Qualitative vs Quantitative Data Analysis

Quantitative Research. The main purpose of quantitative research and analysis is to quantify the
data and assess it from the angle of numbers and other commonly adopted metrics. Such kind of
approach gives the ability to generalize the examples let it be a separate sample of something or
the entire population such. At the same time, such kind of research in most cases is followed by
the qualitative research for specifying the studying the findings more closely.
Qualitative Research. That kind of research is used for getting the larger, more closeup picture of
the issue to understand something deeper and dig the problem until the cause is found. At the
same time, the qualitative research may be a preceding one to the quantitative for generating
ideas.
Qualitative Analysis: Rich and Precise

The detailed picture that is rich of data and descriptions appears to be the ultimate purpose of
conducting a qualitative analysis. If the data has identified the frequencies that are not assigned to
the linguistic features and it happens that a rare phenomenon gets more attention than the frequent
one that might be counted as a problem in particular cases because of providing subjective data.

Qualitative analysis is multifaceted, it enables to draw the solid distinction between findings
because for this kind of analysis the data doesn’t need to be restricted by the number of
classifications. Ambiguity that the language creates for the qualitative analyses is inborn, natural
feature of human language, however, it doesn’t distort the results of analysis, on the opposite it
can bring deeper understanding, it can be pictured using the following example:

For instance, “red” is normally signified as a color, in some cases, it can mean the political
orientation, especially in the countries where the socialism or the communism adopted, thus

in the qualitative analysis the both meanings take place if the “red flag” phrase exists, so in
the qualitative analysis, more room left for interpretations. The disadvantages of the qualitative
method involve the drawback related to the inability of applying the findings to the bigger scale
and wider population groups using the same certainty degree, however, such thing is available for
the quantitative analysis. The cause that brings such inconveniences is in the testing of the data
that is not properly conducted, it is important to prove that the data that was found holds a statistical
significance and doesn’t come as result of the random chance.
Quantitative Analysis: General, Steady and Reliable

For the quantitative analysis, the researcher needs to process the received data using the detailed
set of classification and rules, before that the futures are classified, that helps to create the statistical
models, reflecting the outcomes of the observation. Quantitative analysis is convenient because
the research patterns can be applied to the larger scale and the larger populations of studied objects,
that’s where the generalization takes place.

Such method can be called more objective as it skips the mere coincidences or events that happen
randomly leaving the place for discovering what phenomena will likely take place in the future
based on given research data. Quantitative analysis constructs the precise picture of the event
occurrences, it can describe the normality and the abnormality of something that takes place in
statistics media.

So, the features of qualitative and quantitative analyses can be combined to get the perfect picture,
the most objective and detailed one at the same time. While qualitative analysis idealizes the data
causing opening the gap for the rare occasions in the research results the quantitative skips the rare
and random events.
Collaboration of Opposites: Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Data

Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis bear their own value and have features that can
contribute the research results of each other and enrich the research results. The combined
approach involving the both methods now gaining more and more popularity among the scientists
all around the world it helps to reject the biases and eliminate the breaches of the both approaches
creating broader ground for studying the objects groups.

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The limitations of qualitative analysis

 Does not generalize the population

 Difficult for applying with statistical methods at times
 Instruments of research affect the effectiveness

The limitations of quantitative analysis

 Difficult to deal with new and undiscovered phenomenon (especially “why things
happen” phenomenon)
 Restricted by statistical designed, causes limited conclusion

Schmied (1993) has stated that both qualitative and quantitative analyses have
something to contribute to science development. There has been a recent move in social science
towards multi-method use more than one method, and provide more comprehensive conclusion.
 image credit: douglaserice.com

Methods Make It Easy: Principles of Data Analysis

If you ever dealt with analyses, it will be rather easy for you to go through all stages of research –
from data collection to sorting and processing. It is very important to remember to take one step
back from time to time to re-think the data gathered. Upon gaining the fresh look and new data
understanding you will be able to sort and code information more successfully, reducing all
unnecessary elements. Coding too many pieces of irrelevant data can take a serious negative toll
on the time you spend on your research and lead to the distortions of the results. Before you started
the research set the questions the resulting research should give the definite answers on, only
replying to all of them will give your research its fullness. Apart of those questions you need to
determine the key elements like:

 Who conducts the research?

 What are the research questions?
 What is the research design?
 When is the data collected?
 Who are the participants of the research?
 What analysis plan is used?
 What are the findings?
Basically, the research moves through 4 big stages during which the researchers take the steps,
defined by the research flow sequence. If you know where to get the qualitative analysis help the
whole procedure will be very easy for you.

 Upon gathering the data, the reading and rereading process begins, as soon as you get
familiarization with the material you will be able to find the initial patterns in the data.
Primary and secondary nuances are discussed.
 Data codification stage begins, information that you’ve gathered for the research should get
codifying so that it becomes easier to manage, for this task the codebook is created where
definitions, abbreviations, and exemplary quotes are included.
 The data source trustworthiness verification. That stage implies that the data sources should
be sorted and eliminated according to the initial standards set for the informational sources.
 The data reducing stage that is based on the interpretation. The collected coded data should be
ready and systematized for synthesizing your findings. As the result, the researcher should
come up with new themes, taxonomies, and theories.

Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data is different. For getting the flexible and precise results
for your research it is important to use reliable research methods and follow the instructions for
the research conduction but that is not enough. The qualitative analysis provides good
opportunities to gather the profound and extensive data for the research but does not generalize the
population. The quantitative analysis causes limited conclusions as it ignores the additional factors
for analysis so the better practice for researchers becomes combining advantages of both analyses.
Qualitative Data Analysis Methods
Several methods are available to analyze qualitative data. The most commonly used data analysis
methods are:

Content analysis: This is one of the most common methods to analyze qualitative data. It is
used to analyze documented information in the form of texts, media, or even physical items.
When to use this method depends on the research questions. Content analysis is usually used to
analyze responses from interviewees.
Narrative analysis: This method is used to analyze content from various sources, such as
interviews of respondents, observations from the field, or surveys. It focuses on using the stories
and experiences shared by people to answer the research questions.
Discourse analysis: Like narrative analysis, discourse analysis is used to analyze interactions
with people. However, it focuses on analyzing the social context in which the communication
between the researcher and the respondent occurred. Discourse analysis also looks at the
respondent’s day-to-day environment and uses that information during analysis.
Grounded theory: This refers to using qualitative data to explain why a certain phenomenon
happened. It does this by studying a variety of similar cases in different settings and using the
data to derive causal explanations. Researchers may alter the explanations or create new ones as
they study more cases until they arrive at an explanation that fits all cases.