Course: Research Methods (5671) Semester: Spring, 2019

Level: MA (History)

ASSIGNMENT No. 1
(Unit 1-4)

Q. 1 Elaborate the major factors on which Research is classified into various

categories.

What is Research: Definition

“Research is defined as a careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or a problem

using scientific methods”.

According to the American Sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “Research is a systematic inquiry to
describe, explain, predict and control the observed phenomenon”. Research involves inductive
and deductive methods.

 Inductive research: methods are used to analyze the observed phenomenon whereas,
deductive methods are used to verify the observed phenomenon.
 Inductive approaches are associated with qualitative research and deductive methods are
more commonly associated with quantitative research.

Characteristics of Research
1. A systematic approach is followed in research. Rules and procedures are an integral part of
research that set the objective of a research process. Researchers need to practice ethics and
code of conduct while making observations or drawing conclusions.
2. Research is based on logical reasoning and involves both inductive and deductive methods.
3. The data or knowledge that is derived is in real time, actual observations in the natural settings.
4. There is an in-depth analysis of all the data collected from research so that there are no
anomalies associated with it.
5. Research creates a path for generating new questions. More research opportunity can be
generated from existing research.
6. Research is analytical in nature. It makes use of all the available data so that there is no
ambiguity in inference.
7. Accuracy is one of the important character of research, the information that is obtained while
conducting the research should be accurate and true to its nature. For example, research
conducted in a controlled environment like a laboratory. Here accuracy is measured of
instruments used, calibrations, and the final result of the experiment.
 Types of Research
Following are the types of research:
1. Basic Research: Basic research is mostly conducted to enhance knowledge. It covers
fundamental aspects of research. The main motivation of this research is knowledge
expansion. It is a non-commercial research and doesn’t facilitate in creating or inventing
anything. For example, an experiment is a good example of basic research.
2. Applied Research: Applied research focuses on analyzing and solving real-life problems.
This type of research refers to the study that helps solve practical problems using scientific
methods. This research plays an important role in solving issues that impact the overall
well-being of humans. For example, finding a specific cure for a disease.
3. Problem Oriented Research: As the name suggests, problem-oriented research is
conducted to understand the exact nature of the problem to find out relevant solutions. The
term “problem” refers to having issues or two thoughts while making any decisions.
For e.g Revenue of a car company has decreased by 12% in the last year. The following
could be the probable causes: There is no optimum production, poor quality of a product,
no advertising, economic conditions etc.
4. Problem Solving Research: This type of research is conducted by companies to
understand and resolve their own problems. The problem-solving research uses applied
research to find solutions to the existing problems.
5. Qualitative Research: is a process that is about inquiry, that helps in-depth understanding
of the problems or issues in their natural settings. This is a non- statistical research method.
6. Qualitative Research: is heavily dependent on the experience of the researchers and the
questions used to probe the sample. The sample size is usually restricted to 6-10 people in
a sample. Open-ended questions are asked in a manner that one question leads to another.
The purpose of asking open-ended questions is to gather as much information as possible
from the sample.
Following are the methods used for qualitative research:
1. One-to-one interview
2. Focus groups
3. Ethnographic Research
4. Content/ Text Analysis
5. Case study research
Purpose of Research
There are three purposes of research:
1. Exploratory Research:
As the name suggests, exploratory research is conducted to explore the research questions and may
or may not offer a final conclusion to the research conducted. It is conducted to handle new
problem areas which haven’t been explored before. Exploratory research lays the foundation for
more conclusive research and data collection. For example, a research conducted to know the level
of customer satisfaction among the patrons of a restaurant.
2. Descriptive Research:
Descriptive research focuses on throwing more light on current issues through a process of data
collection. Descriptive studies are used to describe the behavior of a sample population. In
descriptive research, only one variable (anything that has quantity or quality that varies) is required
to conduct a study. The three main purposes of descriptive research are describing, explaining and
 validating the findings. For example, a research conducted to know if top-level management
leaders in the 21st century possess the moral right to receive a huge sum of money from the
company profit?
3. Explanatory Research:
Explanatory research or causal research, is conducted to understand the impact of certain changes
in existing standard procedures. Conducting experiments is the most popular form of casual
research. For example, research conducted to understand the effect of rebranding on customer
loyalty.
Major Factor of Research Methodology:
To choose the appropriate research methods, it is necessary to clearly identify the research
