Qualitative research and quantitative research — fundamental differences

It often happens that people who undertake a research project are not aware of the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods. It is commonly believed that one can be “better” than the other, but the truth is that they are used for completely different purposes. An integral part of UX design (i.e. positive user experience when using an interactive product) is user research. In this post, I will explain to you what qualitative and quantitative research are, what sets them apart, and when to use which method.

Qualitative research

Qualitative research (qualitative research) is most commonly used for exploration. It helps researchers formulate a hypothesis, and understand the basic causes, motivations, and even opinions of participants. This approach provides us with information expressed in words. The data obtained is then analyzed by summarizing, categorizing, and interpreting. Therefore, qualitative research provides insight into the problem or helps develop ideas/hypotheses for potential quantitative research.

Qualitative data collection methods

From qualitative methods, we can distinguish:

• individual interviews, in which the researcher discusses the chosen problem 1:1 with the respondents,
• focus groups, in which the researcher conducts a conversation with several respondents at the same time,
• observation, through which the researcher can take a closer look at the problem,
• usability tests, during which participants perform tasks defined by the researcher.

When using qualitative research methods, the sample size is usually small and respondents are selected to fill a specific quota.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research (quantitative research) allows us to test hypotheses, so we can expect that data collected using this approach will mainly be presented in charts and numbers. Then, the numerical data can be transformed into useful statistics.

Quantitative research techniques

The most important and most commonly used types of quantitative research are:

• questionnaires (for example in the form of a survey),
• interviews — face-to-face, telephone, remote,
• internet analytics,
• comparative tests (benchmarking),
• eye tracking research (you can read about eye tracking in my article here).

Unlike qualitative research, quantitative research will require a much larger sample that will allow the generalization of results.

Are qualitative data different from quantitative data?

Imagine looking at a city from a 200-meter-high hill — you count all the vehicles on the road in your line of sight and conclude that 70% of the vehicles are cars, 25% are trucks, and the rest are bicycles. This is quantitative information.

If you were to go down to the ground and conduct interviews with a few bicyclists about their reflections on cars and trucks, notes or recordings of those interviews would be qualitative data.

Qualitative research aims to establish why, when, where, and how (something is happening). Quantitative research, on the other hand, serves to establish how much (something is) and how often (something is happening).

When should you use qualitative research and when should you use quantitative research?

Now you know the basic differences between qualitative and quantitative research, but you may be wondering when to use which? It’s very simple!

If your goal is to confirm or test a theory or hypothesis, the best choice would be to use a quantitative approach. However, if you want to understand or investigate an idea, choose a qualitative approach. You can read more about this in my next article.

Summary

As you can see, both research methods can bring you tangible benefits that will streamline your business. However, before you decide to conduct a study, think about its purpose and what information you want to extract from it — this will allow you to choose the best research method that will bring you closer to success.