performed so as to get information on a subject matter. Many definitions are put forth for this term by several scholars but however for this paper the most suitable is that by Paul Oliver (2010) who says research is collecting information about a certain subject in a detailed and systematic way to add on to an already established knowledge base and so as be able also to explain whatever the information entails. Several approaches can be taken during the research process but however this paper only explores the qualitative and quantitative approaches.
The first step is to define what qualitative and quantitative research really mean. Quantitative research …show more content…

Methods of data collection are expected to differ but however some are similar. The questionnaire for example can be used to garner information for both qualitative and quantitative research. In both scenarios people can be dispatched into a subject area so they observe and draw conclusion of either numeric or theoretic data they could have obtained. As such this similarity in methods for data collection is good enough justification that these two are also to an extent …show more content…

That is the reason why in the first place they were classified as two different research methods. For starters, being the most apparent difference drawn from the definitions of the two methods, data when collected is subjected to different uses. In the event of quantitative data, it is merely manipulated mathematically. If there are accounting records obtained for example showing income and expenditure, the most common form of calculation that is done is to obtain gross profit. Qualitatively however theoretical data is all that is obtained, this data will not be subjected to any arithmetic procedures but rather to become words or pictures. Such data could involve the list of activities done by workers during their free time at work. SEEP-AIMS (2000) says the qualitative research approach tends to have open-ended questions and probing yield detailed information that illuminates nuances and highlights diversity. In this scenario the responses obtained from subjects or results found are not as exact. They may be a mixture of opinion and facts at the same time while the quantitative research approach tends to have specific questions which obtain predetermined responses to standardized questions. Here if a quantity is said to be thirty-eight then it will be as there are opinions to be made when it comes to

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