objectives. Here is an example of some of the research objectives you can take into consideration
for your business:
 To start with, find out the needs of your clients.
 Know their preferences and understand what is important to them.
 Find an appropriate way to make your customers aware of your products and services.
 Find ways to improve your products or services to suit the needs of your customers.
After identifying what you need to know, what research methods will offer you that information.
Organize your questions within the framework of the 7 Ps of marketing that influences your
company: product, price, promotion, place, people, processes and physical tests.
A well-organized customer research process produces valid, accurate, reliable, timely and
complete results. Research results that rigorously reflect the opinions and needs of your clients
will help you grow your sales and improve your operations. To obtain the results you need to
establish and follow the processes that you have detailed out for your organization:
 Set your goals:
Consider the client’s research objectives and define those that identify with yours and plan a
strategy once you obtain the information. Make sure that your goals objectives smart do not
presume their result, and define them intelligently and make sure you set achievable targets,
smart goals, and objectives.
 Plan your research:
Good planning allows the use of creative and logical approaches to select the research methods
that gather the information. Your plan will be influenced by the type and complexity of the
information you need, the skills of your market research team, and how soon you need the
information and your budget.
 Market research:
Identify your list of questions and decide on the research methods that will best achieve your
goals. Detail your research approach and some initial idea of how you will classify and analyze
the data.
 Collect and collate your results
Make a list of how you are going to carry out the research process, the data you need to collect
and collection methods. This will help you keep track of your research processes and make sense
of your findings. It will also allow you to verify that your research accurately reflects the
opinions of your clients and your market. Create a record table with:
 The consumer research activity
 The necessary data
 The research method (s) for data collection
 The steps to follow for data analysis.
Research is only valuable and useful when it is valid, accurate and reliable. Relying on imperfect
research is dangerous; Incorrect results can lead to customer churn and a decrease in sales.
It is important to obtain information about how the collection of customer information was
carried out, and to ensure that your data is:
 Valid: – founded, logical, rigorous and impartial.
 Accurate: – free of errors and including required details.
 Reliable: – that can be reproduced by other people who investigate in the same way.
 Timely: – current and collected within an appropriate time frame.
 Complete: – includes all the data you need to support your business decisions.
Analyze and understand your research
The analysis of the data can vary from simple and direct steps to technical and complex
processes. Adopt an approach, and choose the method of data analysis based on the research
methods you have carried out.
Review and interpret the information to draw conclusions
Once you have gathered all the data, you can scan your information and interpret it to draw
conclusions and make informed decisions. You should review the data and then:
 Identify the main trends and issues, opportunities and problems you observe, and write a
sentence about each one.
 Keep track of the frequency with which each of the main findings appears.
 Make a list of your findings from the most common to the least common.
 Evaluate and perform separately a list of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats that have been identified in a SWOT analysis.
 Preparation of conclusions and recommendations about your research.
Review your goals before making any conclusions about your research. Keep in mind if the
process you have completed and the data you have gathered help answer your questions. Ask
yourself if what your research revealed facilitates the identification of your conclusions and
recommendations.
Q. 2 Define Hypothesis. Discuss various types of Hypothesis?
Hypothesis
 Hypothesis is proposition that is stated is a testable form and that predicts a particular relationship
between two or more variable. In other words, if we think that a relationship exists, we first state
it is hypothesis and then test hypothesis in the field (Baily, Kenneth D, Methods of Social
Research, 3rd edition, New York: The Free Press, 1978)
 Hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of propositions set forth as an explanation
for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional
conjecture to guide some investigation in the light of establishes fact” (Kothari,1988)
 A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. It is
a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in a study. For example, a study
designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test performance might have
a hypothesis that states, "This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep-deprived
people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep deprived."
 Hypothesis is proposition, condition or principle which is assumed, perhaps without belief, in
order to draw its logical consequences and by this method to test its accord with facts which are
known or may be determined.
 Hypothesis is written in such a way that it can be proven or disproven by valid and reliable data.
 Characteristic of hypothesis:

