Quantitative research, writing week 2 discussion help
Please do a paragraph about this post with this instruction . post most have 4 or more sentences .you also have to have a high quality post from a content perspective. This means it also needs to do more than agree with or praise a class mate. If you agree with a classmate, explain why, give an example, share what you learned in the readings
Quantitative research is a formal, systematic process in which findings are expressed numerically and the information got is to be amended mathematically. Also, quantitative method is used “to describe variables, to examine relationships among variables and to determine cause-and-effect interactions between variables.” (Burns & Grove 2005: 23). Quantitative method is a survey method used to obtain information regarding the prevalence distribution, and interrelationship of variables with a population. This method is very good when collecting behavioral patterns, social characteristics and information basis.
Qualitative method involves investigation in which the researcher attempt to understand some larger reality by examining it in a holistic way. Many researchers believe both methods should be used in the research study to increase validity and reliability because in both situations, the goal is to describe, explain, predict and control a research problem or a dilemma in order to improve on the problem.
Also, in qualitative method, researchers start by asking simple questions and this might lead to a complex answer, detailed and rich information. Participants here are encouraged to talk freely. There is no research hypothesis but have a broad research questions and subjects of study are chosen by the researcher and they are called participants. While in quantitative method, subjects are chosen randomly.
The disadvantages of using qualitative method of study include; “they are labor intensive, data collected over a long period of time may create data overload, there is a potential for researcher bias, there is generally a small sampling, it is harder to generalize findings, quality and credibility of conclusions can come into question and there can be issues with reliability and validity”. (Polit &Beck, 2010, p. 77-80).
It is important to note, that “qualitative research is grounded in a range of theoretical frameworks and uses a variety of methodological approaches to guide data collection and analysis. “(Cohen & Crabtree, 2008).
“Many researchers take a pragmatic approach to research and use quantitative methods when they are looking for breath and they want to test a hypothesis or want to study something quantitative. If they are looking for depth and meaning, they will prefer to use qualitative methods, in many cases, mixed methods approaches will be appropriate”. (Sukamolson, 2010).