Quantitative vs. Qualitative: What Research Method is Right for You

Depth vs. breadth

Data vs. details

Statistics vs. testimonials

These are just some other means to describe quantitative versus qualitative research.

Qualitative research is a methodology designed to collect non-numerical data to gain insights.

Have you ever gone around to your friends asking for their opinion on the best restaurant in town? Then you have done qualitative research.

Quantitative research methods are designed to collect numerical data that can be used to measure variables.

Have you ever looks up the best reviewed restaurants in your area according to Yelp or Google? Then you have done quantitative research.

While both are comparably on their own as fantastic research methods, each have benefits that the other is lacking.

Let’s dive into the benefits and “ticks” of each research method by examining two studies in mass communications.

Quantitative Research Methodology: Crunching the Numbers

In a 2014 study conducted in Romania, researcher Alina Duduciuc conducted a study on Romanian students of who they considered socially valued role model, twenty five years after the fall of communism.

The aim of the study was to examine the media effects and Romanian students’ role models in line of the cultivation theory.

How and why is this study quantitative research?:

• Data collection through questionnaire: The students were given questions on their media exposure and prevalent role models. The researcher then gathered this data by calculating percentages of the overall study of the group.
• Socio demographics variables collected: This includes age, sex, college, residence environment.
• Data collection through SPSS: this is a modeler created through IBM and focused on interactive, batched, or statistical analysis.

Qualitative Research: The More the Merrier

In a 2015, Heath Care for Women International article, a study was conducted exploring the effect of mass media on perceptions of infant feeding.

This study specifically used qualitative research methods to explore this thought process and how women felt on the subject. The goal of this study was to gather insights and information as commented by participants of the study.

How and why is this study qualitative research?

• Researcher’s interest and perception of the issue spurred them to learn more because there was no study on this subject: Qualitative research is collected through personal observations and observations through interviews as augmented by the researcher own ideas and logic.
• Data obtained from interviews that were audiotapes and then analyzed: Qualitative research uses methods to which understand the breadth of a topic. Through interviews, the researcher is able to discover a wide scope of opinions in the study. Unlike quantitative methods, these subjects were not asked to enter or select answers to be then captured as data points.
• Open floor discussion for participants: Instead of hindering the participants to just the basic question and answer, the researcher prompted them at the end of their interview to talk about anything they’d like to see accomplished in the future with the concept of breast feeding’s perception in the mass media.

Overall, if I had to choose one research method over the other, I would prefer the qualitative. I think a researcher is not limited to the endless possibilities they could find by creating a study that favors open ended discussions that can be observed through interviews with multiple participants. Data is important but I believe the scope of a study is the most important factor.