Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods
Course 2, Lesson 2: The LIS Research Process provided a bird’s eye view of common research approaches in LIS An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings., including an outline of quantitative and qualitative research Research that aims to understand the whys and hows of human behavior through the gathering of non-numerical data.. Now these methods will be described in more detail so you can become familiar with them. As the most frequently used methods in LIS, we will look at quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. You can generally think of quantitative as based on numbers and qualitative as non-numerical information, but there is a lot more to their distinctions. They are often described as competing with each other, but the truth is they are just different ways to answer questions and can even be used in a complementary way, as with mixed methods. Let’s start with the key features of quantitative methods.
Quantitative Methods
Quantitative research Research that collects and analyzes numerical data in order to test a hypothesis, discover correlations, or describe characteristics.
is used to quantify a problem or question by generating numerical data. Quantitative research is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables, which is why identifying measurable characteristics, defining them, and determining a population, are essential. Conclusions about a particular question are drawn based on analyses of the data, such as testing for statistical significance.
In quantitative research, you will likely be relying on a scale for measurement, whether that is one found in the literature or one that you develop yourself. The use of scientific scales seeks to improve objectivity, consistency, and replicability, all of which are highly prized in quantitative research. Essentially, this approach uses structured data collection methods to make observations and correlations. To summarize, quantitative research has the following characteristics:
- Draws conclusions based on analyses of numbers
- Identifies measurable characteristics of a population
- Often uses scales for measurement
- Seeks objectivity and replicability
There are some drawbacks to consider as well. First and foremost is that you must be interested in quantifiable, measurable questions. If you can’t quantify it, you will want to choose a different method. Likewise, quantitative methods are much less useful when people’s actions are central to what’s being investigated because this requires context and answering “why.” Quantitative requires seeking results The section of a research article where researchers share the results from the research. This section takes the results and directly connects them to the research questions or hypotheses posed at the start of the article. Also can be called “Findings.” that are produced through regimented tests and processes, so it is challenging if you want to have the option to adjust your method as you progress in your research project.
Here are some specific quantitative methods to consider:
- Conducting surveys and distributing questionnaires
- Observing and recording events (such as number of visits)
- Using existing data (such as data collected by an e-resource system)
By far, surveys are the most popular method in librarianship, quantitative or otherwise. That is because surveys appear to be relatively straightforward to design and conduct. Surveys tend to get a bad reputation for this reason, but it is absolutely possible to do a high-quality study based on survey results. The key is investing time in developing a strong questionnaire, which means pre-testing your survey and using an appropriate sampling method.
Other options can be fairly simple in the data collection stage, such as recording the number of visits to a given webpage, but complex in their statistical analysis. Another option to consider is making use of existing data, meaning data that has already been collected at your institution or elsewhere. There are important considerations with existing data, especially with patron privacy, but one good way to jumpstart a project is to look at data already available to you. patron privacy, but one good way to jump start a project is to look at which data are already available to you.
Qualitative Methods
Qualitative research generally seeks to understand behaviors, experiences, and opinions about a phenomenon. It is often exploratory and provides insights into a problem while developing ideas or hypotheses for further research. Qualitative methods are used to uncover themes or trends across a particular group, especially within social contexts. Because qualitative research is based on people’s experiences, interpretations, or observations, it is very useful for dealing with complexity and nuance, and can be very granular and detailed. The other side to this is that the process, especially with data analysis and developing themes, can take a lot of time. This means that the sample size will typically be small. Whereas quantitative studies would often seek hundreds of survey respondents, researchers conducting interviews typically speak with 10-15 participants.
Qualitative research, then, has the following characteristics:
- Draws conclusions based on non-numerical data
- Seeks insights into people’s actions and social realities
- Accounts for complexity and nuance
- Can take considerable time in the data analysis phase
Obtaining detailed and sometimes unexpected data is one advantage of qualitative research. It tends to be thorough, and it very frequently involves people. Having the ability to go off-script and pursue an interesting tangent, such as during an interview or focus group A research method that takes a small group of people and has a focused discussion with them. This discussion revolves around a specific topic, the participants have something in common that brings them into the same space, and do not have any pre-existing relationships with one another. A focus group also has a moderator who helps to facilitate the discussion., is a notable benefit and something that quantitative research doesn’t allow. On the other hand, there tends to be more room for error. If you set up a survey and later discover an error, you are stuck with it for your results. If you have an interview question that seems to confuse participants during the pre-testing you do before your study is conducted, it can be possible for you to change it to make it more clear.
