DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QUALITATIVE AND

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Its been said that every business issue ultimately boils down to an information problem.
Can the right information be delivered? The ultimate goal of research is to supply accurate
information that reduces the uncertainty in managerial decision making. Very often, decisions
are made with little information for various reasons, including cost considerations,
insufficient time to conduct research, or managements belief that enough is already known.
Relying on seat-of-the-pants decision making decision making without research is like
betting on a long shot at the racetrack because the horses name is appealing. Occasionally
there are successes, but in the long run, intuition without research lead to losses. Business
research helps decision makers shift from intuitive information gathering to systematic and
objective investigation.
Business research is the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about
business phenomena. These activities include defining business opportunities and problems,
generating and evaluating alternative courses of action, and monitoring employee and
organizational performance. Business research is more than conducting surveys This process
includes idea and theory development, problem definition, searching for and collecting
information, analysing data, and communicating the findings and their implications. It
suggests that business research information is not intuitive or haphazardly gathered. Literally,
research (re-search) means to search again. The term connotes patient study and scientific
investigation wherein the researcher takes another, more careful look at the data to discover
all that is known about the subject. Ultimately, all findings are tied back to the underlying
theory.
The definition also emphasizes, through reference to the scientific method, that any
information generated should be accurate and objective. Research isnt performed to support
preconceived ideas but to test them. The researcher must be personally detached and free of
bias in attempting to find truth. If bias enters into the research process, the value of the
research is considerably reduced. It is clear that business research is designed to facilitate the
managerial decision-making process for all aspects of the business: finance, marketing,
human resources, and so on. Business research is an essential tool for management in
virtually all problem-solving and decision-making activities. By providing the necessary
information on which to base business decisions, research can decrease the risk of making a
wrong decision in each area. However, it is important to note that research is an aid to
managerial decision making, never a substitute for it.
As we have defined research, one must understand qualitative and quantitative research. As
the words imply, qualitative research is interested more in qualities than quantities. Therefore,
qualitative research is not about applying specific numbers to measure variables or using
statistical procedures to numerically specify a relationships strength.

Qualitative business research is research that addresses business objectives through

techniques that allow the researcher to provide elaborate interpretations of market phenomena
without depending on numerical measurement. Its focus is on discovering true inner
meanings and new insights.
Qualitative research is very widely applied in practice. Qualitative research is less structured
than most quantitative approaches. It does not rely on self-response questionnaires containing
structured response formats. Instead, it is more researcher-dependent in that the researcher
must extract meaning from unstructured responses, such as text from a recorded interview or
a collage representing the meaning of some experience, such as skateboarding. The
researcher interprets the data to extract its meaning and converts it to information.
Generally, the less specific the research objective, the more likely that qualitative research
tools will be appropriate. Also, when the emphasis is on a deeper understanding of
motivations or on developing novel concepts, qualitative research is very appropriate. Some
common situations where qualitative research is used:

When the research objective is to learn how a phenomena occurs in its natural setting
or to learn how to express some concept in colloquial terms. For example, how do
consumers actually use a product? Or, exactly how does the accounting department
process invoices? While a survey can probably ask many useful questions, observing
a product in use or watching the invoice process will usually be more insightful.
Qualitative research produces many product and process improvement ideas.
When some behaviour the researcher is studying is particularly context dependent
meaning the reasons something is liked or some behaviour is performed depend very
much on the particular situation surrounding the event.

Quantitative business research can be defined as business research that addresses research
objectives through empirical assessments that involve numerical measurement and analysis
approaches. Qualitative research is more apt to stand on its own in the sense that it requires
less interpretation. For example, quantitative research is quite appropriate when a research
objective involves a managerial action standard. For example, a salad dressing company
considered changing its recipe. The new recipe was tested with a sample of consumers. Each
consumer rated the product using numeric scales. Management established a rule that a
majority of consumers rating the new product higher than the old product would have to be
established with 90 percent confidence before replacing the old formula. A project like this
can involve both quantitative measurement in the form of numeric rating scales and
quantitative analysis in the form of applied statistical procedures.1
Contrasting Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
The following table illustrates some differences between qualitative and quantitative
research:
11 Zikmund, Babin, Carr, Adhikari, & Griffin. (2012). Business Research Methods (8 ed.). Delhi:
Cengage Learning

Table: Comparing Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research
Discover Ideas, Used in
Exploratory Research with
General Research Objects

Research Aspect
Common Purpose

Quantitative Research
Test Hypotheses or
Specific Research
Questions

Observe and Interpret

Unstructured, Free-Form

Approach
Data Collection
Approach

Measure and Test

Structured Response
Categories Provided

Researcher Is
Intimately Involved.
Results Are Subjective.

Researcher
Independence

Researcher Uninvolved
Observer. Results Are
Objective.

Small SamplesOften
in Natural Settings

Samples

Large Samples to
Produce Generalizable
Results (Results That
Apply to Other
Situations)

Exploratory Research
Designs

Most Often Used

Descriptive and Causal

Research Design

Source: Business Research Methods (pp 148), 8th ed. Cengage Learning.