CAT: What is the difference between a qualitative and a quantitative research design?

Research designs are the strategies that help integrate study components to logically and coherently address a research problem. Strijker et al. (2020) note that research dictates data collection, measurement, analysis, and dissemination. The research design is influenced by the study’s research questions and objectives. Qualitative and quantitative research studies vary based on these parameters. Qualitative research designs are subjective inductive processes, while quantitative research designs are deductive objective research studies. Due to their nature of testing, quantitative studies have statistical data and thus utilize data analysis tools and statistical tests. Qualitative research designs utilize thematic and content analysis because they deal with textual data, while quantitative studies use numeric data (Mehrad et al., 2019). Qualitative research designs are explorative, while quantitative ones are often conclusive. These are the significant differences between qualitative and quantitive research designs

Reference

Mehrad, A., & Zangeneh, M. H. T. (2019). Comparison between qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Social Sciences. International Journal For Research In Educational Studies, Iran, 1-7.

Strijker, D., Bosworth, G., & Bouter, G. (2020). Research methods in rural studies: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Journal of Rural Studies, 78, 262-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.06.007

Assessments