Quantitative, Qualitative, Inductive and Deductive Research

Quantitative, Qualitative, Inductive and Deductive Research.
Characteristics of Quantitative and Qualitative Research.
Differences between Inductive and Deductive.

1. Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Hannah Halliday

2. Quantitative research Quantative research is a way of collecting numerical research or data which then can be converted into useable statistics. It uses measureable data to formulate facts and uncover patterns in research. Common methods used are questionnaires and surveys. For media studies, I would use both of these types of methods to get numerical data so then I can turn this into facts and statistics and find the trends.

3. Characteristics Can ask specific questions. You can collect data from participants. Numbers can be analysed using statistics. This type of research is unbiased towards the subject matter.

4. Qualitative research Qualitative research is used to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. It helps to develop ideas or hypothesises. It is used to uncover trends in thoughts and opinions. Common methods used are focused groups, individual interviews and observations. In a media studies aspect, I would use individual interviews to get peoples true opinions on music magazines.

5. Characteristics The questions asked are broad and open. The data that is collected is words and text as the questions asked are open which means the answer can go anywhere. They look on a smaller scale to get peoples true meanings and opinions. Descriptions and analysis for themes and general trends that may occur. Can be biased as things can be manipulated.

6. Deductive The deductive approach is when a hypothesis is developed from an already existing theory . They start with a social theory that they find compelling and then test its implications with data. T hey move from a more general level to a more specific one. A deductive approach to research is the one that people typically associate with scientific investigation. The researcher studies what others have done, reads existing theories and then tests hypotheses that emerge from those theories.

7. Inductive In an inductive approach to research, a researcher begins by collecting data that is relevant to his or her topic of interest. Once a considerable amount of data has been collected, the researcher will then take a time out from data collection, stepping back to get a bird’s eye view of their data . At this stage, the researcher looks for patterns in the data, working to develop a theory that could explain those patterns.

8. Differences The main difference between inductive and deductive approaches to research is that whilst a deductive approach is aimed and testing theory, an inductive approach is concerned with the generation of new theory emerging from the data. An inductive approach makes broad generalisations from specific observations. Inductive gives new knowledge whereas deductive doesn’t as there is already a theory there. Although they seem very different from one another, they complement each other as when doing researcher, the researcher may need to use inductive and deductive to get where they want to.