1. Empirically Testable
2. Simple and Clear
3. Specific and Relevant
4. Predictable
5. Manageable
Importance of Hypothesis:

 Its gives a direction to the research

 Its specifies the focus of the researcher
 It helps in devising research techniques
 Its prevent from blind research
 It ensures accuracy and precision
 Its save resource- time, money and energy

Types of Hypothesis:

1. Simple Hypothesis.
2. Complex Hypothesis.
3. Working or Research Hypothesis.
4. Null Hypothesis.
5. Alternative Hypothesis.
6. Logical Hypothesis.
7. Statistical Hypothesis.

1. Simple Hypothesis: is a prediction of the relationship between two variables: the

independent variable and the dependent variable.
Examples
 Drinking sugary drinks daily leads to obesity.
 Higher unemployment, higher would be a rate of crime in society.
 Lower the use of fertilizer, lower would be agriculture activity.

2. Complex Hypothesis: examines the relationship between two or more independent

variables and two or more dependent variables.
Examples:
 Overweight adults
 value longevity
 seek happiness are more likely than other adults to
 lose their excess weight
 feel a more regular sense of joy.
3. Null Hypothesis: (H0) exists when a researcher believes there is no relationship between the two
variables, or there is a lack of information to state a scientific hypothesis. This is something to
attempt to disprove or discredit.
Example: There is no significant change in my health during the times when I drink green tea only
or root beer only.
4. Alternative Hypothesis: (H1) enters the scene. In an attempt to disprove a null hypothesis,
researchers will seek to discover an alternative hypothesis.
Example: My health improves during the times when I drink green tea only, as opposed to root beer
only.
5. Logical Hypothesis: is a proposed explanation possessing limited evidence. Generally, you want to
turn a logical hypothesis into an empirical hypothesis, putting your theories or postulations to the
test.
Example: Cacti experience more successful growth rates than tulips on Mars. (Until we're able to
test plant growth in Mars' ground for an extended period of time, the evidence for this claim will be
limited and the hypothesis will only remain logical.)
6. Empirical Hypothesis: or working hypothesis, comes to life when a theory is being put to the test,
using observation and experiment. It's no longer just an idea or notion. It's actually going through
some trial and error, and perhaps changing around those independent variables.
Example: Roses watered with liquid Vitamin B grow faster than roses watered with liquid Vitamin
E. (Here, trial and error is leading to a series of findings.)
7. Statistical Hypothesis: is an examination of a portion of a population.
Example: If you wanted to conduct a study on the life expectancy of Savannians, you would want to
examine every single resident of Savannah. This is not practical. Therefore, you would conduct your
research using a statistical hypothesis, or a sample of the Savannian population.

Hypothesis is important to help researchers focus on their research study and to provide clarity. A
hypothesis is generally a speculative statement that needs to be verified in a research work. During
hypothesis formulation, it is important to keep the statement simple, precise and clear, and derive
it from an existing body of knowledge. Two types of hypothesis categories are research and
alternate. Research hypothesis can be classified as null hypothesis, hypothesis of difference,
hypothesis of association and hypothesis of point-prevalence.
Characteristics
A hypothesis should have the following characteristic features

