Qualitative vs. Quantitative Methods

Chapter eight really seemed like a review from my experimental psychology course. I pretty much remembered most of the things discussed here, but I don’t think I remember them being this involved. Now I kind of wish I had participated in one of my professor’s big research projects, so I would be more familiar with the methods sections of a much larger research project than what I actually did. On another note, I think I have used the survey method more than once, and I found it interesting that there is a website called SurveyMonkey.com (149) that will do all of that work for you. That would have come in handy.

Anyway, for the most part I again noticed difference between qualitative and quantitative research. One thing that stood out to me was the procedures. In quantitative research, the objective is to use a smaller sample to represent a large population, and seems to depend more so on the randomness of the sample participants for accuracy (148, 155). In qualitative research, the researcher must “purposefully select participants or sites…that will best help the researcher understand the problem and the research question” and is not dependent upon the random selection of participants for its readers understanding (178).

There is also the instrument that is used to collect data. In quantitative research, a thorough discussion of the type of instrument used, its validity and reliability, who created the instrument, and how that instrument is going to be used to collect data are necessary to the methods section (149). However, in qualitative research, the researcher collects data by looking at documents, observing, and interviewing and don’t necessarily rely on outside instruments because, “researchers are the ones who actually gather the information” (175).

There is also a difference with regard to bias. In quantitative research, the response bias has to do with whether or not the results would have changed if nonrespondents had responded, and the researcher must check for this type of bias and record the procedures used (151-152). The researcher in qualitative research deals with their own personal bias, and has to include information about their own biases, values, past experiences, and any background information that “may shape their interpretations formed during a study” so that the reader can better understand the researcher’s findings (177).

The last thing that stuck out to me was the protocol. This is something that is new to me. I can’t remember it being brought up in research as an undergrad, and I did do some observation and a case study where I conducted interviews. Basically, I was told to write down what I see, hear, smell, feel, and taste—that’s it. The interview protocol is actually quiet helpful, and while some of it seemed simple enough there were things, such as the ice-breaker question, probes, and instructions, that would have made my work much easier.