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Research manifesto
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Qualitative and Qualitative Thinking
The world might be said to be made up of that which is relatively measurable and that which is relatively unmeasurable. Different schools of thinking place different levels of emphasis on the very measurable and the very unmeasurable. This is what has been the great debate between qualitative and quantitative approaches. My professional position on this is that there is a continuum between quantitative and qualitative data definition and collection. Where you lie on this continuum depends on the question you are asking and how you define your outcomes. There is no one best way of doing things! Quantitative Quantitative approaches are those where you make measurements using some relatively well-defined measurement tool. This can be as tight as a well developed intelligence test or it can be as loose as an ad-hoc questionnaire. Tightly developed quantitaive devices have been developed through a rigorous application of psychometric theory. Emphasis has been placed on the reliablity or stability of the measurement. A great deal of work should have been done on establishing validity. Assuming that the theory behind doing the measurement is valid, then a well developed quantitative tool should give you information in which you can have confidence. The extreme of the quantitative approach is where people believe that all data should be tightly defined and validated; that any other data is purely exploratory and impressionistic. The extreme of the extreme comes with those who believe that social research should be carried out with the same quantitative rigour as is supposed to exist in the physical sciences.
Qualitative A qualitative approach refers to situtaions where you collect data in an unstructured way. If you use an unstructured interview you will have qualitative data. If you asks subjects to keep a diary of what they are doing, you are collecting qualitative data. Often qualitative data will form the basis of a pilot study, where the aim is to get the best possible feel for the situation through broadly defined data. The results from the pilot study are then used to produce a relatively more quantified approach - e.g. from an open ended interview to a partially structured questionnaire.
At the extreme end of the qualitative approach is the belief that the only truelly viable form of data collection is through open, unstructured methods. When you might emphasise the Quantitative approach. Some of the indicators for a quantitative approach are: You are working with large samples - and you don't have the money for a large number of research support hours. You have access to well defined tools developed else where but which are appropriate to what you are doing.
You are doing research where you need data which will convince administrators or managers. You are interested in being able to estimate or predict possible future performance on a large sample basis. When you might emphasise Qualitative The likely indicators for emphasising a qualitative approach are: Your interest is in the qualitative nature of the subjects' behaviours. You are searching out an area of interest and you cannot find anything much to guide you. So you need to get some sort of overview. You have a long term research program in view. You want to get a good feel for the scope of the variables which might be involved.
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