Philosophical Assumptions Underlying Qualitative as Opposed to Quantitative Research

Differences between quantitative and qualitative researchers are often discussed in terms
of differing paradigms, or worldviews that is, differences in the basic set of beliefs or
assumptions that guide the way they approach their investigations. These assumptions are related
to the views they hold concerning the nature of reality, the relationship of the researcher to that
which he or she is studying, the role of values in a study, and the process of research itself.
Qualitative researchers posit that ones worldview infl uences the theoretical framework, or
theoretical approach, that is used to structure a research study.
The quantitative approach is associated with the philosophy of positivism , which
emerged in the nineteenth century. Perhaps the person most responsible for the development and
spread of this philosophy was Auguste Comte (17981857). In 1824 he wrote, I believe that I
shall succeed in having it recognized . . . that there are laws as well-defined for the development
of the human species as for the fall of a stone. 9 Comte argued that the positive stage of
human knowledge is reached when people begin to rely on empirical data, reason, and the
development of scientific laws to explain phenomena. The scientifi c method, positivists believe,
is the surest way to produce effective knowledge.
Although positivism has changed somewhat over the years, a basic premise is that there
exists a reality out there, independent of us, waiting to be discovered, that is driven by stable
natural laws. The task of science is to discover the nature of this reality and how it works. A
related emphasis is on breaking complex phenomena down into manageable pieces for study and
eventual reassembly into the whole. The researchers role is that of a disinterested scientist,
standing apart from that which is being studied, with his or her biases and values excluded
through experimental design and control.
Challenges to the philosophy of positivism have come from many directions and continue
to be debated. In general, qualitative researchers are sympathetic to the issues raised by critical
researchers that we described in Chapter 1, and they present their methods as an alternative to the
quantitative approach. Many of them advocate a more artistic, as opposed to a scientifi c,
approach to research. Further, their goals are often different; this is illustrated by the preference
of some for fostering multiple interpretations of events, depending on how they are perceived by
the individuals involved. This complicated perspective is the opposite of what almost all physical
scientists (and most social scientists) advocate. Table 18.3 reveals the basic differences between
the two approaches with regard to these philosophic assumptions.
TABLE 18.2 Major Characteristics of Qualitative Research
1. Naturalistic inquiry Studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally;
nonmanipulative, unobtrusive, and noncontrolling; openness to whatever emergeslack
of predetermined constraints on outcomes.
2. Inductive analysis Immersion in the details and specifics of the data to discover
important categories, dimensions, and interrelationships; begin by exploring genuinely
open questions rather than testing theoretically derived (deductive) hypotheses.
3. Holistic perspective The whole phenomenon under study is understood as a complex
system that is more than the sum of its parts; focus is on complex interdependencies not
meaningfully reduced to a few discrete variables and linear, cause-effect relationships.
4. Qualitative data Detailed, thick description; inquiry in depth; direct quotations capturing
peoples personal perspectives and experiences.
5. Personal contact and insight The researcher has direct contact with and gets close to the
people, situation, and phenomenon under study; researchers personal experiences and
insights are an important part of the inquiry and critical to understanding the
phenomenon.
6. Dynamic systems Attention to process; assumes change is constant and ongoing whether
the focus is on an individual or an entire culture.
7. Unique case orientation Assumes each case is special and unique; the fi rst level of
inquiry is being true to, respecting, and capturing the details of the individual cases being
studied; cross-case analysis follows from and depends on the quality of individual case
studies.
8. Context sensitivity Places fi ndings in a social, historical, and temporal context; dubious
of the possibility or meaningfulness of generalizations across time and space.
9. Empathic neutrality Complete objectivity is impossible; pure subjectivity undermines
credibility; the researchers passion is understanding the world in all its complexitynot
proving something, not advocating, not advancing personal agendas, but understanding;
the researcher includes personal experience and empathic insight as part of the relevant
data, while taking a neutral nonjudgmental stance toward whatever content may emerge.
10. Design flexibility Open to adapting inquiry as understanding deepens and/or situations
change; avoids getting locked into rigid designs that eliminate responsiveness; pursues
new paths of discovery as they emerge.

TABLE 18.3 Differing Philosophical Assumptions of Quantitative and Qualitative

Researchers

Assumptions of Quantitative Researchers

1. There exists a reality out there, independent of us, waiting to be known. The task of
science is to discover the nature of reality and how it works.
2. Research investigations can potentially result in accurate statements about the way the
world really is.
3. It is possible for the researcher to remove himself or herself to stand apartfrom that
which is being researched.
4. Facts stand independent of the knower and can be known in an undistorted way.
Facts and values are distinct from one another.
5. The proper design of research investigations will lead to accurate conclusions about the
nature of the world.
 6. The purpose of educational research is to explain and be able to predict relationships. The
ultimate goal is the development of laws that make prediction possible.

Assumptions of Qualitative Researchers

1. The individuals involved in the research situation construct reality; thus, realities exist in
the form of multiple mental constructions.
2. Research investigations produce alternative visions of what the world is like.
It is impossible for the researcher to stand apart from the individuals he or she is
studying.
3. Values are an integral part of the research process.
4. Facts and values are inextricably intertwined.
5. The initial ambiguity that occurs in a study is desirable.
6. The purpose of educational research is an understanding of what things mean to others.
Highly generalizable laws, as such, can never be found.
Main Points
THE NATURE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
The term qualitative research refers to studies that investigate the quality of relationships,
activities, situations, or materials.
The natural setting is a direct source of data, and the researcher is a key part of the
instrumentation process in qualitative research.
Qualitative data are collected mainly in the form of words or pictures and seldom
involve numbers. Coding is the primary technique used in data analysis.
Qualitative researchers are especially interested in how things occur and particularly in
the perspectives of the subjects of a study.
Qualitative researchers do not, usually, formulate a hypothesis beforehand and then seek
to test it. Rather, they allow hypotheses to emerge as a study develops.
Qualitative and quantitative research differ in the philosophic assumptions that underlie
the two approaches.
STEPS INVOLVED IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
The steps involved in conducting a qualitative study are not as distinct as they are in
quantitative studies. They often overlap and sometimes are even conducted concurrently.
All qualitative studies begin with a foreshadowed problem, the particular phenomenon
the researcher is interested in investigating. Some qualitative researchers state
propositions to help their data collection and also analysis.
Researchers who engage in a qualitative study of some type usually select a purposive
sample. Several types of purposive samples exist.
There is no treatment in a qualitative study, nor is there any manipulation of variables.
The collection of data in a qualitative study is ongoing.
Conclusions are drawn continuously throughout the course of a qualitative study.
APPROACHES TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
A biographical study tells the story of the special events in the life of a single individual.
A researcher studies an individuals reactions to a particular phenomenon in a
phenomenological study. He or she attempts to identify the commonalities among
different individual perceptions.
In a grounded theory study, a researcher forms a theory inductively from the data
collected as a part of the study.
A case study is a detailed study of one or (at most) a few individuals or other social units,
such as a classroom, a school, or a neighborhood. It can also be a study of an event, an
activity, or an ongoing process.