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Chapter5 Methods of Research Module
Chapter5 Methods of Research Module
QUANTITATIVE AND
QUALITATIVE METHODS
Objectives:
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Quantitative Research
Quantitative research templates are objective, elaborate, and many times, even
investigational. The results achieved from this research method are logical, statistical,
and unbiased. Data collection happened using a structured method and conducted on
larger samples that represent the entire population.
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Primary Quantitative Research Methods
1. Survey Research
Survey Research is the most fundamental tool for all quantitative outcome
research methodologies and studies. Surveys used to ask questions to a sample
of respondents, using various types such as online polls, online surveys, paper
questionnaires, web-intercept surveys, etc. Every small and big organization
intends to understand what their customers think about their products and services,
how well are new features faring in the market and other such details.
This type of research can be conducted with a specific target audience group
and also can be conducted across multiple groups along with comparative analysis.
A prerequisite for this type of research is that the sample of respondents must have
randomly selected members. This way, a researcher can easily maintain the
accuracy of the obtained results as a huge variety of respondents will be addressed
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using random selection. Traditionally, survey research was conducted face-to-face
or via phone calls but with the progress made by online mediums such as email or
social media, survey research has spread to online mediums as well.
There are two types of surveys, either of which can be chosen based on the
time in-hand and the kind of data required:
2. Cross-sectional surveys
Cross-sectional surveys are observational surveys conducted in situations
where the researcher intends to collect data from a sample of the target population
at a given point in time. Researchers can evaluate various variables at a particular
time. Data gathered using this type of survey is from people who depict similarity
in all variables except the variables which are considered for research. Throughout
the survey, this one variable will stay constant.
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3. Longitudinal surveys
Longitudinal surveys are also observational surveys but, unlike cross-sectional
surveys, longitudinal surveys are conducted across various time durations to
observe a change in respondent behavior and thought-processes. This time can
be days, months, years, or even decades. For instance, a researcher planning to
analyze the change in buying habits of teenagers over 5 years will conduct
longitudinal surveys.
4. Correlational Research
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trends between variables are concluded as they exist in their original set up. The
impact of one of these variables on the other is observed along with how it changes
the relationship between the two variables. Researchers tend to manipulate one of
the variables to attain the desired results.
5. Causal-comparative research
This research method mainly depends on the factor of comparison. Also called
quasi-experimental research, this quantitative research method is used by
researchers to conclude the cause-effect equation between two or more variables,
where one variable is dependent on the other independent variable. The
independent variable is established but not manipulated, and its impact on the
dependent variable is observed. These variables or groups must be formed as they
exist in the natural set up. As the dependent and independent variables will always
exist in a group, it is advised that the conclusions are carefully established by
keeping all the factors in mind.
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used to distinctly present the outcome obtained using this quantitative research
method.
1. Experimental Research:
Also known as true experimentation, this research method is reliant on a theory.
Experimental research, as the name suggests, is usually based on one or more
theories. This theory has not been proven in the past and is merely a supposition.
In experimental research, an analysis is done around proving or disproving the
statement. This research method is used in natural sciences. Traditional research
methods are more effective than modern techniques.
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Data Collection Methodologies
The second major step in primary quantitative research is data collection. Data
collection can be divided into sampling methods and data collection with the use of
surveys and polls.
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of the involvement of the researcher, not all the members of a target population
have an equal probability of being selected to be a part of a sample.
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Data collection methodologies: Using surveys & polls
Once the sample is determined, then either surveys or polls can be distributed to
collect the data for quantitative research.
• Email: Sending a survey via email is the most widely used and most effective
method of survey distribution. The response rate is high in this method because
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the respondents are aware of your brand. You can use the QuestionPro email
management feature to send out and collect survey responses.
• Buy respondents: Another effective way to distribute a survey and conduct
primary quantitative research is to use a sample. Since the respondents are
knowledgeable and are on the panel by their own will, responses are much higher.
• Embed survey on a website: Embedding a survey in a website increases a high
number of responses as the respondent is already in close proximity to the brand
when the survey pops up.
• Social distribution: Using social media to distribute the survey aids in collecting
a higher number of responses from the people that are aware of the brand.
• QR code: Question Pro QR codes store the URL for the survey. You can
print/publish this code in magazines, on signs, business cards, or on just about
any object/medium.
• SMS survey: A quick and time-effective way of conducting a survey to collect a
high number of responses is the SMS survey.
• Question Pro app: The Question Pro App allows users to circulate surveys quickly,
and the responses can be collected both online and offline.
