Research Methods Overview - Lesson 2

Research Methods Overview - Lesson 2

• The lesson covers quantitative and qualitative research approaches, including mixed methods.
• It examines the benefits and limitations of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
• The lesson explores matching research methods to specific research questions.
• It also discusses research design.

What Do We Already Know?

• Qualitative research focuses on understanding attitudes, behaviors, and experiences.
• Quantitative research focuses on quantifying data to discover relationships and trends.

Quantitative or Qualitative Research

• Quantitative:
  • Data is numerically analyzed and quantified.
  • Methods focus on cause-and-effect relationships, "what" and "how" questions, and are confirmatory.
  • Uses validated instruments like surveys, questionnaires, and controlled experiments.
• Qualitative:
  • Data is non-numerical, describing qualities.
  • Methods focus on "why" questions, exploratory research, and understanding perceptions and attitudes.
  • Includes methods like interviews, focus groups, and qualitative questionnaires.
• Mixed Methods: Involves collecting both quantitative and qualitative data to better investigate a problem.

What is Quantitative Research?

• Provides insights into relationships between variables.
• Employs empirical investigation using statistical techniques.
• Data is collected numerically, analyzed mathematically, and statistically.

Characteristics of Quantitative Research

• Involves collecting and analyzing numerical data.
• Aims for objectivity and uses standardized measures for comparison.
• Employs a deductive approach, developing hypotheses from existing theories.
• Often involves structured situations to isolate cause-and-effect relationships.

Why Use Quantitative Research?

• Allows researchers to gather data from a large sample size (generalizable).
• Enables statistical analysis to quantify phenomena, reducing researcher bias,
• Generally more efficient than qualitative approaches; allows for quick data collection on a large scale

Limitations of Quantitative Research

• Limited Depth: May not capture the depth of human experience, nuances, or underlying meanings.
• Lack of Flexibility: Predetermined design may limit flexibility in data collection.
• Oversimplification: May reduce phenomena to simple numerical measures, ignoring context or multifaceted behaviors.
• Difficulty Capturing Context: May struggle to capture social, cultural, or environmental factors.
• Reliance on Instrumentation: Dependent on appropriate, valid, and reliable instruments.
• Potential for Bias: Researcher bias, selection bias, and measurement bias are potential concerns.
• Difficulty in Studying Complex Phenomena: Complex human issues may be challenging to isolate or quantify.
• Difficulty Establishing Causality: Correlation does not equate to causation; other possibilities need consideration.

What is Qualitative Research?

• Seeks to understand social phenomena from the perspective of participants.
• Explores attitudes, behaviors, and experiences.
• Employs a range of techniques: interviews, focus groups, case studies, and document analysis.
• Examines the richness and complexity of human behavior and the reasons behind it.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

• Often involves subjective interpretation of phenomena, highlighting diverse meaning.
• Typically uses inductive reasoning to draw generalizations from specific observations opposite to quantitative research's deductive approach.
• Often occurs in natural settings, providing real-world context to the findings.

Why Use Qualitative Research?

• Understanding context surrounding motivations, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals and organizations.
• Exploring complex phenomena for rich insights into intricate situations.
• Identifying fresh variables, theoretical models, and nuanced understandings.
• Flexibility to adapt to changing situations where theories are lacking.
• Incorporating multiple perspectives (stakeholder inclusivity).
• Providing actionable insights and strategies for professionals.

Limitations of Qualitative Research

• Subjectivity: Researcher's biases can influence findings.
• Limited Generalizability: Findings may not apply to wider populations.
• Time and Resource Intensive: In-depth data collection can be time-consuming.
• Difficulty Quantifying Data: Making statistical analysis challenging.
• Reliance on Interpretation: Data analysis variability, depending on researcher interpretation.
• Vulnerability to Researcher Influence: Researcher presence could affect participant actions.
• Data Overload: Vast amounts of data may lead to selective reporting and insights loss.

Method Depends on the Research Question

• Understanding the research question is fundamental to choosing an appropriate method.
• Consider the phenomena, specific or broad variables, the approaches taken in previous studies, practical feasibility, and data accessibility.

Developing Your Method

• Descriptive: Describes patterns, trends, relationships in data.
• Comparative: Compares metrics between groups or periods.
• Causal: Investigates cause-and-effect relationships.
• Exploratory: Explores areas where understanding is lacking.

Group Activity – Qual or Quant?

• The examples provided necessitate either qualitative or quantitative research methods.

This lesson provides an overview of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including their benefits, limitations, and proper applications. It also discusses the alignment of research designs with specific research questions. Gain insights into choosing the right approach for effective research outcomes.