To be conscious of the difference between qualitative and quantitative research, we need to assess the meaning of the three words, i.e. quality, quantity and research.

          Quality refers to the excellence through which we measure the merits or attributes while differentiating between people, organizations, services, products or events.

On the other hand, quantity is a typical term used to address a specific measurement of an object.

  Research is the systematic study and the process of assessing a particular source of information to extract its main points. When research is performed, the result either appears in qualitative measurement or quantitative measurement or sometimes both.

In qualitative research, the main idea is to extract or draw the merits and description of material or source during the process. At the same time, quantitative research focuses on presenting numeric attributes.

How Do We Differentiate Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research?

Qualitative and quantitative research differ in their respective results. This section will give you an in-depth understanding of the differences between these two terms.

• We investigate using statistics to collect and analyze quantitative data during research work. At the same time, it requires keen observation to collect qualitative data.
• Data collected through quantitative research are precise and incontrovertible. On the other hand, it takes significant investigation and exploring more sources to find qualitative data.
• The quantitative research result appears in numbers, while qualitative research data are more elaborately descriptive.
• Quantitative data is mainly based on facts; therefore, it is objective. On the other hand, qualitative data involves subjective nature.
• You can measure quantitative data in length, prices and amounts. At the same time, there are no such undisputed measurements in qualitative data. The only way to gather such data is through intense research and exploration.
• Quantitative data are required for analytical studies. At the same time, qualitative data does not have such a precise structure.

Data Collection Methods of Both Research Modes

As we have already learned the differences, now let us learn the various data collection methods of qualitative and quantitative research.

Data Collection Methods of Qualitative Research

The data collected from this research type has to be rich in information, details and logical evidence. There are various methods but let us focus on the major ones.

• Surveys with open-ended questions, where audiences will have options to choose their answers.
• Opinions collected from the experts
• Conducting one-to-one interviews
• A deep analytical study of an individual, organization or group, also known as a case study.
• Organizing FGD, also known as Focus Group Discussions, is where we gather a group of professionals with significant knowledge and experience relevant to the subject field.
• The Last method we added to the list is observational research. It involves studying an individual or subject’s behaviour.

Data Collection Methods Used in Quantitative Research

While conducting quantitative research, the data collection methods may remain the same as qualitative research but differ in how they are executed.

• Surveys with close-ended questions

The responses are measured by the number of votes to certain degrees

• Outstanding
• Very Good
• Good
• Satisfactory
• Needs Improvement
• Bad

• Observations- Here, the observation is to record the number of times or number of people committing or taking a specific decision.
• Experiments, but here the main idea is to set up a cause-and-effect relationship.