Speaker 1: In this video, we're going to explore qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research methodologies. We will also explain how to choose the right methodological approach for your dissertation, thesis, or research project, step by step. So grab a cup of coffee, grab a cup of tea, whatever works for you, and let's jump into it. Hey, welcome to Grad Coach TV, where we demystify and simplify the oftentimes intimidating world of academic research. My name's Emma, and today we're going to have a look at the three types of research, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, and how to choose the right approach. We'll look at things from a fairly high level and won't go into the weeds in terms of specific data analysis methods. If you want to learn about particular analysis methods, we've got separate videos covering both qualitative and quantitative methods. I'll include the links to those below. If you're new to Grad Coach TV, be sure to hit that subscribe button for more videos covering all things research related. Also, if you're looking for hands-on help with your research, check out our one-on-one coaching services, where we help you craft your research project step by step. It's like having a friendly professor in your pocket whenever you need it. If that sounds interesting to you, you can learn more and book a free consultation at www.gradcoach.com. Alright, with that out of the way, let's get into it. If you're new to the wonderful world of research, some of the first lingo you'll likely hear thrown around are the terms qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. But what exactly are these? Well, simply put, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods reflect the three types of research that you can undertake. These aren't specific data collection or analysis techniques, but instead, they reflect the broader research strategies that will influence which data collection and analysis techniques you can adopt. For example, if you undertake quantitative research, you'll oftentimes use surveys as your data collection method and statistical analysis as your data analysis technique. In other words, qual, quant, and mixed methods are overarching strategies, not specific techniques or methods. Anyhow, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a step back and unpack each of the three types of research piece by piece. First up, let's look at qualitative and quantitative research. At the most basic level, qualitative research utilizes data that's not numbers-based. In other words, qualitative research focuses on words, concepts, perceptions, or ideas. In contrast with this, quantitative research makes use of numbers and statistics. That's a very simplistic explanation, though, as it's just considering the type of data each one uses. So, let's dig a little deeper. Qualitative research is used to investigate the softer side of things. For example, to explore and understand people's perceptions, ideas, or feelings. Therefore, it is more subjective in nature. Qualitative research is often used to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of a situation to draw a rich picture of what's going on, especially what's going on under the hood. Therefore, qualitative data can be used to develop hypotheses and theories from the ground up. In other words, an inductive approach. For example, you could use a qualitative approach to explore what factors or product attributes customers consider when deciding which laundry detergent to purchase. This could involve undertaking interviews and focus group sessions to get people talking about their ideas, perceptions, and feelings regarding laundry detergent. Contrasted to this, quantitative research focuses on the hard numbers. Typically, quantitative research is used to measure differences between groups and or relationships between variables, as well as to test hypotheses. Therefore, it is more objective in nature and takes a deductive approach. For example, you could use a quantitative approach to measure what percentage of people prioritize price or any other variable when choosing a laundry detergent. You could also assess how this percentage varies between neighborhoods, cities, or different demographic groups. So, as you can see, qualitative and quantitative approaches can both be used to research different aspects of the same topic or area of interest. Right, moving on to mixed methods. Mixed methods-based research, as you'd expect, attempts to bring these two types of research together, drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data. Quite often, mixed methods-based studies will use qualitative research to explore a situation and develop a set of hypotheses. Then, once those hypotheses are established, they'll use quantitative methods to test them. It can also work the other way around. For example, they could use a quantitative approach to get a view of the bigger picture, the what, and then use qualitative methods to explore the underlying reasons, the why, for a specific trend or observation in the quantitative data. So, as you can see, while qualitative and quantitative research are distinctly different, they're not at odds with each other. It's not a competition of qualitative versus quantitative where one is better than the other. On the contrary, they can be used together, in other words, mixed methods, to develop a high-quality piece of research. Of course, this is easier said than done. So, we usually recommend that first-time researchers stick to a mono-method approach, either qual or quant, unless the nature of their study genuinely warrants a mixed methods approach. The key takeaway here is that it's important to understand that each research type has a different purpose. For example, to explore and understand situations, qualitative, to test and measure, quantitative, or to do both, mixed methods. They're not simply interchangeable tools for the same job. Each approach has its purpose. Right, with that out of the way, let's look at how you can go about choosing the right methodological approach for your research. If you're undertaking a dissertation, thesis, or research project, chances are you'll need to craft a comprehensive research design and methodology. This is not a task to be taken lightly, as you'll need to clearly and strongly justify every design choice you make. To choose the right approach, you'll need to consider three important factors. Based on these factors, you can select your overarching approach, qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. Once you've made that decision, you can flesh out the finer details of your research methodology, such as the sampling strategy, data collection methods, and analysis techniques. We won't cover the latter in this video, but you can find loads of information over on the Grad Coach blog. I'll include the link below. The three factors you need to carefully consider are, one, the nature of your research aims and research questions, two, the methodological approaches taken in the existing literature, and three, practicalities and constraints. Let's take a look at each of these. Factor number one, the nature of your research. As I mentioned earlier, each type of research, whether qualitative, quantitative, or mixed, has a different purpose and helps address a different type of question. So, it's logical