Here are some specific qualitative methods to consider:
- In-depth interviews
- Focus groups
- Unobtrusive Observations A research method where the researcher does not interfere with the participants being observed.
- Photovoice A research method that utilizes photographs taken by a community to discuss issues within a community and identify actionable solutions. Often used in community-based participatory research projects. This method was created by Caroline Wang and Mary Ann Burris in a paper they published in 1997.
- Cognitive Mapping A research method where a participant draws out their thought process or mental model of the steps they take to answer a question or reach a solution.
One-on-one interviews are a popular method that allow for extended conversations in-person or online and allow for very rich data. Focus groups present a challenge in that they usually need a skilled facilitator to manage the group setting but can provide fascinating insight into people’s opinions. Unobtrusive observations are often done in conjunction with assessing library space and how it is used and means sitting in designated locations or walking to different areas and taking notes of what is occurring in that space. Photovoice is a participatory method that asks participants to take photos to document their experiences in relation to a topic, allowing them to drive the narrative and what is important to them. Cognitive mapping often asks users to draw their experience or understanding of something, such as how a library database works or the different places they visit in a library; this is a very visually-oriented method. For some additional methods, see Paul Worrell’s LibParlor post, “Research 101: Qualitative Research Approaches.”
Mixed Methods
Up to this point, we have talked only about quantitative and qualitative methods. Mixed methods is a very robust approach that most frequently uses both quantitative and qualitative methods. When the data are compared, it can have a complementary effect that has a numbers-focused lens along with the ability to answer “why” and “how.” One popular mixed methods approach is a survey followed by interviews. You can obtain a broad perspective and recruit interview participants with a survey and then dig deeper into different questions with interviews. The drawback, of course, is that mixed methods research requires more time.
Content analysis is a method that is often a combination of quantitative and qualitative research. It involves interpreting and coding what is usually textual material, which means developing themes based on a specific body of material. For example, some content analysis studies look at job advertisements to see how requirements have changed over the years or review professional documents like standards, mission statements, or conference presentations, to analyze their content and meaning.
The key terms used in a potential research question can signal whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods will suit your questions. “What” and especially “How many” are often amenable to quantitative, while “How” and “Why” are best suited to the exploratory, people-oriented nature of qualitative research.
Topic 1 References
Worrell, Paul. “Research 101: Qualitative Research Approaches.” The Librarian Parlor. September 27, 2017. https://libparlor.com/2017/09/27/research-101-qualitative-research-approaches/
Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods
Course 2, Lesson 2: The LIS Research Process provided a bird’s eye view of common research approaches in LISLibrary and Information Science An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings., including an outline of quantitative and qualitative researchQualitative research Research that aims to understand the whys and hows of human behavior through the gathering of non-numerical data.. Now these methods will be described in more detail so you can become familiar with them. As the most frequently used methods in LIS, we will look at quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. You can generally think of quantitative as based on numbers and qualitative as non-numerical information, but there is a lot more to their distinctions. They are often described as competing with each other, but the truth is they are just different ways to answer questions and can even be used in a complementary way, as with mixed methods. Let’s start with the key features of quantitative methods.
Quantitative Methods
Quantitative researchQuantitative research Research that collects and analyzes numerical data in order to test a hypothesis, discover correlations, or describe characteristics. is used to quantify a problem or question by generating numerical data. Quantitative research is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables, which is why identifying measurable characteristics, defining them, and determining a population, are essential. Conclusions about a particular question are drawn based on analyses of the data, such as testing for statistical significance.
In quantitative research, you will likely be relying on a scale for measurement, whether that is one found in the literature or one that you develop yourself. The use of scientific scales seeks to improve objectivity, consistency, and replicability, all of which are highly prized in quantitative research. Essentially, this approach uses structured data collection methods to make observations and correlations. To summarize, quantitative research has the following characteristics:
There are some drawbacks to consider as well. First and foremost is that you must be interested in quantifiable, measurable questions. If you can’t quantify it, you will want to choose a different method. Likewise, quantitative methods are much less useful when people’s actions are central to what’s being investigated because this requires context and answering “why.” Quantitative requires seeking resultsResults The section of a research article where researchers share the results from the research. This section takes the results and directly connects them to the research questions or hypotheses posed at the start of the article. Also can be called “Findings.” that are produced through regimented tests and processes, so it is challenging if you want to have the option to adjust your method as you progress in your research project.