1. It must be precise and clear. If it is not precise and clear, then the inferences drawn on its basis
would not be reliable.
2. A hypothesis must be capable of being put to test. Quite often, the research programmers fail owing
to its incapability of being subject to testing for validity. Therefore, some prior study may be
conducted by the researcher in order to make a hypothesis testable. A hypothesis “is tested if other
deductions can be made from it, which in turn can be confirmed or disproved by observation”
(Kothari, 1988).
3. It must state the relationship between two variables, in the case of relational hypotheses.
4. It must be specific and limited in scope. This is because a simpler hypothesis generally would be
easier to test for the researcher. And therefore, he/she must formulate such hypotheses.
5. As far as possible, a hypothesis must be stated in the simplest language, so as to make it understood
by all concerned. However, it should be noted that the simplicity of a hypothesis is not related to
its significance.
6. It must be consistent and derived from the most known facts. In other words, it should be consistent
with a substantial body of established facts. That is, it must be in the form of a statement which is
most likely to occur.
7. It must be amenable to testing within a stipulated or reasonable period of time. No matter how
excellent a hypothesis, a researcher should not use it if it cannot be tested within a given period of
time, as no one can afford to spend a lifetime on collecting data to test it.
8. A hypothesis should state the facts that give rise to the necessity of looking for an explanation.
This is to say that by using the hypothesis, and other known and accepted generalizations, a
researcher must be able to derive the original problem condition. Therefore, a hypothesis should
explain what it actually wants to explain, and for this, it should also have an empirical reference.

Q. 3 Define Literature Review? How literature review improves the quality of

research?
Literature Review:
 “A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a
particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary,
and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated”.
 “Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while
researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a
larger field of study”.
 “A literature review is a search and evaluation of the available literature in your given subject or
chosen topic area. It documents the state of the art with respect to the subject or topic you are
writing about”.

A literature review has four main objectives:

 It Surveys: the literature in your chosen area of study.
 It Synthesizes: the information in that literature into a summary.
 It Critically analyses: the information gathered by identifying gaps in current knowledge,
by showing limitations of theories and points of view; and by formulating areas for further
research and reviewing areas of controversy
 It Presents: the literature in an organized way

A literature review shows your readers that you have an in-depth grasp of your subject; and that
you understand where your own research fits into and adds to an existing body of agreed
knowledge. Here’s another way of describing those four main tasks. A literature review:
 Demonstrates a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establishes the credibility of your
work.
 Summarizes prior research and says how your project is linked to it.
 Integrates and summarizes what is known about a subject.
 Demonstrates that you have learnt from others and that your research is a starting point for
new ideas.
Your dissertation is a substantial and lengthy piece of professional work that must satisfy a
number of academic requirements. The literature review is one of these important academic
requirements.
 The literature review is a critical discussion and summary of statistical literature that is of
‘general’ and ‘specialized’ relevance to the particular area and topic of the research
problem in statistics.
 You should spend a lot of time on your literature review because if you do it well, you
can use most of it in your dissertation.
  In a weak literature review, the Ph.D. student did a poor job of reviewing the relevant
literature. It can be poor because there are too few references or the student does not
adequately summarize the important results in the cited references. Keeping organized
notes will help prevent a weak literature review.
 Every statement in a literature review must be supported either by a reference to
published statistical literature.
 In a literature review, you do not present all of the details found in the references. For
example, you can state a theorem, but you do not have to present a proof of the theorem.
 In your literature search you will: – discover what statistical knowledge exists related to
you research topic – increase your statistical knowledge in your research area – find gaps
(and possibly errors) in published research – generate new original ideas – avoid
duplicating results of other statisticians – justify the relevance of your proposed research.

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a
literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis,
often within specific conceptual categories. A summary is a recap of the important information of
the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that
informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a
literature review might:
 Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations.
 Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates.
 Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent
or relevant research.
 Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem
has been researched to date.
The purpose of a literature review is to:
 Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem
being studied.
 Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
 Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
 Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
 Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
 Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
 Locate your own research within the context of existing literature.

