Research Methodologies. Identifying Qualitative and Quantitative Research Characteristics (eBook)

Academic Paper from the year 2020 in the subject Leadership and Human Resources - Management Styles, grade: A, University of Nairobi, course: Business Management, language: English, abstract: For decades, research has been described as the most expansively used tool in the increment and brush-up of the stock of knowledge regarding someone and/or something. Nonetheless, there are two key conventional approaches of conducting research within the fields of marketing, psychology, business, economics, sociology, science & technology, and so on: qualitative research and quantitative research. Despite the myriad definitions and the complexity associated with the two, the core distinctions between quantitative and qualitative research, plus the form of information garnered by the two, has been clearly described, even though there are substantial differences between the ways each research methodology acquires data.

While qualitative research depends on verbal narratives such as spoken or written material to form conclusions, quantitative research relies on logical or statistical findings. Only a few non-representative cases are chosen as a sample in qualitative research to build an initial insight. Quantitative research, on the other hand, considers a significant number of representative cases before recommending a definitive course of action.

Regardless, there remains a never-ending debate regarding which research method is more effective or better than the other; hence, this paper is going to present a novel insight on the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research, specifically utilizing examples and content from EDD program. In essence, despite the varied overlaps within the objectives of quantitative and qualitative research in the field of education, researchers ought to acknowledge the core functions of the two methods to design and carry out an impactful research study. Further, researchers need to understand the key distinctions setting quantitative and qualitative research apart to determine the methodology better suited to definite education research topics.