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Qualitative v. Quantitative Methods
Researchers use different types of methodologies based on their research question, or area of study. How can you tell what kind of methodology they've chosen?
| Qualitative Methods | Quantitative Methods |
|
Methods include focus groups, in-depth interviews, reviews of documents or literature themes, and observations |
Surveys, controlled experiments, and reviews of records or documents for numeric information |
| More subjective: describes a problem or condition from the point of view of those experiencing it | More objective: provides observed effects (interpreted by researchers) of a program on a problem or condition |
| Text-based | Number-based |
| More in-depth information on a few cases | Less in-depth but more breadth of information across a large number of cases |
| No (or few) statistical tests | Statistical tests are used for analysis |
| Less generalizable | More generalizable |
Use this chart to help organize your work (used in K. Brown's Comm 390 course)
Additional resources:
- What's the difference between qualitative and quantitative methodologies? Xavier Univ.
- Quantitative and qualitative methodology, E. Mich. Univ.