Improving your research Methodology

Going through the literature acquaints you with the methodologies that have been used by others
to find answers to research questions similar to the one you are investigating. A literature reviewing
the literature requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, from finding and evaluating relevant
material to synthesizing information from various sources, from critical thinking to paraphrasing,
evaluating, and citation skills. In this contribution. Ideas and insights also come from discussions
with coauthors and colleagues, as well as feedback always improve your quality research work
these are.
Rule 1: Define a Topic and Audience:
There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending
conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. On the one hand, if you take
several years to choose, several other people may have had the same idea in the meantime. On the
other hand, only a well-considered topic is likely to lead to a brilliant literature review. The topic
must at least be:
i. Interesting to you (ideally, you should have come across a series of recent papers related
to your line of work that call for a critical summary),
ii. An important aspect of the field (so that many readers will be interested in the review and
there will be enough material to write it), and
iii. A well-defined issue (otherwise you could potentially include thousands of publications,
which would make the review unhelpful).
Rule 2: Search and Re-search the Literature:
After having chosen your topic and audience, start by checking the literature and downloading
relevant papers. Five pieces of advice here:
i. Keep track of the search items you use (so that your search can be replicated.
ii. Keep a list of papers whose pdfs you cannot access immediately (so as to retrieve them
later with alternative strategies).
iii. Use a paper management system (e.g., Mendeley, Papers, Qiqqa, Sente),
iv. Define early in the process some criteria for exclusion of irrelevant papers (these criteria
can then be described in the review to help define its scope), and
v. Do not just look for research papers in the area you wish to review, but also seek previous
reviews.
Rule 3: Take Notes While Reading:
If you read the papers first, and only afterwards start writing the review, you will need a very good
memory to remember who wrote what, and what your impressions and associations were while
reading each single paper. This way, by the time you have read the literature you selected, you will
already have a rough draft of the review.
Of course, this draft will still need much rewriting, restructuring, and rethinking to obtain a text
with a coherent argument, but you will have avoided the danger posed by staring at a blank
document. Be careful when taking notes to use quotation marks if you are provisionally copying
verbatim from the literature. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words
in the final draft. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this stage, so as to
avoid misattributions. Using referencing software from the very beginning of your endeavor will
save you time.
Rule 4: Choose the Type of Review You Wish to Write:
After having taken notes while reading the literature, a rough idea of the amount of material
available for the review. This is probably a good time to decide whether to go for a mini- or a full
review. Some journals are now favoring the publication of rather short reviews focusing on the
last few years, with a limit on the number of words and citations. A mini-review is not necessarily
a minor review.
It may well attract more attention from busy readers, although it will inevitably simplify some
issues and leave out some relevant material due to space limitations. A full review will have the
advantage of more freedom to cover in detail the complexities of a particular scientific
development, but may then be left in the pile of the very important papers “to be read” by readers
with little time to spare for major monographs.
A similar distinction exists between narrative and systematic reviews: while narrative reviews are
qualitative, systematic reviews attempt to test a hypothesis based on the published evidence, which
is gathered using a predefined protocol to reduce bias. When systematic reviews analyses
quantitative results in a quantitative way, they become meta-analyses. The choice between
different review types will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, depending not just on the
nature of the material found and the preferences of the target journal(s), but also on the time
available to write the review and the number of co-authors.
Rule 5: Keep the Review Focused, but Make It of Broad Interest
The need to keep a review focused can be problematic for interdisciplinary reviews, where the aim
is to bridge the gap between fields. If you are writing a review on, for example, how
epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may be inclined to
include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural diffusion.
This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a focused review would only deal in detail
