PS285 Lecture 8: Week 4
Document Summary
Week 4 discussion post: weigh in on the qualitative research vs. quantitative research debate discussed in class and alluded to in your text book. In class valid points were brought up supporting both qualitative and quantitative research, the textbook also highlights the differences and benefits of both methods. Qualitative research is based more on identifying and describing a research subject with words and reasoning. Whereas quantitative research gathers physical data, through interviews and observations. In certain situations one research method is clearly better than the other, for example if you"re trying to research a subject and make calculations quantitative research would be the clear choice. Another example we saw in class was the video relating gdp to life expectancy, the research required in that situation was clearly quantitative research. When applying these research methods to health research, i think qualitative research is best used to understand the problem.
