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Nurs 200W

Maureen Dunn

Reference and Instruction Librarian

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Debby Brennan
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Databases

Difference between Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

Qualitative research allows you to discover the why and how of people and activities. The abstract from this dissertation shows  the study: 

  • Asks open-ended questions
  • Examines people's activities
  • Gives a narrative conclusion 
  • Observations and Interviews 
  • Understanding and interpreting social interactions and behaviors 
  • Uses a small group of subjects 
  • Uses words 

Quantitative research is based on things that can be accurately and precisely measured. The abstract shows that this dissertation:

  • Describes with statistics
  • Gives a statistical result 
  • Makes predictions 
  • Objective 
  • Studies a randomly selected group 
  • Tests a theory 
  • Uses numbers
  • Uses a survey 

Identifying Quantitative Research - Example

This abstract has several indications that this is a quantitative study:

  • the goal of the study was examining relationships between several variables
  • the researchers used statistical methods (logistic regression models)
  • subjects completed questionnaires
  • the study included a large number of subjects

Article abstract ex. 1 highlighting the indications that this is a quantitative study

Based on Eastern Michigan University Library Libguide Quantitative and Qualitative Research 

Identifying Qualitative Research-Example

This abstract has several indications that this is a qualitative study: 

  • the goal of the study was to explore the subjects' experiences. 
  • the researchers conducted open-ended interviews. 
  • the researchers used thematic analysis when reviewing the interviews. 

sample abstract showing indications that this is a qualitative studey

Based on Eastern Michigan University Library Libguide Quantitative and Qualitative Research