Bloomfield, J., & Fisher, M. J. (2019). Quantitative research design. Journal of the Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses’ Association (JARNA), 22(2), 27–30. https://doi.org/10.33235/jarna.22.2.27-30
Greenhalgh, T. (2019). Statistics for the non-statistician. In How to read a Paper : The basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare. (Sixth ed., pp. 62-78). Wiley Blackwell.
Quantitative research. (2010). In A. B. Powers, Dictionary of nursing theory and research (4th ed.). Springer Publishing Company. Credo Reference: https://ezproxy.simmons.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/spnurthres/quantitative_research/0.embed?institutionId=5600
Rutberg, S., & Bouikidis, C. D. (2018). Focusing on the Fundamentals: A Simplistic Differentiation Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 45(2), 209–213.
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Here are some search examples you can use. Let us know if we can add a type of search link for you.
To find qualitative and quantitative studies, try adding one of these words/phrases to your search terms. The word "qualitative" or "quantitative" will sometimes appear in the title, abstract, or subject terms, but not always. Look at the methods section of the article to determine what type of study design was used.
| - | Qualitative | Quantitative |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Research that seeks to provide understanding of human experience, perceptions, motivations, intentions, and behaviors based on description and observation and utilizing a naturalistic interpretative approach to a subject and its contextual setting. | Research based on traditional scientific methods, which generates numerical data and usually seeks to establish causal relationships between two or more variables, using statistical methods to test the strength and significance of the relationships. |
| What's Involved | Observations described in words | Observations measured in numbers |
| Starting Point | A situation the researcher can observe | A testable hypothesis |
| Goals | Participants are comfortable with the researcher. They are honest and forthcoming, so that the researcher can make robust observations. | Others can repeat the findings of the study. Variables are defined and correlations between them are studied. |
| Drawbacks | If the researcher is biased, or is expecting to find certain results, it can be difficult to make completely objective observations. | Researchers may be so careful about measurement methods that they do not make connections to a greater context. |
| Some Methods | Interview, Focused group, Observation, Ethnography, Grounded Theory | Survey, Randomized controlled trial, Clinical trial, Experimental Statistics |
