Qualitative vs Quanti

  • Qualitative

    • Focusses on exploring ideas

    • collected in form of impressions, words, sentences, photos, and symbols

    • Requires smaller sample sizes

    • analyzed by summarizing, categorizing and interpreting

    • key terms: Understanding, context, complexity


  • Quantitative

    • Data collected in form of numbers

    • allows to test hypotheses (mostly deductive)

    • Requires a larger size

    • closed, quantifiable questions

    • use of graphs and tables

    • Key terms: testing, measurement, replicability



Focus of Qualitative Data

When you want to understand something better

  1. Practices: Talking

  2. Episodes: divorce, crimes, illness

  3. Encounters: 2 or more people meeting

  4. Role: position in family or ethnic group

  5. Relationship: friendships, family relationships

  6. Groups: cliques, sports teams

  7. Organizations: hospitals, schools

  8. Settlements: cillages, ghettos, neighborhoods

  9. Social worlds: “sports world” “wall street”

  10. Lifestyles/Subcultures: ruling class vs urban underclass


The Research Style

  • Deductive

    • starts off broad, qualitative

  • Inductive

    • starts off specific, quantitative


Qualitative Research

Main Steps

  1. Gen Research Questions

  2. Lit Review



When to use qualitative

  • Problem or issue that needs to be reviewed

  • Complex: needs detailed understanding



QL Researchers are interested in

  • Meaning

  • Researcher


8 qualitative research methods

  • Interviews

  • Focus groups

  • Life History

  • Ethnography

  • Non-participant observation

  • Content analysis

  • Historical/archival

  • Case studies