Qualitative research is exploratory and used to gain an understanding of opinions, motivations, and trends. It involves small sample sizes and unstructured techniques like interviews and observations. Quantitative research quantifies problems by generating numerical data through large sample sizes and structured methods like surveys to generalize results. Both have their tradeoffs, with qualitative providing rich details but not generalizability, and quantitative providing reliable population data but not depth. Researchers must consider their goals and resources to determine the best approach.