Compare different research methodologies for
health and social care.
The first table will be briefly describing and comparing the different types of research
methods including quantitative, qualitative, primary and secondary. There will also be a
second table which includes some examples as to how each type of research method can
be applied in health and social care.
Quantitative research Quantitative research is research where the data collected is
formatted in numerical form, and so is collected in numbers.
Quantitative research is often used when carrying out research
regarding economic issues in health and social care, such as
how many teenagers are finding themselves on drugs in relation
to deprived areas. From carrying out this kind of research, a
percentage could be found as to how many teenagers take
drugs in deprived areas in comparison to wealthy, developed
areas. (McLeod, 2008)
Qualitative research Qualitative research is research that cannot actually be
measured as it is collected in unstructured forms. For example,
surveys and questionnaires which require written answers
(instead of ticking boxes, which would fall under quantitative
research) as well as unstructured interviews. Qualitative
research is often used in health and social care when trying to
understand how something could be improved. For example,
surveys could be given out to patients’ in hospitals where they
are required to write down their answers so provide a more
detailed and personal response. Qualitative research can also
be turned into quantitative data if necessary however, as they
could collect the qualitative data gathered and count how many
people answered the same thing. This could then be turned into
(for example) “40% of people surveyed said that they would like
to have access to free water in the hospital reception”.
(McLeod, 2008)
Primary research Primary research is research that has not been previously
gathered. Primary research could include questionnaires,
surveys and interviews. Research that has already been carried
out by another person cannot be primary research, and it is
therefore secondary research because it has already been
collected at an earlier date. Primary research is often used in
health and social care to find out how things can be improved in
environments such as GPs and hospitals, as the research
needs to be personal to the practice they are trying to gather
research on. (Given, 1995)
Secondary research Like briefly mentioned, secondary research is a type of research
that has already been gathered by another researcher and has
health and social care.
The first table will be briefly describing and comparing the different types of research
methods including quantitative, qualitative, primary and secondary. There will also be a
second table which includes some examples as to how each type of research method can
be applied in health and social care.
Quantitative research Quantitative research is research where the data collected is
formatted in numerical form, and so is collected in numbers.
Quantitative research is often used when carrying out research
regarding economic issues in health and social care, such as
how many teenagers are finding themselves on drugs in relation
to deprived areas. From carrying out this kind of research, a
percentage could be found as to how many teenagers take
drugs in deprived areas in comparison to wealthy, developed
areas. (McLeod, 2008)
Qualitative research Qualitative research is research that cannot actually be
measured as it is collected in unstructured forms. For example,
surveys and questionnaires which require written answers
(instead of ticking boxes, which would fall under quantitative
research) as well as unstructured interviews. Qualitative
research is often used in health and social care when trying to
understand how something could be improved. For example,
surveys could be given out to patients’ in hospitals where they
are required to write down their answers so provide a more
detailed and personal response. Qualitative research can also
be turned into quantitative data if necessary however, as they
could collect the qualitative data gathered and count how many
people answered the same thing. This could then be turned into
(for example) “40% of people surveyed said that they would like
to have access to free water in the hospital reception”.
(McLeod, 2008)
Primary research Primary research is research that has not been previously
gathered. Primary research could include questionnaires,
surveys and interviews. Research that has already been carried
out by another person cannot be primary research, and it is
therefore secondary research because it has already been
collected at an earlier date. Primary research is often used in
health and social care to find out how things can be improved in
environments such as GPs and hospitals, as the research
needs to be personal to the practice they are trying to gather
research on. (Given, 1995)
Secondary research Like briefly mentioned, secondary research is a type of research
that has already been gathered by another researcher and has