that the key deciding factor in terms of which approach you adopt is the nature of your research aims and research questions. But what types of research aims exist? Broadly speaking, research aims can fall into one of three categories. Exploratory, in other words, getting a better understanding of an issue and potentially developing a theory or set of hypotheses regarding it. Confirmatory, in other words, confirming a potential theory or hypothesis by testing it empirically. A mix of both. For example, developing a set of hypotheses and then testing them. So, what does this mean for you? Well, as a rule of thumb, exploratory research tends to adopt a qualitative approach, whereas confirmatory research tends to use a quantitative approach. This isn't set in stone, but it is a reliable heuristic. Naturally then, research that combines a mix of both or seeking to develop a theory from the ground up and then test that theory would utilize a mixed methods approach. Let's take a look at an example in action. If your research aims were to understand the perspectives of war veterans regarding certain political matters, you'd likely adopt a qualitative methodology. Making use of interviews to collect data and one or more qualitative analysis methods to make sense of the data. If, on the other hand, your research aims to assess the distribution of left versus right-leaning veterans per state or compare the political leanings between vets and non-vets, you'd adopt a quantitative methodology. Using numbers-based data from a survey to address your research aims. So, the first and most important thing you need to consider when deciding which methodological approach to use is the nature of your research aims and research questions. Specifically, you need to assess whether your research is exploratory or confirmatory in nature or involves a mix of both. The importance of achieving solid alignment between these three factors and your methodology can't be overstated. If they're misaligned, you're going to be forcing a square peg into a round hole. You'll be using the wrong tool for the job and your research will become a disjointed mess. A quick tip, if your research involves a mix of both exploratory and confirmatory aims, but you have a tight word count limit, you may want to consider trimming down the scope a little and focusing on one or the other. A monomethod approach executed well has a far better chance of earning marks than a poorly executed mixed methods approach. So, don't try to be a hero unless there are strong reasons to take a mixed method approach. Right, let's look at the next factor. Factor number two, the disciplinary norms. Choosing the right approach for your research also involves looking at the approaches used by other researchers in the field and studies with similar research aims and objectives to yours. Oftentimes, within a discipline, there is a commonly accepted methodological approach or set of approaches used in studies. While this doesn't mean you should just follow the herd simply because, you should at least consider these approaches and evaluate their merit within your context. A major benefit of reviewing the research methodologies used by similar studies in your field is that you can often piggyback on the data collection techniques that other more experienced researchers have developed. For example, if you're undertaking a quantitative study, you can often find tried and tested survey scales with high Cronbach's alphas. These are usually included in the appendices of journal articles, so you don't even have to contact the original authors. By using these scales, you'll save a lot of time and ensure that your study stands on the proverbial shoulders of giants by using high quality measurement instruments. Of course, when reviewing existing literature, keep point number one front of mind. In other words, your methodology needs to align with your research aims and research questions. Don't fall into the trap of adopting the methodological norm of other studies just because it's popular. Alright, now let's look at the last factor. Factor number three, practicalities. When choosing a research methodology, there will always be a tension between doing what's theoretically best. In other words, the most scientifically rigorous research design and doing what's practical given your constraints. This is the nature of research and there are always tradeoffs as with anything else. But what constraints you ask? Well, there are a few. When you evaluate your methodological options, you'll need to consider the following constraints and ask yourself some important questions. Number one, data access. What data will you need to access to pull off your analysis and how likely is it that you'll get this access? Also, are there any ethical clearance requirements you'll need from your university? Number two, time. How much time will you need to undertake interviews or focus groups in the case of qualitative or collect a sufficient number of survey responses in the quantitative or both? If you're wanting to undertake longitudinal research, what sort of timeline will you need and will your university allow this? Number three, money. What financial resources will you need to execute your research design? Will you need to spend money on participation incentives, travel costs, snacks and drinks, meeting facilities or other services? Number four, equipment and software. What equipment might you need for collecting data? For example, lab equipment or recording equipment. What software will you need to analyze the data and how will you get access to this? And lastly, number five, your knowledge and skills. What is your current level of competence and experience in terms of the data collection and analysis methods you plan to use? And what will you still need to learn? How long will this take and how confident are you in your ability to acquire the necessary skills? What will your backup plan be if you can't develop the necessary skills? As you can see, there is a wide range of practicalities and constraints that you need to think about when you're deciding on your research design and methodology. As I mentioned, these practicalities create a tension between the ideal methodology and the methodology that you can realistically pull off. This is perfectly normal and it's your job to find the option that presents the best set of tradeoffs. If you carefully consider these three factors and design your methodology in a way that strikes a good balance between research rigor and practicality or viability, you'll be headed in a good direction. Remember, you can learn more about the various research design choices including data collection and analysis methods over on the Grad Coach blog at gradcoach.com slash blog. Alright, so that wraps it up for today. If you enjoyed the video, hit the like button and leave a comment if you have any questions. Also, be sure to subscribe to the Grad Coach channel for more research-related content. If you need a helping hand with your research, remember to check out our private coaching service where we work with you on a one-on-one basis, chapter by chapter to help you craft a winning dissertation or thesis. If that sounds interesting to you, book a free consultation with a friendly coach at gradcoach.com. That's all for this episode of Grad Coach TV. Until next time, good luck. Grad Coach