Dr. Kanagaraj Easwaran

Associate Professor and HeadDepartment of Social WorkSchool of Social Sciences

Mizoram University005/02/23 1

Structure of Discussion What is social science research?

What is qualitative approach?

What is quantitative approach?

How are they different?

Choice of paradigm

Is it possible to combine them?

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What is Social Science Research?

Perennial human quest for knowledge Various ways of knowingScientific systematic enquiry or search Human social phenomena Description, understanding,

explaining, prediction, control05/02/23 3

Paradigms, Approaches, or Strategies

Choice of topic

Not merely methods but paradigm or approach

A worldview, a framework of beliefs, values and methods

Quantitative and Qualitative05/02/23 4

ParadigmA paradigm is essentially a worldview, a

whole framework of beliefs, values and

methods within which research takes place.

It is this world view within which

researchers work

What is Qualitative Research Cresswell (1994) “Qualitative research is an

inquiry process of understanding based on distinct

methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a

social or human problem. The researcher builds a

complex, holistic picture, analyses words, reports

detailed views of informants, and conducts the

study in a natural setting”.

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Qualitative researchQualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials case study, personal experience, introspective, life story interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts-that describe routine and problematic moments and meaning in individuals' lives (Denzin and Lincoln ,1994).

Characteristics of Qualitative Research An exploratory and descriptive focus

Emergent design

Data collection in the natural setting

Emphasis on ‘human-as-instrument’

Qualitative methods of data collection

Early and On-going inductive analysis 05/02/23 8

Qualitative Methods of Data Collection

People’s words and actions Rich data Observation In-depth interviews Group Interviews(FGDs) Relevant Documents Photographs and Video Tapes

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Qualitative Approaches Many not One Biography, Phenomenology, Grounded Theory, Ethnography Case Study05/02/23 10

Quantitative Research Cresswell (1994) “a quantitative study, consistent with

the quantitative paradigm, is an inquiry into a social or

human problem, based on testing a theory composed of

variables, measured with numbers, and analysed with

statistical procedures, in order to determine whether

the predictive generalizations of the theory hold true"

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Characteristics of Quantitative Research

Goal: Verify the predictions of a theory

Quantification of concepts into variables

Quantification the association between them.

Use of formal structured instruments in data collection

 Application of statistical theory & techniques

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Quantitative Method Quantitative Method not Methods Data - numbers

Human Behaviour, Cognition, Social Interaction, Tools of Data Collection

Observations: Non Participant - Structured Experiments: True Vs Quasi Social Surveys

Questionnaires or Interview Schedules

Online Surveys

Computer Aided Data Collection

Cross-sectional and Longitudinal

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Qualitative vs QuantitativePhilosophical Differences

Assumptions underlying the approaches

Ontological

Epistemological

Axiological

Methodological

Rhetorical

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Paradigms: Assumptions

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Assumption Question Quantitative Qualitative Ontological Nature of

reality Single, tangible, fragmentable, Objective

Multiple, constructed, holistic Subjective

Epistemological Relationship of knower to the known

Independent  Interactive, Inseparable. 

Axiological Role of Values

Value-free Value Laden

Paradigms: Methodological Assumptions

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Question Quantitative Qualitative Research process Deductive Inductive

Causal Linkages Real causes Impossible to distinguish

causes from effects. 

Nature of Design Static Design Emerging Design

Generalization Time- and context-free Nomothetic prediction, explanation

Only time-and context-bound working hypothesesidiographic

Paradigms: Rhetorical Assumptions

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Question Quantitative QualitativeLanguage of research

Formal, Based on set definitions, Impersonal voice, Use of accepted quantitative words

Informal Evolving decisionsPersonal voice, Accepted qualitative words

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Questions

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Research with Subjects (Quantitative)

Research with Informants (Qualitative)

What do I know about a problem that will allow me to formulate and test a hypothesis?

What do my informants know about their culture that I can discover?

How can I operationally define these concepts?

How do my informants define these concepts?

What scientific theory can explain the data

What folk theory do my informants use to explain their experience?

How can I interpret the results and report them in the language of my colleagues?

How can I translate the cultural knowledge of my informants into a cultural description my colleagues will understand?

Choice of Approach/Methods

Single paradigm cost effective, easy

Nature of the problem

Researchers psychological attributes

Training and experience of the researcher

Researcher’s worldview

Audience of research

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Compatibility and Combination

Paradigms not compatible but methods are

Any one approach suitable

Combination with one predominant approach

Breaking research problem into components

Using methods in different stages of research

Triangulation

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Questions Please

Thank you

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