Sample Essay On Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

The quantitative research article being considered in the study is a business and economics journal, vol. 2012: BEJ-60 on the relationship between working capital management and profitability: a study of selected FMCG companies in India. The qualitative research explored is using qualitative methods in Franchise Research- An application in understanding the franchised Entrepreneurs' Motivation. By Claire Gauzente.
Qualitative research is a scientific technique that attempts to understand the underlying research question in the perspective of the population involved. Research attempts to answer questions through the application of scientifically defined procedures. Its findings are utilized beyond the current scope of the research.
Qualitative research has the strength of being able to describe the experiences of people on a certain research issue. It is especially important in providing information on the beliefs, traditions and the relationship of the variables in the research issue that could not be obtained from quantitative research. Qualitative research is particularly important when determining intangible factors that may have a significant effect on the research issue. These factors include; gender duties, ethnicity, and social norms.
Qualitative research is important in the understanding of the findings of a quantitative study since it assists in the interpretation and clear understanding of the research under consideration.
The differences in quantitative and qualitative studies can be based on a number of factors which include; the objectives of the study, the structure of the questions, data collection instruments and the ways in which the data is captured.
Quantitative techniques involve the test of a hypothesis to determine if it can be accepted or not. The decision usually involves the analysis of the data collected on the research topic before the conclusion is reached. The objective of Qualitative research is to understand the phenomena and it does in no way try to measure it. Quantitative techniques aim to measure the variation and also predict the association between the variables so as to predict population properties. Qualitative research, on the other hand, describes the variation, the associations between the variables is also explained, and lastly individual experiences and group norms are elaborated.
The question format for quantitative research is closed ended that usually leads to numerical data while the questions in qualitative research are open ended and they usually lead to textual data.
A quantitative study will in most cases be conclusive and as such no questions will be added in the course of data collection.
Qualitative research, however, is flexible and will involve the addition and removal of questions a case in point is focus group discussion. Therefore, the responses of quantitative research will in no way influence the questions presented by the researcher. In qualitative analysis, the responses of participants will affect the preceding questions of the researcher. Qualitative researcher is not based on any statistical assumptions and conditions the design is, however, iterative and as such the data collection procedure and the research questions are continually adjusted based on what has been learned so far.
A combined approach is utilized in questionnaires that have both closed ended and open ended questions. This will usually depend on the form of the information that is being collected.
Both methods are utilized in scientific research and as such they complement each other. Any successful research study will employ both methods in order to address the research issue.
The most appropriate method for research in businesses is the quantitative method because collection of business information will in most cases involve numerical data. Qualitative data will also be used because some of the data collected will be textual.

Reference:

Bagchi, B., & Khanrui, B. (2012). Relationship between Working Capital Management and Profitability: A study of selected FMCG Companies in India. Business and Economics Journal, Vol. 2012: BEJ-60.
Family Health International. Quantitative research methods: A data collector's Field Guide.
Gauzente, C., (2002). Using qualitative methods in Franchise Research- An Application in Understanding the Franchised Entrepreneurs’' Motivations. Forum: Qualitative Social Research vol 3, N0 1