Quantitative And Qualitative Research Methods

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Part of being human is having the capability to absorb information. In order understand of ourselves, the world around us, and others in it, we acquire knowledge. There are many ways to acquire knowledge. For instance, we are taught new information from those in authority, such as teachers and parents. Others learn through personal experience. People can also discover new information by using reasoning and logic (Smith & Davis, 2007). Of course, information learned through those means doesn’t necessarily mean that the new data is valid, which is why scientists conduct research to validate knowledge. The methods used by scientists to learn new information are verifiable because the conclusions made can be tested by others. This leads to a higher rate of validity for the new knowledge acquired. There is a wide range of methods used to conduct research; however, the two dominant research designs are termed quantitative and qualitative research (Jha, 2008). As their root word suggests, quantitative research methods are precise and focuses on analysis of “quantity”, while qualitative research focuses on “quality” or depth. Qualitative deals with words, picture, or objects; while quantitative operates with numbers and statistics. Quantitative research methods are impersonal and concerned with empirical research designed for statistical analysis. On the other hand, qualitative research methods are more informal, enabling researchers to really get to know their subjects on a more personal level. Essentially, qualitative and quantitative are polar opposites in research methodology (Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, 2011). Quantitative research is based on numbers. The data that is collected has numerical values or based on numerical measurements in terms of quantity, amount, intensity, frequency or statistics, such as test scores, ratings, or
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