with those studies at the interface between epidemiology and the spread of ideas. While focus is
an important feature of a successful review, this requirement has to be balanced with the need to
make the review relevant to a broad audience. This square may be circled by discussing the wider
implications of the reviewed topic for other disciplines.
Rule 6: Be Critical and Consistent
Reviewing the literature is not stamp collecting. A good review does not just summarize the
literature, but discusses it critically, identifies methodological problems, and points out research
gaps. After having read a review of the literature, a reader should have a rough idea of:
i. The major achievements in the reviewed field,
ii. The main areas of debate, and
iii. The outstanding research questions.
It is challenging to achieve a successful review on all these fronts. A solution can be to involve a
set of complementary coauthors, some people are excellent at mapping what has been achieved,
some others are very good at identifying dark clouds on the horizon, and some have instead a
knack at predicting where solutions are going to come from.
Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure
Like a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written,
focused, and critical. It also needs a good structure. With reviews, the usual subdivision of research
papers into introduction, methods, results, and discussion does not work or is rarely used.
However, a general introduction of the context and, toward the end, a recapitulation of the main
points covered and take-home messages make sense also in the case of reviews. For systematic
reviews, there is a trend towards including information about how the literature was searched
(database, keywords, time limits).
Rule 8: Make Use of Feedback
Reviews of the literature are normally peer-reviewed in the same way as research papers, and
rightly. As a rule, incorporating feedback from reviewers greatly helps improve a review draft.
Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and
ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to rereading the typescript too many times.
It is however advisable to reread the draft one more time before submission, as a last-minute
correction of typos, leaps, and muddled sentences may enable the reviewers to focus on providing
advice on the content rather than the form.
Feedback is vital to writing a good review, and should be sought from a variety of colleagues, so
as to obtain a diversity of views on the draft. This may lead in some cases to conflicting views on
the merits of the paper, and on how to improve it, but such a situation is better than the absence of
feedback. A diversity of feedback perspectives on a literature review can help identify where the
consensus view stands in the landscape of the current scientific understanding of an issue.
Rule 9: Include Your Own Relevant Research, but Be Objective
In many cases, reviewers of the literature will have published studies relevant to the review they
are writing. This could create a conflict of interest: how can reviewers report objectively on their
own work. Some scientists may be overly enthusiastic about what they have published, and thus
risk giving too much importance to their own findings in the review. However, bias could also
occur in the other direction: some scientists may be unduly dismissive of their own achievements,
so that they will tend to downplay their contribution (if any) to a field when reviewing it.
In general, a review of the literature should neither be a public relations brochure nor an exercise
in competitive self-denial. If a reviewer is up to the job of producing a well-organized and
methodical review, which flows well and provides a service to the readership, then it should be
possible to be objective in reviewing one's own relevant findings. In reviews written by multiple
authors, this may be achieved by assigning the review of the results of a co-author to different co-
authors.
Rule 10: Be Up-to-Date, but Do Not Forget Older Studies
Given the progressive acceleration in the publication of scientific papers, today's reviews of the
literature need awareness not just of the overall direction and achievements of a field of inquiry,
but also of the latest studies, so as not to become out-of-date before they have been published.
Ideally, a literature review should not identify as a major research gap an issue that has just been
addressed in a series of papers in press the same applies, of course, to older, overlooked studies
(“sleeping beauties”). This implies that literature reviewers would do well to keep an eye on
electronic lists of papers in press, given that it can take months before these appear in scientific
databases.
Some reviews declare that they have scanned the literature up to a certain point in time, but given
that peer review can be a rather lengthy process, a full search for newly appeared literature at the
revision stage may be worthwhile. Assessing the contribution of papers that have just appeared is
particularly challenging, because there is little perspective with which to gauge their significance
and impact on further research and society.

