Quantitative Research                                                                                                         Qualitative Research

Uses numbers to express the most salient findings                                                                                  Uses words to express the most salient findings

Treats numeric data with statistics                                                                                                     Treats narrative data with the “code and chunk” method

Applies pre-established design                                                                                                                                 Applies emergent design

Data comes from questionnaires, experiments,                                                                                                Data comes from interviews, artifacts
observations; questionnaires require                                                                                                                 (including documents),and observations;
forced choice responses                                                                                                                                   interviews may have open ended questions

Accepts single or fixed reality                                                                                                                              Accepts multiple realities

Applies deductive logic                                                                                                                                          Applies inductive logic

Uses analytical thinking                                                                                                                                             Uses synthetic thinking

Researcher thinks linearly                                                                                                                                      Researcher thinks holistically

Applies mechanistic approach                                                                                                                                   Applies humanistic approach

Emphasizes rationality                                                                                                                                              Emphasizes rationality and intuition

Accepts causal relationships                                                                                                                              Accepts causal or teleological relationships

Usually has hypothesis                                                                                                                                       Usually has foreshadowed problems

Tends to use large sample                                                                                                                                      Tends to use small sample

Selects sample randomly                                                                                                                                        Selects sample purposefully

Researcher seeks to be objective                                                                                                                            Researcher seeks to be subjective

Researcher is detached                                                                                                                                                Researcher is immersed

Trusts clinical instruments                                                                                                                                       Trusts professional judgment

Tends to have context-free generalizations                                                                                                   Tends to have context-bound generalizations

Seeks truth in smallest unit                                                                                                                                         Seeks to understand social scene

Tends to ask “How?”                                                                                                                                                        Tends to ask “Why?”