Scholarly DNP Project I

Quantitative and qualitative — what's the difference Video Transcript

Quantitative and qualitative — what's the difference? Research studies usually fall into one of two categories, quantitative or qualitative studies. The difference between these two study types is the type of data they collect.

Let's say you are running a study to investigate stress in a workplace. Quantitative data is usually numerical, using measurements, numerical surveys, and statistics. You could start by collecting some quantitative data on their height, weight, blood pressure, and so on. From this quantitative data, you find that half the study subjects are showing physical symptoms of stress.

But the quantitative data can't always tell us why these staff are so stressed. This is when qualitative data is really useful. Qualitative data is descriptive using surveys with open questions, interviews, and recording experiences. You want to learn about your subject's experience in the workplace to find out why some of them are showing symptoms of stress, interviewing them about their work habits and environment. You find a theme in their responses that shows the staff experiencing stress are exposed to a noisy environment, which the rest of the workplace is not exposed to. You conclude that this may be the cause of their stress.

So quantitative data is great for measuring how much, how often, and other statistics, while qualitative data is great for recording people's experiences, attitudes, and beliefs. Some studies will use both quantitative and qualitative data to try to get a whole picture in a mixed method study. Next time you read a research study, consider whether they collected quantitative or qualitative data, or both.