Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care
Unit 22: Research Methodology for Health and Social Care
P3: Compare different research methodologies for health and social care
In this assignment I will, explain the different types of research, primary sources and secondary sources. I will
then assess them and give examples in health and social care.
Types of research:
The first type of research is quantitative research. Quantitative research describes data which is numerical
and can be measured using numbers and other units of measurement. For example, it can be collected using
statistics, surveys or measurements. A strength of quantitative research is that it is usually very accurate due
to the fact that it is numerical. However, a disadvantage is that the data will be restricted because it is not as
detailed as qualitative data so it will not give researchers as much information. An example of quantitative
research in health and social care would be a doctor measuring a patient’s height. The data collected would
be presented using units of measurement, such as, centimetres, metres, inches or feet. Any health care
setting will collect a lot of quantitative data. This includes, hospitals, clinics or surgical centres.
The second type of research is qualitative research. Qualitative research describes data which is non-
numerical, it is worded information. For example, it can be collected using observations, interviews or focus
groups. Also, it can come in the form of books, magazines, newspapers or photographs. A strength of
qualitative research is that it is very detailed and can give researchers a lot of information on their subject
matters. However, a disadvantage of qualitative research is that it is not easy to generalise the results
because of how detailed the data collected is. The process of collecting qualitative data is also time
consuming. An example of qualitative research in health and social care would be a care home interviewing
their residents on what they think about the service which is provided to them. The interview would have to
ask open questions in order to be qualitative, such as, ‘how would you describe the relationship between
you and staff members?’.
The third type of research is primary research. Primary research is research which is collected by the
individual themselves, which generates new data from sources. This can be carried out using interviews,
surveys, questionnaires or observations. An advantage of primary research is that the data is collected first
hand by the researcher which makes it more accurate and up-to-date. However, a disadvantage is that it is
more time-consuming to collect your own data rather than to use data collected by someone else. An
example of primary research in health and social care would be a researcher observing children in a nursery
in order to find out if children who go to nursery are more intelligent than children who stay at home. They
would then have to observe children in their home and compare the results. This would be difficult to do
because it would be hard to gain parental consent, most parents will not want their children to be observed
by a stranger.
The last type of research is secondary research. Secondary research is research which has been collected by
someone else and is usually available to the public for other people to use. This could have been published
as government statistics, newspapers, magazines, books or the internet. An advantage of secondary research
is that it is less expensive and time-consuming than primary research. However, a disadvantage is that
secondary research can be outdated as many of it has been carried out in the past, and it can be hard to find
relevant data. The data can also be inaccurate because it has been carried out by someone else. Therefore,
the researcher does not know how the data was collected, everybody has access to the internet which
means anyone could have put the data on there. Government statistics and books would be more accurate.
Unit 22: Research Methodology for Health and Social Care
P3: Compare different research methodologies for health and social care
In this assignment I will, explain the different types of research, primary sources and secondary sources. I will
then assess them and give examples in health and social care.
Types of research:
The first type of research is quantitative research. Quantitative research describes data which is numerical
and can be measured using numbers and other units of measurement. For example, it can be collected using
statistics, surveys or measurements. A strength of quantitative research is that it is usually very accurate due
to the fact that it is numerical. However, a disadvantage is that the data will be restricted because it is not as
detailed as qualitative data so it will not give researchers as much information. An example of quantitative
research in health and social care would be a doctor measuring a patient’s height. The data collected would
be presented using units of measurement, such as, centimetres, metres, inches or feet. Any health care
setting will collect a lot of quantitative data. This includes, hospitals, clinics or surgical centres.
The second type of research is qualitative research. Qualitative research describes data which is non-
numerical, it is worded information. For example, it can be collected using observations, interviews or focus
groups. Also, it can come in the form of books, magazines, newspapers or photographs. A strength of
qualitative research is that it is very detailed and can give researchers a lot of information on their subject
matters. However, a disadvantage of qualitative research is that it is not easy to generalise the results
because of how detailed the data collected is. The process of collecting qualitative data is also time
consuming. An example of qualitative research in health and social care would be a care home interviewing
their residents on what they think about the service which is provided to them. The interview would have to
ask open questions in order to be qualitative, such as, ‘how would you describe the relationship between
you and staff members?’.
The third type of research is primary research. Primary research is research which is collected by the
individual themselves, which generates new data from sources. This can be carried out using interviews,
surveys, questionnaires or observations. An advantage of primary research is that the data is collected first
hand by the researcher which makes it more accurate and up-to-date. However, a disadvantage is that it is
more time-consuming to collect your own data rather than to use data collected by someone else. An
example of primary research in health and social care would be a researcher observing children in a nursery
in order to find out if children who go to nursery are more intelligent than children who stay at home. They
would then have to observe children in their home and compare the results. This would be difficult to do
because it would be hard to gain parental consent, most parents will not want their children to be observed
by a stranger.
The last type of research is secondary research. Secondary research is research which has been collected by
someone else and is usually available to the public for other people to use. This could have been published
as government statistics, newspapers, magazines, books or the internet. An advantage of secondary research
is that it is less expensive and time-consuming than primary research. However, a disadvantage is that
secondary research can be outdated as many of it has been carried out in the past, and it can be hard to find
relevant data. The data can also be inaccurate because it has been carried out by someone else. Therefore,
the researcher does not know how the data was collected, everybody has access to the internet which
means anyone could have put the data on there. Government statistics and books would be more accurate.
