Research has been an integral part of marketing intelligence for a long time. Research helps companies and employers gather valuable insights affecting their further decision-making regarding the product or services and workplace conventions. We can categorize the methodologies followed by researchers into qualitative and quantitative approaches based on the vision and outcomes of the research methods.
In this article, we will dig out the details of these two approaches, try to comprehend their utility, and see if we can mix them to conduct effective research.
Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches: An Overview
Qualitative Approach
Qualitative approaches include exploratory research techniques where researchers find out the target audience’s purposes, motivations, needs, concerns, and thoughts. It gives the researcher a deep insight into the reasons behind particular consumer behaviors. Qualitative analysis helps investigate the complexity and depth of a situation.
Techniques involving a qualitative approach include in-depth interviews, focus groups, respondent tracking, behavior analysis, etc. The results of the qualitative research approach are non-numeric, having profound findings about their subjects and the given scenario.
For instance, if a particular section of a store, online or offline, has been the less visited by customers despite the quality maintenance and article availability, there might be reasons like the particular product is out of trend, or some better alternative has appeared in the market, you can find out by qualitative research.
Such research methods open the way for quantitative analysis by estimating the details of responses, respondents, and demographics and forming hypotheses regarding a situation. This research is more frequently used in severe studies in several fields apart from marketing, such as social sciences, healthcare, etc.
A survey conducted in 2016 says that 77% of social science researchers use quantitative methods, whereas almost 49% prefer qualitative methods. Even in a recent study conducted this year on 500 business leaders, 83% agreed that qualitative surveys are more impactful in the marketing world.
Advantages of Qualitative Approaches
- Uncovers the needs, motivations, values, emotions, etc., of respondents that help in making effective marketing strategies
- Research methods focusing on qualitative analysis can investigate complex phenomena in market conditions in depth.
- It allows flexible data collection that supports the dynamic exploration of the subject.
- A qualitative approach to data collection is best for exploring new topics regarding which only a little is known.
Quantitative Approach
As the name suggests, the quantitative approach is contrary to the qualitative approach, being number-based and subject-specific. It stresses on collection and analysis of numerical data. The findings of the quantitative approach are based on statistical findings.
The methods used in the quantitative approach are surveys, demographics, statistical modeling, experiments, etc. As the qualitative approach focuses on the research’s depth, the quantitative analysis method explores the width of a scenario.
A large amount of data collection varied the samples, providing a broader, more generalized vision of the research subject. Quantitative approaches, or market research, influence most of the online tools developed for consumer surveys.
Such researches focus on collecting data for instantaneous actions, seeking target consumers’ age group, gender, current preferences, etc.
Apart from qualitative methods, also known as open-ended methods, which are flexible, the quantitative approach, called the closed-ended approach, is more structured to maintain consistency and relationship among the recorded data.
Advantages of the Quantitative Approach
- The quantitative approach generalizes the research results, giving the stakeholders a broader view crucial for effective decision-making. Such research methods allow researchers to perform statistical comparisons and analyses as the results are data-based.
- Particular patterns, trends, and other detailed findings can be observed in such research findings, making them a basis for generalized decision-making for a large group of individuals.
- Such research pulls out statistics that help stakeholders make educated decisions.
- A quantitative approach helps study large populations by identifying patterns and trends.
Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches: The Hybrid Approach
To carry out research in a holistic manner, exploring all the aspects of a situation, researchers use a mix of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Such methods and approaches to data collection that both approaches have influenced are called mixed method approaches. This approach drives descriptive research methods.
This way, the research results are more valid on the ground and can be used more efficiently for decision-making and development.
In the hybrid research approach, the methods applied for data collection integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches and provide a more comprehensive research outcome than any of the approaches.
The findings from one method are cross verified by the other, and the conclusion is more solid, practical, and reliable. This approach strengthens the research in multiple ways. Let’s explore the advantages of the mixed methods approach to research.
Advantages of the Mixed Methods Approach
- Triangulation of the collected data: in this process, multiple resources and methods are applied to authenticate the findings to make the research reliable.
- Holistic analysis of the research topic: the mixed approach helps explore the research subject in an all-around manner and overcome the individual limitations of each approach.
- Harmonious data collection: both approaches are specified. The qualitative questions dive deep into the topic, while the quantitative approach focuses on the numbers.
- Impactful results: the harmonious use of the qualitative and quantitative approaches pulls out more objective and reliable results.
Impact, Utilities, and Popularity of Various Research Approaches
All the research approaches have their specialities and effectiveness, and researchers use them wisely based on the requirements of individual research topics. The discussion on the efficacy and popularity of different research approaches has been introduced previously.
A study in 2011 claimed that quantitative methodologies are the most popular among researchers, followed by mixed and qualitative methods.
A potential reason for using the quantitative approach is the ease of survey conduct and design offered by this approach.
Next up, mixed approaches are used when in-depth analysis is required. The last usage of purely qualitative research might be due to the necessary expertise and intensity to form such surveys.
Conclusion
Both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research have significance and usage of their own and affect the outcomes in different ways.
The former approach dives deeper into a topic, while the latter inspects a broader range to get a generalized report. The mixed approach gives more refined and reliable research outcomes when used together.
