Today the use of technology has become embedded into our daily lives. Most of western civilization has access to a piece of technology at any given point of time. In recent years, technology has started to play a significant role in the area of research. Quantitative research was quickly adapted and aided by technology due to the use of number variables, but the same was not true for qualitative research. In recent years, qualitative research was revolutionized by Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) software. Although, QDA software has a great deal of positive aspect, there are drawbacks in the utilization. The use of QDA software can have a great impact on ones qualitative research. Because of the text base results of qualitative research it can be difficult for a researcher to break down or code the information and sort through all of his or her findings in a timely manner. QDA software allows for the researcher to code the text based data electronically which allow the data to be manipulated quickly. Dr. Vaishali Patel, and Dr. Anne Riley (2007) also found that QDA software increased the speed of their research and allowed for a more thorough examination of their research. Another advantage to using QDA software is the added ability to look at data analytically. QDA software is able to sort data into groups or queries which assists in looking a research data in different ways. In an article written by Seija Mahlamaki-Kultanen (2003), she finds that her students who used QDA software thought that the analytical data compiled by QDA software was more accessible than manipulating the data by hand. These findings further supports the positive impact that QDA software has on qualitative research. Although there are many positive aspects to using QDA software, there are some negative consequences or draw backs to using this type of software. QDA software can have some impact on the researchers experience. This phenomena could interfere with the results of the research. One draw back called tactile-digital divide, which means learning to work on a personal computer instead of paper, could make research more difficult for some (Gilbert, 2002). In a study conducted by Linda Gilbert (2002), she found that researchers had a difficult time making the transition from using paper. She also found that this phenomena usually occurs when an individual first make the transition to using QDA software, and that the symptoms seem to go away after some time has passed.
Thematic analysis is espoused to be the foundational approach to qualitative analysis and methods (Saunders et al., 2016 as stated in Braun and Clarke, 2006: 78) and it is a useful method used to identify and analyse the order and patterns of qualitative data (Attride-Stirling, 2001). Qualitative research method depicts the correlation that exists between data and events, creating the pictorial representation of what one thinks a given data says (Saunders et al., 2016). They also opined that, qualitative data analysis is cogent, interactive and iterative. Also, Joana and Jill (2011) and Saunders et al (2016) postulate that, qualitative research brings meanings from words and images as opposed to numbers. However, despite its robustness and rigour of its application, it is skewed more to the interpretivist ideologies since researchers draw conclusion from participants and the hypothesis being forecasted (Joana and Jill, 2011; Saunders et al., 2016).
Qualitative research is an approach that attempts to situate an activity that locates the observer in the world by providing the study to occur in their natural setting and by attempting to make sense of, or interpret information (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). A characteristic of qualitative research is to use a variety of empirical materials such as personal experience, interviews, and questionnaires. It is imperative to understand the task at hand and how to fully carry out the study when using a qualitative research approach in order to find out the information needed. One view of qualitative research is it involves examining individual’s experiences and documenting those experiences in detail (Jones, 2011). By documenting these observations the researcher is ensuring validity in his or her data and giving the correct creditability to those who participated in the study.
Gelo, O., Braakmann, D., & Benetka, G. (2008). Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Beyond the Debate. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 42(3), 266-290. doi:10.1007/s12124-008-9078-3
Described below is a critical appraisal of a qualitative article by Lisa Booth using the frame-work suggested by Ryan, Coughlan and Cronin 2007 to establish its believability, robustness, credibility and integrity (Ryan, Coughlan & Cronin, 2007).
Both qualitative and quantitative analysis needs labeling and coding of all the data to be able to recognize differences and similarities. Even the responses collected from an unstructured qualitative interview could be copied into the computer to be coded, counted and analyzed. However, the qualitative research has no system for pre-coding, so the method used for identifying and labeling data must be developed in a way that best suits the research, which is called content
This essay intends to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the quantitative and qualitative approaches to research which addresses young people and bullying using two journal articles. The first article (quantitative) aims to “establish the relationship between recurrent peer victimisation and the onset of reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in the early teen years” (Bond et al. 2001, p. 480) while the second article (qualitative) aims to “investigate the nature of teenage girls’ indirect aggression” (Owens et al. 2000, p. 70).The two articles will be critically compared in terms of research design, methods used, approach to data analysis, reported results and the plausibility and appropriateness of the conclusions and recommendations posed. The aim of this essay is thus to evaluate and assess the methods of social science research currently undertaken in published research.
Moreover, through reflective learning into other research carried out using qualitative and quantitative data “Institute for ...
Qualitative and Quantitative study designs both can be beneficial in research design. They both provide valuable options for researchers in the field. These techniques can either be used separately in a research study or they can be combined to achieve maximum information. This paper will define the terms qualitative and quantitative; describe the similarities and differences between each; discuss how qualitative and/or quantitative research designs or techniques could be used in the evaluation of my proposed research; and discuss why linking analysis to study design is important.
Traditional research may use quantitative or qualitative research method. According to Hendricks (2009), quantitative research is a general conclusion based on hard data. Hen-dricks describe quantitativ...
It is important that researchers are knowledgeable of the qualitative research methodologies in order to select the most appropriate to investigate their problem of interest, and thereby selecting the most appropriate data collection methods that will aptly produce the richest data for analysis.
Qualitative data analysis is the process of transforming data into information, information into understanding and understanding into knowledge (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). Furthermore, qualitative data analysis can be described as a blend of scientific studies and artistic style to create an innovative product. The research acts as the primary research tool, and must be able to sustain composer throughout the entire study. In addition, the researcher must be able to pay attention to the small details of the study, without losing sight of the big picture of the study (Chenail, 2012).
computerised quantitative software, Microsoft Excel etc. And for qualitative data, the analysis method has to be more subjective, examining and interpreting in order to gain a deeper understanding of social and human activities. The qualitative data analysis involves transcription of audio-taped interviews that are analysed with the help of NVivo, a qualitative software package (Johnson and Christensen, 2004; Berger, 2006). The two methods are explained below. 5.9.1 Analysis of Qualitative Data.
Qualitative and Quantitative these are the two types of approach to the any research analysis for the any data which can be used in research. The research which only uses the numbers to do the research analysis is called Quantitative Research and the research which uses the words, units of the analysis of the collection data and the visual images is Qualitative Research. Quantitative Research is also known about its tending to link with passivism but on the other side, Qualitative Research focused and worked with the association of interpretive. Moreover, the contrast between involvement and lack of involvement respectively are associated by Qualitative data and Quantitative data analysis method (Denscombe, Approach to analysis: quantitative and qualitative research, 2010).
The research was designed using qualitative model based on exploratory design. This was done to facilitate multi-faceted study with a broader prospective. Basic percentage analysis was done to supplement qualitative analysis. The study was conducted with the help of a Questionnaire. To deepen the understanding data was collected from a variety of books, Internet web pages, and articles of different kinds conducted was descriptive in nature. Descriptive research includes survey and facilitating enquiries of different