Survey example
An example of a survey is short customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey template that
can quickly be built and deployed to collect feedback about what the customer thinks
about a brand and how satisfied and referenceable the brand is.
• Using polls for primary quantitative research
Polls are a method to collect feedback with the use of close-ended questions from
a sample. The most commonly used types of polls are election polls and exit polls.
Both of these are used to collect data from a large sample size but using basic
question types like a multiple-choice question.
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Data analysis techniques
The third aspect of primary quantitative research design is data analysis. After the
collection of raw data, there has to be an analysis of this data to derive statistical
inferences from this research. It is important to relate the results to the objective of
research and establish the statistical relevance of results.
It is important to consider aspects of research which were not considered for the
data collection process and report the difference between what was planned vs. what
was actually executed.
It is then required to select precise statistical analysis methods such as SWOT,
Conjoint, Cross-tabulation, etc. to analyze the quantitative data.
• SWOT Analysis: stands for the acronym of Strengths, Weakness,
Opportunities, and Threat analysis. Organizations use this statistical analysis
technique to evaluate their performance internally and externally to develop
effective strategies for improvement.
• Conjoint Analysis: Conjoint Analysis is a market analysis method to learn how
individuals make complicated purchasing decisions. Trade-offs are involved in
the daily activities of an individual, and these reflect their ability to decide from
a complex list of product/service options.
• Cross-tabulation: Cross-tabulation is one of the preliminary statistical market
analysis methods which establishes relationships, patterns, and trends within
the various parameters of the research study.
• TURF Analysis: TURF Analysis, an acronym for Totally Unduplicated Reach
and Frequency Analysis, is executed in situations where the reach of a
favorable communication source is to be analyzed along with the frequency of
this communication. It is used for understanding the potential of a target market.
Inferential statistics methods such as confidence interval, margin of error, etc. can
then be used to provide results.
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Secondary Quantitative research methods
Secondary quantitative research or desk research is a research method that
involves using already existing data or secondary data. Existing data is summarized
and collated to increase the overall effectiveness of research.
This research method involves the collection of quantitative data from existing
data sources like the internet, government resources, libraries, research reports, etc.
Secondary quantitative research helps to validate the data that is collected from
primary quantitative research as well as aid in strengthening or proving or disproving
previously collected data.
Following are five popularly used secondary quantitative research methods:
1. Data available on the internet: With the high penetration of internet and
mobile devices, it has become increasingly easy to conduct quantitative
research using the internet. Information about most research topics is
available online, and this aids in boosting the validity of primary quantitative
data as well as proving the relevance of previously collected data.
2. Government and non-government sources: Secondary quantitative
research can also be conducted with the help of government and non-
government sources that deal with market research reports. This data is
highly reliable and in-depth and hence, can be used to increase the validity
of quantitative research design.
3. Public libraries: Now a sparingly used method of conducting quantitative
research, it is still a reliable source of information though. Public libraries
have copies of important research that were conducted earlier. They are a
storehouse of valuable information and documents from which information
can be extracted.
4. Educational institutions: Educational institutions conduct in-depth
research on multiple topics, and hence, the reports that they publish are an
important source of validation in quantitative research.
5. Commercial information sources: Local newspapers, journals,
magazines, radio, and TV stations are a great source to obtain data for
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secondary quantitative research. These commercial information sources
have in-depth, first-hand information on economic developments, political
agenda, market research, demographic segmentation, and similar subjects.
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Quantitative Research Examples
Some examples of quantitative research are:
• Collect reliable and accurate data: As data is collected, analyzed, and presented
in numbers, the results obtained will be extremely reliable. Numbers do not lie.
They offer an honest picture of the conducted research without discrepancies and
is also extremely accurate. In situations where a researcher predicts conflict,
quantitative research is conducted.
• Quick data collection: A quantitative research is carried out with a group of
respondents who represent a population. A survey or any other quantitative
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research method applied to these respondents and the involvement of statistics,
conducting, and analyzing results is quite straightforward and less time-consuming.
• Wider scope of data analysis: Due to the statistics, this research method provides
a wide scope of data collection.
• Eliminate bias: This research method offers no scope for personal comments or
biasing of results. The results achieved are numerical and are thus, fair in most
cases.
Keep the questions simple: Remember that you will be reaching out to a
demographically wide audience. Pose simple questions for your respondents to
understand easily.
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is defined as a market research method that focuses on
obtaining data through open-ended and conversational communication.
This method is not only about “what” people think but also “why” they think so. For
example, consider a convenience store looking to improve its patronage. A systematic
observation concludes that the number of men visiting this store is more. One good
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method to determine why women were not visiting the store is to conduct an in-depth
interview of potential customers in the category.
