Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative research gathers data that can be statistically analysed to determine results. Data must be formally gathered, and should be collected to test a hypothesis as opposed to determine a hypothesis.
 
Qualitative data can be more difficult to quantify. Typically, because base sizes are smaller and not necessarily representative of the market under investigation (as it can be more expensive and time consuming to gather and analyse the data), qualitative data cannot be taken as quantified. It is however valuable in aiding a researcher in interpreting the market perspective. It is possible to combine approaches, producing data that can be used both qualitatively and quantitatively.
 
For example, in the chapter on online reputation management, tools that can track brand name mentions are outlined. This data can then be analysed qualitatively, where the researcher can examine the mentions and use their judgement to determine sentiment, or quantitatively, where mentions can be assigned numeric values across a range of categories which are used to generate a reputation score, such as BrandsEye’s online reputation algorithm.
 
When both qualitative and quantitative research are used, usually qualitative research takes place first to get an idea of the issues to be aware of, and then quantitative research tests the theories put forward in qualitative research.

The following table aims to look at the main differences between quantitative and qualitative research.