MS 66 IGNOU MBA Solved Assignment -Elaborate on Qualitative Vs Quantitative research approaches. Explain any two methods of conducting Qualitative research and their limitations.

Elaborate on Qualitative Vs Quantitative research approaches. Explain any two methods of conducting Qualitative research and their limitations. 

Qualitative and quantitative research are the two main schools of research, and although they are often used in tandem, the benefits and disadvantages of each are hotly debated. Particularly in the social sciences, the merits of both qualitative and quantitative research are fought over, with intense views held on both sides of the argument. It is generally agreed upon, however, that there are some phases of research where one or the other is clearly more useful than the other, and so few people completely dismiss either.

Quantitative research is probably the least contentious of the two schools, as it is more closely aligned with what is viewed as the classical scientific paradigm. Quantitative research involves gathering data that is absolute, such as numerical data, so that it can be examined in as unbiased a manner as possible. There are many principles that go along with quantitative research, which help promote its supposed neutrality. Quantitative research generally comes later in a research project, once the scope of the project is well understood.

Mixed methods research is an approach that combines quantitative and qualitative research methods in the same research inquiry. Such work can help develop rich insights into various phenomena of interest that cannot be fully understood using only a quantitative or a qualitative method. Notwithstanding the benefits and repeated calls for such work, there is a dearth of mixed methods research in information systems. Building on the literature on recent methodological advances in mixed methods research, we develop a set of guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in IS. We particularly elaborate on three important aspects of conducting mixed methods research: (1)　appropriateness of a mixed methods approach; (2)　development of meta-inferences (i.e., substantive theory) from mixed methods research; and (3)　assessment of the quality of meta-inferences (i.e., validation of mixed methods research). The applicability of these guidelines is illustrated using two published IS papers that used mixed methods.

v There are differences between the two research methods: Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research. Quantitative research uses deductive process as the study approach, investigates phenomena that lend themselves to precise measurement and quantification, often involving a rigorous and controlled design; it's more on objective and reductionist, most closely allied with the positivist tradition.Qualitative research, on the other hand, which is most often associated with naturalistic inquiry with inductive study approach, investigates phenomena through the collection of rich narrative materials using a flexible research design, broad,

subjective and holistic. The researchers' expectations in quantitative research are to test and verify hypothesis and theories, and predict physical or human events; role of the person being studied is the subject, its behavior as a means to the end. While in qualitative data - researchers' expectations are to discover information, to describe human experiences, to develop concepts and theories, and to explain and interpret human behavior or events; person being studied is an active participant and its behavior is both means and end. In addition, Data being collected inqualitative research reflects the perceptions of persons being studied in form of "words" for individual interpretation, and is collected throughout the study through unstructured interviews and observations in settings natural to person being studied with no manipulation of the environment by the researcher. On the contrary,quantitative data is independent on perceptions of person being studied in form of "numbers" for statistical analysis, and is collected in designated time frame through structured interviews, questionnaires, observations, scales, or physiologic instruments with controlled environment and researchers manipulates the environment to control for variables. Lastly, quantitative findings are generalized, accept or reject theoretical propositions with numerical accounts of data that are highly reliable. While qualitative findings are unique, dynamic, understands phenomena and new theory with written descriptions of findings that are highly valid.     

The need to understand how and why of any occurrence, has always intrigued the human mind. This curiosity gave birth to qualitative research in the 1950s. It is widely applied in many researches and studies in various disciplines such as education, social work, information, management, psychology, communication, etc. 
Methods Used for Conducting Qualitative Research
Qualitative research helps to gain insight into people's behavior, value systems, motivations, culture or lifestyles, and how these attributes have a role to play in decision and policy making, communicating, and conducting research. Following are some of the many approaches that are used for conducting qualitative research.

Case Studies: A case study is an intensive and in-depth study of a specific individual, an event, a group, or an institution in a specific context. There is no fixed criteria and way of conducting case studies, and it is done with a combination of other methods. This method studies in a systematic way events, collection of data, analyzes of information, and reporting the results. The end result is generally a clear perception and understanding of why and how things happen in the manner they do. Some social researchers like Sigmund Freud and Piaget have used case studies to study several individuals and child development respectively.

Disadvantages of Using Qualitative Research Methods

Because specific measurements and objective data are not the focus in qualitative research, biased information is a problem. The disadvantage of subjectivity is that results are dependent upon the researcher's interpretations and descriptions. Also, when surveys are used, the data collected can be inaccurate because respondents are often untruthful or biased. Also, unlike quantitative research that controls as many variables as possible, qualitative research has very little control; therefore, "confound" variables are a problem. Results found may be due to many other factors that researchers did not consider or even know. Lastly, the replication of results is much more difficult -- and in some cases even impossible -- in qualitative research.