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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

Posted by Jeffrey Henning on Mon, Oct 20, 2008
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Quantitative market research provides hard data that can be extrapolated to a larger population, using proven statistical techniques.Qualitative market research, on the other hand, seeks to provide narrative, the story behind the story that illuminates the perceptions of a population.

Both techniques are complementary:qualitative research helps when first seeking to understand what might be going on with a target audience, while quantitative research helps to assess the frequency of identified attitudes or behaviors.

  Qualitative Quantitative
Purposes Contextualization Generalizability
Interpretation Prediction
Research Questions Vague Precise
Project Life Cycle Earlier in Cycle Later in Cycle
Approach Inductive Deductive
Interpretive Measurable
Avoids numerical analysis Emphasizes numerical analysis
Uses interviews Uses fixed survey instrument
Fusional Analytical
Participants Few Many
Researcher Role Personally involved and partial Detached and impartial
Subjective understanding Objective portrayal
Traditional Methodology Focus groups Telephone surveys
Web Methodology Online research communities Web surveys

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Comments

Great comparison chart, a great resource.
Posted @ Wednesday, June 17, 2009 11:41 AM by Qualitative Research
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