2. Key Terms used in Quantitative and
Qualitative Research
Concepts
Quantitative Term
Qualitative Term
Study participant
Informant, key informant
Person undertaking the
study
Study participant
Subject/respondent
Researcher
investigator
Information gathered
Data (Numerical values)
Data (narrative descriptions)
Links between concepts
Relationship (causal, functional
Patterns of association
Logical reasoning process
Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
Quality of evidence
Reliability, validity,
generalizability
trustworthiness
Person contributing info
Same
3. How to conduct a Qualitative
Study
The researcher begins by talking with or
observing people who have firsthand
experience of the phenomenon under
study. The discussions and observations
are loosely structured allowing the
participants to express a full range of
beliefs, feelings and behaviors.
4.
Analysis and interpretation are ongoing.
Concurrent activities are used to guide
decisions about whom to sample next and
what questions to ask or observations to make.
The actual process of data analysis involves
clustering together related types of narrative
information into a coherent scheme, which is
called the theme. Themes are used to build a
descriptive theory of a phenomenon. Theories
are developed from the themes identified.
5.
Theory development and verification shape
the sampling and data gathering process. As
the theory develops, the researchers seek
participants who can confirm and enrich their
theoretical understandings as well as those
who can potentially challenge them, which in
turn can lead them to further theoretical
development.
6.
While quantitative researchers seek to collect
high quality data by using measuring
instruments with demonstrated validity and
reliability, qualitative researchers are
themselves the main data collection
instruments-they must take steps to ensure
that trustworthiness of the data while in the
field. They should see to it that the findings
accurately reflect the experiences and
viewpoints of the participants, rather than the
researchers’ perception.
7. Qualitative Findings
Quantitative reports almost never contain any
raw data or data exactly in the form as they
were collected (numeric values). Qualitative
reports, by contrast, are generally filled with
the rich verbatim insights from study
participants. Excerpts are used in an
evidential fashion to support or illustrate the
researcher’s interpretations and thematic
construction.
8. Example of raw data in a qualitative report:
A phenomenological study on the
lived experience s of patients under the care of
Filipino nurses gave the remarks, “they are
malambing, maasikaso, pleasant to talk with,
hospitable, very meticulous, may warmth
compared to foreigners”.
Note: these qualitative data were used in a
quantitative study to describe the care under
Filipino nurses.
