Topic > The meaning of quantitative and qualitative research

The meaning of quantitative and qualitative researchQuantitative and qualitative are two different forms of research that complement each other from both a numerical and descriptive point of view. Quantitative research comes from a numerical perspective while qualitative research comes from a more descriptive perspective, although they cannot be described with these specific terms, they need to be elaborated to gain a more general understanding. Quantitative research expresses data numerically and its main goal is to provide information and determine relationships between variables (Guts, 2014). It is the most used research because it provides difficult results and is quite easy to understand (Guts, 2014). Quantitative research can shape our behavior. For example, wear a seat belt in the car. People wear seat belts in cars because it's the law. Second, it became law because of research that showed wearing seat belts protects your body more effectively in car accidents than not wearing a seat belt. The data is expressed numerically showing health statistics of people who have had an accident with or without a seat belt. Quantitative research is useful when learning unknown facts such as the importance of wearing a seat belt. The most popular method of quantitative research is an experiment, which provides random information and hard numbers (Guts, 2014). Experiments are easy to understand and provide accessible information that helps predict human behavior (Guts, 2014). In experiments, researchers manipulate variables using experimental and control groups. (Guts, 2014). An experiment includes independent and dependent variables. An independent paper… such great interest in a study could cloud the researcher's judgment. From these examples, it is clear that ethical concerns must be addressed and prevented when working with both quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative and qualitative research are often compared for their strengths and weaknesses. However, in many cases, both approaches complement each other when trying to understand the human experience. When quantitative research is unable to comprehensively identify information numerically, qualitative research comes to the rescue by providing a subjective interpretation of the data. And quantitative research does the same for qualitative research. Demonstrating this, both approaches help researchers gain a greater understanding of the human experience. References Guts, K. (2014). Personal communication.