For example, on successfully interviewing female customers, visiting the nearby
stores and malls, and selecting them through random sampling, it was known that the
store doesn’t have enough items for women and so there were fewer women visiting
the store, which was understood only by personally interacting with them and
understanding why they didn’t visit the store, because there were more male products
than female ones.
Qualitative research methods are designed in a manner that help reveal the
behavior and perception of a target audience with reference to a particular topic. There
are different types of qualitative research methods like an in-depth interview, focus
groups, ethnographic research, content analysis, case study research that are usually
used.
The results of qualitative methods are more descriptive and the inferences can be
drawn quite easily from the data that is obtained.
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The following are the qualitative research methods that are frequently used. Also, read
about qualitative research examples:
2. Focus groups: A focus group is also one of the commonly used qualitative
research methods, used in data collection. A focus group usually includes a limited
number of respondents (6-10) from within your target market.
The main aim of the focus group is to find answers to the “why” “what” and
“how” questions. One advantage of focus groups is, you don’t necessarily need to
interact with the group in person. Nowadays focus groups can be sent an online
survey on various devices and responses can be collected at the click of a button.
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processes. This method is very useful when it comes to market research on new
products and testing new concepts.
This type of research method can last from a few days to a few years, as it
involves in-depth observation and collecting data on those grounds. It’s a
challenging and a time-consuming method and solely depends on the expertise of
the researcher to be able to analyze, observe and infer the data.
4. Case study research: The case study method has evolved over the past few
years and developed into a valuable qual research method. As the name suggests
it is used for explaining an organization or an entity.
5. Record keeping: This method makes use of the already existing reliable
documents and similar sources of information as the data source. This data can
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be used in new research. This is similar to going to a library. There one can go
over books and other reference material to collect relevant data that can likely be
used in the research.
Qualitative observation deals with the 5 major sensory organs and their functioning – sight,
smell, touch, taste, and hearing. This doesn’t involve measurements or numbers but
instead characteristics.
2. For example, if the qualitative data is collected through a focus group or one-
to-one discussion, there will be handwritten notes or video recorded tapes. If
there are recording they should be transcribed and before the process of data
analysis can begin.
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3. As a rough guide, it can take a seasoned researcher 8-10 hours to transcribe
the recordings of an interview, which can generate roughly 20-30 pages of
dialogues. Many researchers also like to maintain separate folders to maintain
the recording collected from the different focus group. This helps them
compartmentalize the data collected.
4. In case there are running notes taken, which are also known as field notes,
they are helpful in maintaining comments, environmental contexts, nonverbal
cues etc. These filed notes are helpful and can be compared while transcribing
audio recorded data. Such notes are usually informal but should be secured in
a similar manner as the video recordings or the audio tapes.
Qualitative data analysis such as notes, videos, audio recordings images, and text
documents. One of the most used methods for qualitative data analysis is text analysis.
Text analysis is a data analysis method that is distinctly different from all other
qualitative research methods, where researchers analyze the social life of the participants
in the research study and decode the words, actions, etc.
There are images also that are used in this research study and the researchers
analyze the context in which the images are used and draw inferences from them. In the
last decade, text analysis through what is shared on social media platforms has gained
supreme popularity.
1. Qualitative research methods usually collect data at the sight, where the
participants are experiencing issues or problems. These are real-time data and
rarely bring the participants out of the geographic locations to collect information.
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2. Qualitative researchers typically gather multiple forms of data, such as interviews,
observations, and documents, rather than rely on a single data source.
3. This type of research method works towards solving complex issues by breaking
down into meaningful inferences that is easily readable and understood by all.
4. Since it’s a more communicative method, people can build their trust on the
researcher and the information thus obtained is raw and unadulterated.
At the end of the interview, it was realized that most of the books in the stores were
suitable for adults and there were not enough options for children or teenagers.
By conducting this qualitative research the bookstore owner realized what the
shortcomings were and what the feelings of the readers were. Through this research now
the bookstore owner can now keep books for different age categories and can improve
his sales and customer outreach.
Such qualitative research method examples can serve as the basis to indulge in
further quantitative research, which provides remedies.
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• To understand your strengths and weaknesses.
• Understanding purchase behavior.
• To study the reactions of your audience to marketing campaigns and other
communications.
• Exploring market demographics, segments, and customer groups.
• Gathering perception data of a brand, company, or product.
• Gather research insights
Video link:
• https://www.questionpro.com/blog/qualitat
ive-research-methods/
• https://www.questionpro.com/blog/quantit
ative-research/
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