Quantitative and Qualitative Paradigms’ Characteristics Essay

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Introduction

Finding facts in a particular field at the moment relies much on research. This may take two significant forms. It can either be qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative research is generally exploratory research used in gaining an understanding of the most underlying opinions, motivations, and reasons. It helps in providing insights into the defined problem as well as help in developing hypotheses or ideas for potential research. On the other hand, quantitative research is effective in quantifying problems through the ultimate generation of the numerical data that transforms data into useful statistics. With the two research paradigms defined, the paper concentrates on establishing the difference in characteristics of the two models, based on philosophy, ontology, epistemology, and methodology (Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2005). The document is sufficient enough in addressing the worldview as it aligns with the qualitative and quantitative models.

Part 1: Explain the primary characteristics of each qualitative and quantitative Paradigm below

Philosophy – Explain the primary qualitative and quantitative characteristics

Philosophy has been firmly attached to human reasoning and dimensional thinking that allows people to fetch the insight of a particular problem. Based on the two paradigms, philosophy identifies the qualitative paradigm as the outstanding domain for the interpretive, which is highly associated with interpretivism. This significantly forms an approach to social science that significantly opposes the positivism of natural science. On the other hand, the quantitative paradigm is attached to positivists, who are linked to positivism. Positivism is simply a philosophy of science that derives information from both mathematical and logical treatments and further reports the sensory experience that forms an exclusive source of authoritative knowledge (Tewksbury, 2009). Secondly, philosophy brings in the idea of confirmation and exploratoration. In such a case, the quantitative research is characteristically exploratory while the qualitative one is confirmatory. Finally, quantitative research is linked to theory testing while the qualitative paradigm narrows down to the absolute utility of the theory generation approach.

Ontology concentrates on the multiplicity of realities with the involvement of the two outstanding paradigms, the qualitative and quantitative models. Based on ontology, the qualitative paradigm ensembles its tools and uses them in realizing the outcome of human interactions. The qualitative approach, therefore, concentrates on the interactive forms around all people. The quantitative approach takes a different dimension. Instead of concentrating on human interactions, it centers its focus on meaningful actions. For this reason, it looks at the dominance of people in a particular area. This means that the data collected must appear in the form of numbers and other specific measurements. However, the quantitative approach establishes a conclusive agreement on dominance in terms of the behavioral pattern among many other aspects (Dixon-Woods, Agarwal, Jones, Young, & Sutton, 2005).

Epistemology: Explain the primary Qualitative AND Quantitative characteristics

Epistemology directly refers to the theory of knowledge. The theory is based on validity, methods, and scope. The combination of the three areas brings in the ideal sense of the nature of research. The qualitative form is essentially very subjective and uses the interactive means of collecting information. This establishes a ground for such tools as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and mystery shoppers. The inquirer is as such expected to listen, read and write. However, things are different with the quantitative approach that takes an analytical mode of data collection (Phillimore & Goodson, 2004). This makes sense with data collection tools like database analysis and simple as well as complex surveys. Furthermore, the quantitative approach may not demand a close interaction with natural settings given the fact that, sometimes, historical information may be required to bring up the analysis.

Methodology -Explain the primary qualitative and quantitative characteristics

The methodological approach significantly describes the research approach, data collection techniques, and sampling procedures that are used in any particular study. In most cases, methodology presents the research as the paramount product of the values of the involved researcher. It connects different activities of collecting information, whereby short messages, sessions of self-reflection and investigation may end up being superb in some cases. In most qualitative research, the samples are typically large compared to the ones witnessed in the quantitative studies. On the other hand, the data collection methods under the qualitative approach include in-depth interviews among other methods. The quantitative approach may significantly be identified with both the simple and complex surveys as well as the database analysis (Atwater, 1996).

Part 2: Address the following questions

How does your worldview align with the qualitative paradigm?

There are different worldviews in existence. This context will adequately consider social constructivism as the basal platform. I believe that people will tend to seek an understanding of the universe they work. I also think that people will always develop the subjective meanings of their experiences. The meanings are multiple and at the same time varied. This limits the bounds of a qualitative researcher as he or she depends on the views, opinions, and ideas of the participants. On the other hand, one can negotiate personal connotation in terms of history and from a social perspective (Holstein & Miller, 2006). Individuals derive their comprehension of things through their involvement in trying to make sense of events taking place in the world. My worldview complies with the ontological characteristics of a qualitative paradigm thereby indicating a significant alignment. The methodological argument brings in the idea of using interviews and questionnaires as a way of collecting meanings from people. This is also addressed under social constructivism.

How does your worldview align with the quantitative paradigm?

As a social constructivist, the alignment of my worldview with the quantitative model is not as strong as the one established by the qualitative paradigm. This is because constructivism primarily concentrates on the lives of people. For this reason, they leave out the aspect of meaningful actions demanded under the quantitative model. However, it is said that social constructivism partially focuses on historical experiences. This brings in the comparative platform that leads to the ultimate introduction of analytical tools. The analysis is seen as the backbone of the quantitative paradigm, meaning that the compliance favors the methodological view of the quantitative characteristics. With such arguments, the worldview alignment is significant but not strong (De Vicq, 2009).

Conclusion

The discussion insists on the comparison between the characteristics of qualitative and quantitative paradigms. The introduction takes into consideration the ultimate definition of the two research platforms. Part 1 of this paper has delved into the discussion in deducing the primary characteristics of each Qualitative and Quantitative paradigm based on philosophical, ontological, epistemological and methodological arguments. The second part addresses the alignment of social constructivism with both the qualitative and quantitative paradigms.

References

Holstein, J. A., & Miller, G. (2006). Reconsidering social constructionism: Debates in social problems theory. New York: Aldine Transaction Publishers.

De Vicq, R. (2009). The effects of meditation on the mental and physical health of healthcare workers. California: California State University, Long Beach.

Dixon-Woods, M., Agarwal, S., Jones, D., Young, B., & Sutton, A. (2005). Synthesising qualitative and quantitative evidence: a review of possible methods. Journal of health services research & policy, 10(1), 45-53.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Leech, N. L. (2005). Taking the “Q” out of research: Teaching research methodology courses without the divide between quantitative and qualitative paradigms. Quality and Quantity, 39(3), 267-295.

Phillimore, J., & Goodson, L. (2004). Qualitative research in tourism: Ontologies, epistemologies and methodologies. London: Psychology Press.

Tewksbury, R. (2009). Qualitative versus quantitative methods: Understanding why qualitative methods are superior for criminology and criminal justice. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology, 1(1), 38-58.

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