This document discusses and compares qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative research focuses on words, images, and subjective experiences through methods like focus groups, in-depth interviews, and projective techniques. Quantitative research focuses on numbers, logic, and objectivity through methods like surveys and experiments intended for large sample sizes. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages depending on the research question and goals.

1. HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE
QUALITATIVE & QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH
BY SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

2. OVERALL FRAMEWORK
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

3. KEEP IN MIND THAT …
• Qualitative research
generally deals in words,
images and the subjective
• Quantitative research
generally deals in
numbers, logic and the
objective
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

4. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• Research used in range of activities
from exploratory designs to means
of completing explanations
• Qualitative research assumes that
people have meaningful
actions or experiences
that can be interpreted
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

5. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
POPULARITY COMES FROM:
*ECONOMICAL
*FLEXIBLE
*OPENS A DOOR TO “WHY, HOW”
*RICHNESS OF DATA
*BEST TO START WITH...
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

6. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
• Identification of a given question; opportunity
or information requirements
• Interest in obtaining insights for
motivational /social (group) or emotional and
attitudinal (individual) factors
• In IR: primary data of events or personalities
supporting explanations and argument
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

7. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
FOCUS GROUPS
Characteristics:
• 6-12 people
• Lead by a trained moderator
• in-depth discussion on 1 particular topic
or concept
• Relaxed, informal atmosphere
• 1-3 hour duration
Goal:
• Learn and understand what people say
and why?
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

8. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
FOCUS GROUPS
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

9. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
FOCUS GROUPS
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Synergy
Spontaneity
Speed
Security
Flexibility
Inexpensive
Representativeness
Misjudgement
 Lack of analysis
Moderator
Subjectivity
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

10. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN
Qualitative Research:
• Examples
• Case studies on effect of vocational training in Papua
• Ethnographic studies on indigenous populations in Oaxaca, Mexico
Qualitative Research Types:
• Case studies
• Developmental research
• Historical research
• Ethnograph studies
• Case Studies:
• Purpose: to do an in depth study
• In brief: Background, current status and/or environmental factors that interact for
each group (individual, institution or community)
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

11. • Characteristics of Case Studies:
• It gives very detailed information about individuals / group / community
• It may give a detailed explanation of a complete life cycle or part of it
• Number of cases studied may be small but the number of variables studied are
usually more in-depth (e.g. if compared to a survey)
• Developmental Research:
• Conducted to research on the development of individuals / group / institution /
community
• TWO TYPES: Cross-sectional and Longitudinal
• Historical Research:
• Used to gain information on an event, development and/or previous educational
experience
• Process may involve studying previous situation, checking on current situation,
and to predict if the same situation will occur again
• Conclusion on previous event is done based on collected facts and evidences to
answer why and how the event and repercussions occurred
• Useful to solve questions that involve sensitive issues
• Important for systematically & objectively collecting and defining facts and
evidences SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

12. • Procedure for Historical Research:
• Define the problem
• Specify source of evidence
• Collect evidence / reference materials
• Primary source / original (observation or witnesses of events or authentic objects – e.g. artifacts, speech
text, records etc.)
• Secondary source (materials or information collected from primary sources – e.g. paintings, films, news
reports, documents
• Critique of evidences
– External critique: confirming if collected sources are genuine and reliable (authenticity of paintings, signatures, chemical analysis etc.)
– Internal critique: conducted after authenticity of source of information is confirmed – involves evaluation of collected evidences– is it
important? Required?
• Able to explain the researched phenomenon?
• Prepare the report
• Ethnographic Research:
• In-depth study of natural behaviours in a culture or social group
• Purpose – to understand relationships between behaviour and culture
– Example: In education – to understand schooling process (e.g., immigrant children) Involves widespread observations (participant &
nonparticipant)
• Here often starts research without hypothesis – hypothesis is developed in the process of observations,
and the researcher explores and test his hypothesis
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

13. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
Characteristics:
• A well trained interviewer+interviewee
• Interviewee is exposed to set of probing
questions
• Usually face to face
• Interviewer encourages the interviewee to talk
more
Goal:
• To collect as much as memory, attitudinal and
behavioral data from the subject
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

14. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
Applications:
-Interviews with professionals
-Interviews with witnesses
-When detailed probing is needed
-Discussion of sensitive, confidential issues
-When strong, social norms exist
-Interviews with competitors
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

15. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Concentrated issue -
maximum probing
Free exchange of
information
Easier to arrange
Best for intimate,
sensitive issues
Flexibility
Expensive
Time consuming
Exhausting for
Interviewer
Interviewer errors
Respondent bias or
reliability
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

16. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE
Definition:*
• These are unstructured prompts or
stimulus that encourage the respondent to
project their underlying motivations,
beliefs, attitudes, or feelings onto an
ambiguous situation
• They are all indirect techniques that
attempt to disguise the purpose of the
research
*Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_marketing_research
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

17. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
Projective Techniques
Word Association Sentence Completion Tests
Cartoon Tests Role Playing
Third-Person Techniques
Picture Interpretation /Story
Telling
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

18. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
Types:
1. Word Association
Customers are required to show response
to the concept they are told within 2-3
sec.
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

19. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECH.
2. Sentence Completion
Customers are required to complete
sentences or stories in their own words
• People who are concerned about ecology …
• When I think of a city …
• I drink a Coca-Cola, usually when .
• Starbucks reminds me of…
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

20. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECH.
4. Role Playing
• Respondents are asked to assume the
behavior of someone else
• Useful for emphatic approaches for conflict
resolution
Sales Supervisors are asked to become Sales
Represantatives, and vice versa.
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

21. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECH.
5. Third Person
Way of learning respondents feelings or
opinions by asking them to answer for a
third party :
“your neighbour”
“most people”
“typical person”
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

22. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECH.
6.Picture Interpretation
A technique whereby respondents are shown a
picture and are asked to tell a story
describing it
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

23. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PROJECTIVE TECH.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Elicit responses that
subjects would be
unwilling to give
Underlying
Motivations, Beliefs,
Attitudes
Participation of the
respondents
Skills are required to
analyse the responses
Expensive
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

24. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. Degree of Structure
2. Probing of individual
respondents
3. Moderator bias
4. Interpretation bias
5. Uncovering
subconscious
information
6. Discovering innovative
information
7. Obtaining sensitive
information
8. Involve unusual
behavior or
questioning
9. Overall usefulness
Relatively high
Low
Relatively medium
Relatively low
Low
High
Low
No
Highly useful
Relatively medium
High
Relatively high
Relatively
medium Medium to
high
Medium
Medium
To a limited
extent
Relatively low
Medium
Low to high
Relatively high
High
Low
High
Yes
Somewhat
useful
Focus
Groups
Depth
Interviews
Projective
Techniques
Criteria
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

25. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH SURVEY
SURVEY METHOD:
• STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE
• GIVEN TO A SAMPLE OF A POPULATION
• DESIGNED TO GAIN SPECIFIC INFORMATION
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

26. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH -
SURVEY
Traditional
Telephone
Computer-Assisted
Telephone
Interviewing
Mail
Interview
Mail
Panel
In-Home By
appointment
Random Personal
Interviewing
E-mail Internet
Survey
Methods
Telephone Personal Mail Electronic
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

27. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH - EXPERIMENTATION
EXPERIMENTATION METHOD:
• Scientific investigation in which
• an investigator manipulates and controls one or more independent
variables and
• observes the dependent variable for variation concomitant to the
manipulation of the independent variables.*
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

28. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Specific research
problem
Clear independent and
dependent variable
High level of reliability
Minimum personal
judgement
Limited outcomes due
to structured method
Unability to control the
environment
Expensive(large
number of respondents)
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

29. COMPARISON OF
QUALITATIVE-QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
CHARACTERISTICS QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE
Research
Objectives
Discovery of new
ideas,insights
and feelings
Validation of
facts,estimates,
relationships
Type Of
Research
Usually
exploratory
Descriptive and
causal
Type Of
Questions
Open-
ended,semi-
structured,
unstructured,
probing
Mostly structured
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

30. COMPARISON OF
QUALITATIVE-QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
contd.
CHARACTERISTICS QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE
Time Of
Execution
Short Time
Frames
Usually long time
frames
Sample Size Small Large
Type Of
Analyses
Subjective,
Interpretitive
Statistical,
Descriptive,causal
Researcher Skills Psychology,
Sociology,CB,
Social Psychology
Statistics, MR, DSS,
Decision Models
Representativeness Limited Good
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

31. SUMMARY
• Qualitative methods focus on generating exploratory
initial/progressive insights into questions and problems
• Depth probing of hidden attitudes, feelings or behaviour
• Focus Groups
• In depth Interviews
• Projective Techniques
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

32. SUMMARY
• Quantitative Research is interested in using formalised,
standard structured questioning, whereby response options
are pre-determined
• Usually to be administered to significantly large numbers of
people.
Descriptive Causal
(Surveys) (Experimentation)
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING

33. OVERALL FRAMEWORK
Source: http://www.informedbusinessdecisions.com/RoadMapt400c.jpg
SAJJAD AHMAD AWAN PHD
SCHOLAR TE PLANNING