qualitative and quantitative research methods
Psychological Research Methods: Exploring Qualitative and Quantitative Research
In psychology, answers to our questions are not as succinct as in other types of sciences, and the findings essentially depend upon the underlying epistemology used. This essay seeks to define and examine the fields of qualitative and quantitative research. It will address the different epistemologies and methodologies of each paradigm, and aim to give you a brief overview of the two main research methods underlying scientific knowledge.
Qualitative research is often only defined in contrast to Quantitative research; That is, it does not involve statistics, nor does it depend on the level of objectivity that characterises the quantitative approach. While quantitative research aims to categorise participants in numerical form by creating statistical models to answer specific hypothesises; Qualitative research does not start with a specific hypothesis, instead it seeks to understand behaviours, and experiences (McQueen & Knussen, 2013, p.422).
Qualitative researchers tend to operate under different epistemological beliefs than that of quantitative researchers. Unlike quantitative researchers who use fixed instruments with little flexibility, Qualitative researchers allow questions to emanate and reshape themselves as the research unfolds (Krauss, 2005, p. 759). The qualitative researcher is engaged in the world they investigate, creating an unstructured and reflective element to the research, where the researchers’ knowledge, emotive interactions, and past experiences all form a part of the research (Ponterotto, 2010, p.583).
According to Guba and Lincoln (as cited in Ponterotto, 2005, p.128) there are four main research paradigms: postpositivism, constructivism-interpretivism and the critical-ideological and positivism perspective. Of these four paradigms, positivism is solely adopted in the quantitative approach, whereas the three remaining
In psychology, answers to our questions are not as succinct as in other types of sciences, and the findings essentially depend upon the underlying epistemology used. This essay seeks to define and examine the fields of qualitative and quantitative research. It will address the different epistemologies and methodologies of each paradigm, and aim to give you a brief overview of the two main research methods underlying scientific knowledge.
Qualitative research is often only defined in contrast to Quantitative research; That is, it does not involve statistics, nor does it depend on the level of objectivity that characterises the quantitative approach. While quantitative research aims to categorise participants in numerical form by creating statistical models to answer specific hypothesises; Qualitative research does not start with a specific hypothesis, instead it seeks to understand behaviours, and experiences (McQueen & Knussen, 2013, p.422).
Qualitative researchers tend to operate under different epistemological beliefs than that of quantitative researchers. Unlike quantitative researchers who use fixed instruments with little flexibility, Qualitative researchers allow questions to emanate and reshape themselves as the research unfolds (Krauss, 2005, p. 759). The qualitative researcher is engaged in the world they investigate, creating an unstructured and reflective element to the research, where the researchers’ knowledge, emotive interactions, and past experiences all form a part of the research (Ponterotto, 2010, p.583).
According to Guba and Lincoln (as cited in Ponterotto, 2005, p.128) there are four main research paradigms: postpositivism, constructivism-interpretivism and the critical-ideological and positivism perspective. Of these four paradigms, positivism is solely adopted in the quantitative approach, whereas the three remaining
References: Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2012). Psychology: 3rd Australian and New Zealand edition. Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons. Frost, N Hayes, N. (2000). Doing psychological research. Buckingham: Open University Press. Krauss, S. E. (2005). Research paradigms and meaning making: A primer. The Qualitative Report, 10(4), 758-770 O’neill, S. (1999). Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case study of a woman’s construction of self. Counselling Psychology Quarterly 12(1) 73-86. doi: 10.1080/09515079908254079 Ponterotto, J Ponterotto, J. G. (2005). Qualitative research in counseling psychology: A primer on research paradigms and philosophy of science. Journal of Counseling Psychology 52(2), 126-136. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.126 Ponterotto, J VanderStoep, S.W., &Johnson, D. D. (2008). Research methods for everyday life: blending qualitative and quantitative approaches. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com