Importance of Quantitative Research

1. More reliable and objective

2. Can use statistics to generalise a finding
3. Often reduces and restructures a complex problem to a limited number of variables
4. Looks at relationships between variables and can establish cause and effect in highly controlled
circumstances
5. Tests theories or hypotheses
6. Assumes sample is representative of the population
7. Subjectivity of researcher in methodology is recognised less
8. Less detailed than qualitative data and may miss a desired response from the participant

9. Qualitative research is in-depth research using a range of

techniques, which aims to understand why people think, feel, react
and behave in the way that they do. Samples tend to be small in the
case of qualitative interviewing and even focus groups, because the
aim is to generate concepts, strategies, or, for example, an
appreciation of processes that govern groups or institutions.
Qualitative research can pretty much be adapted to any research
context that isn’t about knowing ‘how many’. The benefit of
qualitative approaches are that you do not start with a ‘hypothesis’
that needs to be proved, which can be very rigid. Rather, it is an
open-ended approach that can be adapted and changed while the
research is ongoing, which enhances the quality of the data and
insights generated.

10. There are many different research methods that come under
the rubric of ‘qualitative’, and many of these are undergoing
constant innovation. This section will briefly summarise four of
these – ethnography, interviewing, focus groups and action
research - before going on to explore how they may be used for a
variety of contexts and purposes.
11. Ethnography. This approach requires the researcher to
immerse themselves in the context of the research, called a ‘natural
setting’, which may be an organisation, a group, or a geographical
location – the possibilities are endless. They may just observe what
is happening, or be more directly involved in talking to people (an
‘observer participant’ or ‘participant observer’). The researcher
takes notes, called a ‘field diary', which forms the data of the
research project and from which ideas and concepts can be
generated through analysis. Ethnography can be conducted over a
few days to a few years, though few can do the latter because of
the resource implications. It can be effectively combined with
other methods for the purposes of reliability and validity
(‘triangulation’).
12. Qualitative Interviewing. This is perhaps by far the most
common of the qualitative methods. Interviews are normally one-
to-one and involve an in-depth exploration of the interviewee's
thoughts, feelings and understandings. They may take anywhere
between a half an hour to two hours or more, although the one-
hour interview is perhaps the norm. Sample sizes, as already
observed, tend to be small - anything from 3-12 for an
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to 20 or more for
standard qualitative thematic coding. Interviewing is expensive,
because it takes time to set up, and works best when interviews are
transcribed because it better preserves the nuances of the interview
than memory. Analysis (either done manually or through NVivo
for example) is time-consuming because of the sheer volume of
data generated. The quality of the data generated is extremely
 detailed, nuanced and valuable, however, and one qualitative
sample can generate new insights over a number of years.
13. Focus Groups. This is a form of research where a moderator
leads a discussion amongst a group who share a need, lifestyle, or
social characteristic, for some specific research aims. It is most
commonly used for social or market research and is often viewed
as more cost-effective than qualitative interviewing or
ethnography. One downside is that participants can be led by each
other (the ‘group mind’) and what they say may not be an accurate
representation of reality. Focus groups can be hosted by various
platforms – they need not be in person.
14. Action Research. This is research in which the researcher
and researched are not distinct. It actively aims to work to improve
or change the research community’s circumstances or practices.
Examples might be midwives conducting research to improve their
midwifery practice, or psychotherapists working with co-
researchers to look at and change an area of their
psychotherapeutic work. It can be used in a more light-touch way,
such as in policy change that involves those at whom the policy is
directed.
15. So what can qualitative research be used for?
16. Qualitative research is frequently used in academic research, but is

also essential for the voluntary and not-for-profit sector as well as

more commercial applications. It can: help you understand the
motivations and perspectives of clients or customers (why they
come to you and what they need); be used to pilot ideas and
develop qualitative research and evaluation; generate original
 insights, concepts and ideas; and be used to generate and tell
amazing stories about what you do. It can be used to understand
the cognitive and emotional or affective landscape of society,
institutions or urban contexts (for example, through the use
of psychogeographical approaches).

17. Statistics remains the gold standard of social and market

research, and it's easy to see why. Policy-makers and business
want to be able to track universal trends in order to target the wide
cross-section of society.
18. However, we live in a society where mass or macro-subjectivities

no longer entirely holds (for example through defined classes,

consumer groups). Nor is opinion generated and formed by mass
media or political parties. Rather society seems to operate on the
basis of ever-changing micro-subjectivities, often geographically
influenced, and certainly dictated by the ever- changing tides of
social media. This creates challenges for the social and market
researcher. The recent UK elections showed the limits of
quantitative polls to track trends, with many completely missing
the mark as the gap between people’s stated and real intentions
were under-explored. New research suggests this was because
pollsters did not take a representative enough sample. Qualitative
research methods are exactly the kinds of approaches that could
have been utilised to understand people’s subjectivities in this
example, as well as shed a critical spotlight on the processes by
which data is collected.