Here are some specific quantitative methods to consider:
By far, surveys are the most popular method in librarianship, quantitative or otherwise. That is because surveys appear to be relatively straightforward to design and conduct. Surveys tend to get a bad reputation for this reason, but it is absolutely possible to do a high-quality study based on survey results. The key is investing time in developing a strong questionnaire, which means pre-testing your survey and using an appropriate sampling method.
Other options can be fairly simple in the data collection stage, such as recording the number of visits to a given webpage, but complex in their statistical analysis. Another option to consider is making use of existing data, meaning data that has already been collected at your institution or elsewhere. There are important considerations with existing data, especially with patron privacy, but one good way to jumpstart a project is to look at data already available to you. patron privacy, but one good way to jump start a project is to look at which data are already available to you.
Qualitative Methods
Qualitative research generally seeks to understand behaviors, experiences, and opinions about a phenomenon. It is often exploratory and provides insights into a problem while developing ideas or hypotheses for further research. Qualitative methods are used to uncover themes or trends across a particular group, especially within social contexts. Because qualitative research is based on people’s experiences, interpretations, or observations, it is very useful for dealing with complexity and nuance, and can be very granular and detailed. The other side to this is that the process, especially with data analysis and developing themes, can take a lot of time. This means that the sample size will typically be small. Whereas quantitative studies would often seek hundreds of survey respondents, researchers conducting interviews typically speak with 10-15 participants.
Qualitative research, then, has the following characteristics:
Obtaining detailed and sometimes unexpected data is one advantage of qualitative research. It tends to be thorough, and it very frequently involves people. Having the ability to go off-script and pursue an interesting tangent, such as during an interview or focus groupfocus group A research method that takes a small group of people and has a focused discussion with them. This discussion revolves around a specific topic, the participants have something in common that brings them into the same space, and do not have any pre-existing relationships with one another. A focus group also has a moderator who helps to facilitate the discussion., is a notable benefit and something that quantitative research doesn’t allow. On the other hand, there tends to be more room for error. If you set up a survey and later discover an error, you are stuck with it for your results. If you have an interview question that seems to confuse participants during the pre-testing you do before your study is conducted, it can be possible for you to change it to make it more clear.
Here are some specific qualitative methods to consider:
One-on-one interviews are a popular method that allow for extended conversations in-person or online and allow for very rich data. Focus groups present a challenge in that they usually need a skilled facilitator to manage the group setting but can provide fascinating insight into people’s opinions. Unobtrusive observations are often done in conjunction with assessing library space and how it is used and means sitting in designated locations or walking to different areas and taking notes of what is occurring in that space. Photovoice is a participatory method that asks participants to take photos to document their experiences in relation to a topic, allowing them to drive the narrative and what is important to them. Cognitive mapping often asks users to draw their experience or understanding of something, such as how a library database works or the different places they visit in a library; this is a very visually-oriented method. For some additional methods, see Paul Worrell’s LibParlor post, “Research 101: Qualitative Research Approaches.”
Mixed Methods
Up to this point, we have talked only about quantitative and qualitative methods. Mixed methods is a very robust approach that most frequently uses both quantitative and qualitative methods. When the data are compared, it can have a complementary effect that has a numbers-focused lens along with the ability to answer “why” and “how.” One popular mixed methods approach is a survey followed by interviews. You can obtain a broad perspective and recruit interview participants with a survey and then dig deeper into different questions with interviews. The drawback, of course, is that mixed methods research requires more time.
Content analysis is a method that is often a combination of quantitative and qualitative research. It involves interpreting and coding what is usually textual material, which means developing themes based on a specific body of material. For example, some content analysis studies look at job advertisements to see how requirements have changed over the years or review professional documents like standards, mission statements, or conference presentations, to analyze their content and meaning.
The key terms used in a potential research question can signal whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods will suit your questions. “What” and especially “How many” are often amenable to quantitative, while “How” and “Why” are best suited to the exploratory, people-oriented nature of qualitative research.
Topic 1 References
Worrell, Paul. “Research 101: Qualitative Research Approaches.” The Librarian Parlor. September 27, 2017. https://libparlor.com/2017/09/27/research-101-qualitative-research-approaches/