When to use qualitative vs. quantitative research

A guideline for deciding whether to use qualitative or quantitative data is:

• Use quantitative research if you want to confirm or test something (a theory or hypothesis)
• Use qualitative research if you want to understand something (concepts, thoughts, experiences)

For most research studies, you can choose a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods approach. Which type you choose depends on, among other things, whether you’re taking an inductive vs. deductive research approach; your research question(s); whether you’re doing experimental, correlational, or descriptive research; and practical considerations such as time, money, availability of data, and access to respondents. Research question:  How satisfied are students with their studies?

Quantitative research approach

You survey 300 students at your university and ask them questions such as: “on a scale from 1-5, how satisfied are your with your professors?” You can perform statistical analysis on the data and draw conclusions such as: “on average students rated their professors 4.4”.

Qualitative research approach

You conduct in-depth interviews with 15 students and ask them open-ended questions such as: “How satisfied are you with your studies?”, “What is the most positive aspect of your study program?” and “What can be done to improve the study program?” Based on the answers you get you can ask follow-up questions to clarify things. You transcribe all interviews using software like NVIVO and try to establish common themes

Mixed methods approach

You will deploy interviews to find out how satisfied students are with their studies. Through open-ended questions you learn things you never thought about before and gain new insights. Later, you use a survey to test these insights on a larger scale. One can also begin with a survey to determine the overall trends, followed by interviews to better understand the root causes behind the trends.