RESEARCH METHODS

QUANTITATIVE

QUALITATIVE

QUALITATIVE

NATURAL OBSERVATION

MEANING

UNDERSTANDING

QUALITATIVE

Reveal how all the parts work together to form a whole.

“Meaning is embedded in people’s experiences and this meaning is mediated through the investigator’s own perceptions “ Patton (1985)

Characteristics Understanding the meaning of

people have constructed. Researcher is the primary

instrument for data collection and analysis.

Involves fieldwork. Primarily employs an inductive

research strategy The product of a qualitative study

is richly descriptive.

What it means for participants to

be in that setting. What their lives are like. What ‘s going on for them. What their meanings are. What the world looks like in the

participant setting.

COMMON TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION.

Basic or Generic Ethnography Phenomenology Grounded Theory Case study

QUANTITATIVE

CONTROLED

QUESTIONARIES

DEDUCTIVE

QUANTITATIVE

The aim is to classify features, count them, and

construct statistical models in an attempt to explain

what is observed.

All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected.Researcher knows clearly in advance what he/she is looking for.

Researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or equipment to collect numerical data.

Data is in the form of numbers and statistics.

measurement & analysis of target concepts, e.g., uses surveys, questionnaires etc

Quantitative data is more efficient, able to test hypotheses, but may miss contextual detail.

Mix methods research

Mixed methods research is a research design with

philosophical assumptions as well as methods of inquiry.

•The techniques or methods of collecting and analyzing data.

•Quantitative and qualitative methods

• As a methodology, it involves philosophical assumptions that

guide the direction of the collection and analysis of data and the mixture of qualitative

and quantitative approaches in many phases in the research

process.

•As a method, it focuses on collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of

studies.

•Its central premise is that the use of quantitative and qualitative

approaches in combination provides a better understanding of research

problems than either approach alone.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Articles

Examples:Garcia & Lopez Velasquez (2003)

Cohen & Rodrigez (1980)

Language of headings

Look at the tittles of the sections of both articles:

what are the differences in the language the authors used for the

sections?

Can you judge whether an article is QL or QT from the section tittles?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

LOOK AT THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS IN THE TWO ARTICLES.

What differences do you notice?

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Read the FINDINGS in Garcia & Lopez Velasquez (2003) and in Cohen & Rodriguez (1998)

What differences do you notice?

References

Fran. Meriam, S:B (1998) Qualitative Research And Case Study Applications In Education. San Francisco, CA: Tossey- Brass