Q. 4 Compare the research process in Qualitative and Quantitative Research?

Research is the most widely used tool to increase and brush-up the stock of knowledge about
something and someone. In the field of marketing, business, sociology, psychology, science &
technology, economics, etc. there are two standard ways of conducting research, i.e. qualitative
research or quantitative research.

Qualitative Research: relies on verbal narrative like spoken or written data

Quantitative Research: uses logical or statistical observations to draw conclusions.

 In a qualitative research, there are only a few non-representative cases are used as a sample to
develop an initial understanding. Unlike, quantitative research in which a sufficient number of
representative cases are taken to consideration to recommend a final course of action.

There is a never-ending debate on, which research is better than the other, so in this article, we are
going to shed light on the difference between qualitative and quantitative research.

Comparison Chart: Qualitative Research Vs Quantitative Research:

BASIS FOR
COMPARISON QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Meaning Qualitative research is a method of Quantitative research is a research method
inquiry that develops understanding on that is used to generate numerical data and
human and social sciences, to find the hard facts, by employing statistical, logical
way people think and feel. and mathematical technique.
Nature Holistic Particularistic
Approach Subjective Objective
Research type Exploratory Conclusive
Reasoning Inductive Deductive
Sampling Purposive Random
Data Verbal Measurable
Inquiry Process-oriented Result-oriented
Hypothesis Generated Tested
Elements of analysis Words, pictures and objects Numerical data

Objective To explore and discover ideas used in To examine cause and effect relationship
the ongoing processes. between variables.
Methods Non-structured techniques like In-depth Structured techniques such as surveys,
interviews, group discussions etc. questionnaires and observations.

Result Develops initial understanding Recommends final course of action

 Definition of Qualitative Research:
Qualitative research is one which provides insights and understanding of the problem setting. It is
an unstructured, exploratory research method that studies highly complex phenomena that are
impossible to elucidate with the quantitative research. Although, it generates ideas or hypothesis
for later quantitative research.

Qualitative research is used to gain an in-depth understanding of human behavior, experience,

attitudes, intentions, and motivations, on the basis of observation and interpretation, to find out the
way people think and feel. It is a form of research in which the researcher gives more weight to
the views of the participants. Case study, grounded theory, ethnography, historical and
phenomenology are the types of qualitative research.

Definition of Quantitative Research:

Quantitative research is a form of research that relies on the methods of natural sciences, which
produces numerical data and hard facts. It aims at establishing cause and effect relationship
between two variables by using mathematical, computational and statistical methods. The research
is also known as empirical research as it can be accurately and precisely measured.

The data collected by the researcher can be divided into categories or put into rank, or it can be
measured in terms of units of measurement. Graphs and tables of raw data can be constructed with
the help quantitative research, making it easier for the researcher to analyses the results.

Key Differences Between Qualitative And Quantitative Research

The differences between qualitative and quantitative research are provided can be drawn clearly
on the following grounds:

1. Qualitative research is a method of inquiry that develops understanding on human and social
sciences, to find the way people think and feel. A scientific and empirical research method that
is used to generate numerical data, by employing statistical, logical and mathematical technique
is called quantitative research.
2. Qualitative research is holistic in nature while quantitative research is particularistic.
3. The qualitative research follows a subjective approach as the researcher is intimately involved,
whereas the approach of quantitative research is objective, as the researcher is uninvolved and
attempts to precise the observations and analysis on the topic to answer the inquiry.
4. Qualitative research is exploratory. As opposed to quantitative research which is conclusive.
5. The reasoning used to synthesize data in qualitative research is inductive whereas in the case of
quantitative research the reasoning is deductive.
6. Qualitative research is based on purposive sampling, where a small sample size is selected with
a view to get a thorough understanding of the target concept. On the other hand, quantitative
research relies on random sampling; wherein a large representative sample is chosen in order to
extrapolate the results to the whole population.
7. Verbal data are collected in qualitative research. Conversely, in quantitative research measurable
data is gathered.
8. Inquiry in qualitative research is a process-oriented, which is not in the case of quantitative
research.
9. Elements used in the analysis of qualitative research are words, pictures, and objects while that
of quantitative research is numerical data.
10. Qualitative Research is conducted with the aim of exploring and discovering ideas used in the
ongoing processes. As opposed to quantitative research the purpose is to examine cause and
effect relationship between variables.
11. Lastly, the methods used in qualitative research are in-depth interviews, focus groups, etc. In
contrast, the methods of conducting quantitative research are structured interviews and
observations.
12. Qualitative Research develops the initial understanding whereas quantitative research
recommends a final course of action.
An ideal research is one, which is conducted by considering both the methods, together. Although,
there are some particular areas which require, only one type of research which mainly depends on
the information required by the researcher. While qualitative research tends to be interpretative,
quantitative research is concrete.

