Qualitative and Quantitative research?

Question

what is the difference between these two?

Answer 1

qualitative research is highly detailed information used to explain a social theory or phenomenon.  this information can be gathered by conducting interviews and individual case studies or observing participants in controlled settings.  this method is usually pretty time consuming, as it is important to spend a lot of time with the subjects to obtain accurate, in-depth data.

quantitative research is numerical data that is used to identify trends that can be generalized for an entire population.  this can be done by choosing a random sample of individuals and surveying them.  the answers to the surveys are assigned numerical values which are later computed to produce statistical graphs or charts that explain what the researcher is looking for.

for example, if you wanted to make conclusions about single-parent families...

qualitative research:  conduct interviews with several single parents and their children, temporarily live with them, observe them in their homes, etc.  after comparing the data, you could write an for a journal about any significant findings.

quantitative research:  mass-mail surveys to hundreds of single-parent families.  enter all of the answers into a spreadsheet and compute to draw any conclusions about associations between variables (i.e. race vs. income, age vs. # of children, etc.)