Qualitative and quantitative research methods have existed side by side as long as social research has been done.

I would like to reflect a little bit on the differences and similarities of these two research methods before I get on to actually discussing the circumstances in which I would use these two research methods.

I have done several years of research with the Gond tribe in Central India in Bhopal and the Noongar people in the South West of Western Australia most of my examples will be drawn from my own experiences.

Quantitative research methods are considered by some to be more reliable and scientific.This method has its roots embedded in logical positivism this is a theory which believes that a research conducted using the quantitative method only is reliable because it can be tested.

The purpose of using the quantitative method is to validate and test a meaningful proposition. This methodology applies social science theory to the social reality, this is also called deductive logic. Research studies utilising quantitative methodology try to distance themselves from subjectivity although the que

The theoretical basis for this type of research method is psychology and sociology.

Although these two methods have differences they have both been used successfully by researchers.

Hypotheses are tested and predictions validated through the use of statistical procedures and inferences drawn from them(Weinbach& Grinnell, 1987).

I was with the Gond people in 1997 for a whole year to do some research work on their art and a group of feminists (Gond tribe) were about to embark on a project specifically to do with Gond tribal women and I was privy to the extensive discussions prior to the research commencing and I learned that the feminists consider quantitative research to be masculine in nature and on hearing all the arguments I seemed to agree that a qualitative research design would be more suitable to a research project with a feminist focus, I have believed that ever since.

The types of research design utilised by the quantitative research methodology is varied it could be surveys, interviews, questionnaires, or census data.

Some topics in this essay:
Western Australia, , quantitative research, qualitative research, research methods, Bhopal Noongar, research method, research design, research qualitative research, using quantitative method, type research method, quantitative research methods, research learn people, purchase logic, research learn, type research, particular opinion, learn people,