Q. 5 Write short notes on the following topic:

(i) Inductive Method

Inductive approach, also known in inductive reasoning, starts with the observations and theories
are proposed towards the end of the research process as a result of observations
Inductive research “involves the search for pattern from observation and the development of
explanations, theories, for those patterns through series of hypotheses”. No theories or hypotheses
would apply in inductive studies at the beginning of the research and the researcher is free in terms
of altering the direction for the study after the research process had commenced.
It is important to stress that inductive approach does not imply disregarding theories when
formulating research questions and objectives. This approach aims to generate meanings from the
data set collected in order to identify patterns and relationships to build a theory; however,
inductive approach does not prevent the researcher from using existing theory to formulate the
research question to be explored. Inductive reasoning is based on learning from experience.
Patterns, resemblances and regularities in experience (premises) are observed in order to reach
conclusions (or to generate theory).

Inductive research Method:

When there is little to no existing literature on a topic, it is common to perform inductive research
because there is no theory to test. The inductive approach consists of three stages:
 1. Observation
o A low-cost airline flight is delayed
o Dogs A and B have fleas
o Elephants depend on water to exist
2. Observe a pattern
o Another 20 flights from low-cost airlines are delayed
o All observed dogs have fleas
o All observed animals depend on water to exist
3. Develop a theory
o Low cost airlines always have delays
o All dogs have fleas
o All biological life depends on water to exist

Limitations of an inductive approach

A conclusion drawn on the basis of an inductive method can never be proven, but it can be
invalidated.

Example
You observe 1000 flights from low-cost airlines. All of them experience a delay, which is in line
with your theory. However, you can never prove that flight 1001 will also be delayed. Still, the
larger your dataset, the more reliable the conclusion.

(ii) Deductive Method:

A deductive approach is concerned with “developing a hypothesis based on existing theory, and
then designing a research strategy to test the hypothesis”
It has been stated that “deductive means reasoning from the particular to the general. If a causal
relationship or link seems to be implied by a particular theory or case example, it might be true in
many cases. A deductive design might test to see if this relationship or link did obtain on more
general circumstances”.
Deductive approach can be explained by the means of hypotheses, which can be derived from the
propositions of the theory. In other words, deductive approach is concerned with deducting
conclusions from premises or propositions. Deduction begins with an expected pattern “that is
tested against observations, whereas induction begins with observations and seeks to find a pattern
within them”
Advantages of Deductive Method:
Deductive method offers the following advantages:
1. Possibility to explain causal relationships between concepts and variables
2. Possibility to measure concepts quantitatively
3. Possibility to generalize research findings to a certain extent

When conducting deductive research, you always start with a theory (the result of inductive
research). Reasoning deductively means testing these theories. If there is no theory yet, you cannot
conduct deductive research.
The deductive research method consists of four stages:

1. Start with an existing theory

o Low cost airlines always have delays
o All dogs have fleas
o All biological life depends on water to exist
2. Formulate a hypothesis based on existing theory
o If passengers fly with a low cost airline, then they will always experience delays
o All pet dogs in my apartment building have fleas
o All land mammals depend on water to exist
3. Collect data to test the hypothesis
o Collect flight data of low-cost airlines
o Test all dogs in the building for fleas
o Study all land mammal species to see if they depend on water
4. Analyze the results: does the data reject or support the hypothesis?
o 5 out of 100 flights of low-cost airlines are not delayed = reject hypothesis
o 10 out of 20 dogs didn’t have fleas = reject hypothesis
o All land mammal species depend on water = support hypothesis

Limitations of a deductive approach

The conclusions of deductive reasoning can only be true if all the premises set in the inductive
study are true and the terms are clear.

Example

 All dogs have fleas (premise)

 Benno is a dog (premise)
 Benno has fleas (conclusion)

Based on the premises we have, the conclusion must be true. However, if the first premise turns
out to be false, the conclusion that Benno has fleas cannot be relied upon.