Business Research Methods chapter 5
Quantitative studies rely on quantitative information (numbers and figures). Qualitative studies base
their accounts on qualitative information (words, sentences and narratives). Quality is the essential
character or nature of something; Quality is the what; Quantity the how much. Qualitative refers to
the meaning, the definition or analogy or model or metaphor characterizing something, while
quantitative assumes the meaning and refers to a measure of it.
The choice for either a qualitative or quantitative method is an epistemological issue. Epistemology
theory of knowledge is concerned with the question of how one acquires knowledge. For positivistic
researchers the knowledge acquisition process consists of deducting hypotheses and testing those by
measuring the reality. Quantitative methods are more common in the positivist tradition, while
qualitative methods are more common in interpretivism.
You should be aware that there are no general guidelines as to when a qualitative or quantitative
method is more appropriate. When making the choice as to whether to conduct a qualitative or
quantitative study you need to consider the following questions.
What is your research problem?
Are you attempting to conduct an explorative, descriptive, causal or predictive study?
What is the objective?
What kind of information do you want to obtain and what do you already have access to?
There are many definition of research design, but no one definition imparts the full range of
important aspects. Several examples from leading authors can be cited:
The research design constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data. It
aids the scientist in the allocation of his limited resources by posing crucial choices: is the blueprint to
include experiments, interviews, observation, the analysis of records, simulation, or some
combination of these? Are the methods of data collection and the research situation to be highly
structured? Is an intensive study of a small sample more effective than a less intensive study of a
large sample? Should the analysis be primarily quantitative or qualitative?
OR
Research design is the plan and structure of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to
research questions. The plan is the overall scheme or program of the research. It includes an outline
of what the investigator will do from writing hypotheses and their operational implications to the
final analysis of data. A structure is the framework, organization, or configuration of the relations
among variables of a study. A research design expresses both the structure of the research problem
and the plan of investigation used to obtain empirical evidence on relations of the problem.
Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory Predictive
Qualitative
Quantitative
These definitions differ in detail, but together they give the essentials of research design:
The design is an activity- and time-based plan;
The design is always based on the research question;
The design guides the selection of sources and types of information;
The design is a framework for specifying the relationships among the study’s variables;
The design outlines procedures for every research activity.
Thus, the design provides answers for questions such as these:
Quantitative studies rely on quantitative information (numbers and figures). Qualitative studies base
their accounts on qualitative information (words, sentences and narratives). Quality is the essential
character or nature of something; Quality is the what; Quantity the how much. Qualitative refers to
the meaning, the definition or analogy or model or metaphor characterizing something, while
quantitative assumes the meaning and refers to a measure of it.
The choice for either a qualitative or quantitative method is an epistemological issue. Epistemology
theory of knowledge is concerned with the question of how one acquires knowledge. For positivistic
researchers the knowledge acquisition process consists of deducting hypotheses and testing those by
measuring the reality. Quantitative methods are more common in the positivist tradition, while
qualitative methods are more common in interpretivism.
You should be aware that there are no general guidelines as to when a qualitative or quantitative
method is more appropriate. When making the choice as to whether to conduct a qualitative or
quantitative study you need to consider the following questions.
What is your research problem?
Are you attempting to conduct an explorative, descriptive, causal or predictive study?
What is the objective?
What kind of information do you want to obtain and what do you already have access to?
There are many definition of research design, but no one definition imparts the full range of
important aspects. Several examples from leading authors can be cited:
The research design constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data. It
aids the scientist in the allocation of his limited resources by posing crucial choices: is the blueprint to
include experiments, interviews, observation, the analysis of records, simulation, or some
combination of these? Are the methods of data collection and the research situation to be highly
structured? Is an intensive study of a small sample more effective than a less intensive study of a
large sample? Should the analysis be primarily quantitative or qualitative?
OR
Research design is the plan and structure of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to
research questions. The plan is the overall scheme or program of the research. It includes an outline
of what the investigator will do from writing hypotheses and their operational implications to the
final analysis of data. A structure is the framework, organization, or configuration of the relations
among variables of a study. A research design expresses both the structure of the research problem
and the plan of investigation used to obtain empirical evidence on relations of the problem.
Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory Predictive
Qualitative
Quantitative
These definitions differ in detail, but together they give the essentials of research design:
The design is an activity- and time-based plan;
The design is always based on the research question;
The design guides the selection of sources and types of information;
The design is a framework for specifying the relationships among the study’s variables;
The design outlines procedures for every research activity.
Thus, the design provides answers for questions such as these:
