Definition of Qualitative and Quantitative Research + Examples
Generally, research is divided into two types, namely qualitative research and quantitative research. Both studies are often used by a researcher to conduct a study.
You will find research activities when you are going to do a final project in college.
Therefore, research activities will only be encountered when you are studying in college, not when you are in junior high or high school.
Even in high school, you will only study research in general and outline only at the end of the semester.
Qualitative and Quantitative Research
You will use qualitative research and quantitative research when you study S1, S2, even S3. If you enter academia, you will always be faced with this research activity.
For undergraduate education, the term will be known as thesis, for master education it will be known as thesis, and for doctoral education it will be known as dissertation.
At that time, you will be faced with choosing, the research you will use is choosing the type of qualitative research or quantitative research.
According to Sugiyonothe difference between qualitative research and quantitative research is that qualitative research is a research method based on post-positivism.
Research that uses this type of research will examine objects that are natural.
While quantitative research is research based on the philosophy of positivism. This research examines more object sample or population that is the object of the research itself.
For more details, you can understand the difference between qualitative research and quantitative research below.
Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Research purposes
The purpose of the research is certainly needed as a basic basis or reason for what to aim for in conducting the research. Do you want to prove, strengthen, or find a new theory.
Or want to research and find reasons for a phenomenon that is happening and how the academic scope sees the phenomenon under study.
By knowing the purpose of the research you are going to research, then you can also determine what type of research you will use.
Qualitative research is more intended for those of you who want to examine a phenomenon in depth, describe reality or social problems, and develop theories.
Whereas quantitative research itself is more intended for those of you who want to explain the relationship between one variable and another, test an existing theory, and generalize a social phenomenon that you want to research in a specific scope.
Research Form and Nature
The form and nature of the two studies have differences. Because of that, before deciding to research something or a phenomenon, you must decide to use qualitative research or quantitative research first.
With you already know what you want to research and decide what type of research you will use, it is hoped that later the research you make will be directed according to the type of research you have chosen.
Qualitative research is more general, dynamic, and flexible. That way, it could be that the research you are researching will be able to develop again if you use this type of research.
In contrast to quantitative research, which is more rigid, detailed, and static.
For this reason, qualitative research often plays with numbers because it relies on population samples and statistics.
This type of research cannot be changed or developed like other types of qualitative research.
Data analysis method
The data analysis method is an activity to analyze the data that has been collected in the research.
When analyzing data, you must also be able to explain it according to the theoretical basis or literature review that you explained in the initial chapter of your research.
If you can do that, then for the next process you will be easier to do.
This type of qualitative research can be carried out by analyzing data along with the research process.
Because, due to its flexible nature and based on phenomena, data analysis can be carried out directly by comparing or adjusting it to the formulation of the problem or the chosen theoretical basis. In contrast to the type of quantitative research.
Also read: Data Collection Techniques
You can only carry out the data analysis process when you are done collecting data. After that, only then can you conclude the overall results from the data you collect.
Research subject
The research subject can be called someone who you use as a source of research that you do. With a source, your research is not artificial or engineered research.
Because, you have a reference for data sources that can be used as evidence that your research is truly research.
Research subjects between qualitative research and quantitative research also have differences. Research subjects from qualitative research are often called resource persons.
You will conduct direct interviews with these sources to obtain data for the research you are doing.
While the subject of quantitative research is often referred to from the respondents. Usually this subject is taken randomly because to get the data a questionnaire is distributed. Anyone will be allowed to fill out the distributed questionnaire.
Understanding Facts
Understanding the facts is how you interpret the results of your research with the facts you get and the theory you use as a reference as the basis for carrying out your research process.
This is one way to see whether the research you have done has been successful or not.
Qualitative research looks at and understands the facts carried out by the researcher himself. How does he see the facts under study with reference to the data and the theoretical basis put forward.
Later, the concept of this type of research is where the results of the research that you do, in addition to adapting to the theory, also strengthens the theory you use.
As for quantitative research, looking at the facts by looking at the results of the research that has been done. Whatever the result, he must be based according to what he researched on the field.
This type of research comes from the theory put forward and leads to the facts.
Data Type
The type of data is the form of the data results that you get after conducting research methods that are in accordance with the type of research you choose.
For this type of qualitative research, because one of the objectives is to want to explore a phenomenon or strengthen a theory, the type of data obtained is more narrative and also exploratory.
While this type of research is quantitative, because one of the goals was to prove the theory with the facts in the field, the types of data obtained are more in the form of numbers or numeric, and statistics.
Read also: Example of Theoretical Foundation
The numbers and statistics are the final results and interpretations of the data that has been collected initially.
Conclusion
By knowing these differences, it is hoped that you already know specifically the type of research you will choose. Whether to use a qualitative type of research or a quantitative type of research?
