Quantitative research is more important than qualitative research because it results in statistical information and conclusive findings? Quantitative research is more important than qualitative research because it results in statistical information and conclusive findings?

Quantitative research is more important than qualitative research because it results in statistical information and conclusive findings?

Quantitative research provides statistical information and conclusive findings which are essential for business but this does not mean that it is more important than qualitative research. Neither is better than the other, they are just different and both have their strengths and weaknesses. Both these qualitative and the quantitative approaches to the research can be divergent, contrasting, and complimentary. Both of these two types or researches seek to describe and explain phenomena, but have differing epistemological positions (Long, et al. 2000).

Quantitative research is defined as research involving use of structured questions in which response options have been predetermined and a large number of respondents are involved. The quantitative research always involves the collecting of the data in the form of numbers, which can be measured so it is measurable in nature. The qualitative research often involves the field observation, the intensive case studies, the narrative analysis, and the methods of constant comparison (Abdulla, et al. 2011).There are several strengths and weaknesses of conducting quantitative research.

First of all, the great advantage of this type of research lies with the analysis of the data. Quantitative research studies are using statistical analysis toward data collected, so this provides a clear description of result and finding. Furthermore, statistic information from sample can be used to describe a large population, which increase the important of the study and its result. Thus, quantitative research can reliably determine whether on concept, idea, product, package is better than the alternative (J C, Schneweis and Micheal 2006). Also, it helps greatly in identifying trends and making future predictions or strategic adjustments based upon those trends. For example, quantitative research might be used to find out how much of a product is brought, when it is brought and where. This information shows marketing managers how and what consumers have purchased from which they can deduce what customers are likely to consume in the near future. Eventually, quantitative research is very useful to establish “cause and effect relationship.” For example, it can be used to measure the correlation relationship between two different phenomena or wanting to describe phenomena which little is understood (Harness and Tina 2009).

On the other hand, quantitative research does have its limitations. To begin with, large samples are required when conducting quantitative research. Therefore, if the sample amount is insufficient, it can disrupt the study and research. Next, the misuse of sampling and weighting can completely undermine the accuracy, validity, and project ability of a quantitative research study. In addition, quantitative research is the possibility of a mathematical error through incorrect calculation or the misinterpretation of statistics indicated by the study findings. All of the above situations will cause any conclusions that may be determined and presented incorrectly (Mankelwicz, Kitahara and Mankelwicz 2010). Moreover, quantitative research can be criticised for its inflexibility and the impersonal nature of the collection of data through large-scale survey, this cause that quantitative research may be limited as it fails to fully understand respondents ‘attitudes, motivations and behaviour. Last of all, quantitative research does not help marketing manager to answer why people do that action and why they do (Yang-Chieh and Chiao-Chen 2011).

Qualitative is defined as research involves collecting, analysing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say. Observation and statements are in a qualitative or no standardised form. Qualitative market research methods include qualitative interviews, focus groups, observations, and experiments. Qualitative interviews consist of open questions that allow identifying psychological and sociological backgrounds and the relationships of a certain topic (Omar 2011). There are some advantages and limitations of conducting qualitative research.

Firstly, qualitative research is more effective for studying topics that are difficult to analysis quantitatively, such as feelings, behaviours, attitudes, motivations, and relationships of individuals. Moreover, Qualitative methods are also effective in identifying intangible factors, such as social norms, socioeconomic status, gender roles, ethnicity, and religion, whose role in the research. Thus, researcher can gain a more detailed understanding of phenomena of interest than with quantitative research (Woodliffe 2004). Furthermore, it is more flexible compare to quantitative research as it can adjust data collection procedure during the process, based on the issues that arise.Lastly, the question “why” can usually be answered through qualitative research (Hatonen 2010).

Conversely, qualitative research has its own weakness too. The major weakness of qualitative research has to do with its lack of generalise ability. Its depth and detail typically derive from a small number of respondents or a case study, so this means qualitative may be not as representative as quantitative research (Greenbaum and L 1989). Also, Qualitative data cannot be mathematically analyzed in the same comprehensive way as quantitative results, so can only give a guide to general trends. Furthermore, with its qualitative rather than quantitative focus, qualitative rarely yields descriptive statements about the characteristics of a large population. The conclusions reached through this method of study are generally regarded as less definitive. Finally, since the volume of the data collected is not as much as quantitative methods, so it is unreliability as a predictor of population (Dumay 2010).

In conclusion, both research methods have their own strengths and weaknesses. Neither of them is important than other. Therefore, companies cannot conclude that if they use quantitative research, they will definitely performance better. In order to improve companies’ performance, they have to employ the right research methods at the right time.Quantitative research is the method of choice when the object is to measure and analyse concepts, trends, product consumption, product usage, and other variables with mathematical precision. A qualitative approach often uses in the early stages of a research project, in an effort to rebrand a product or service, or when the goal is to extract information from consumers about the deeply rooted motivations behind why they make particular choices (Quantitative versus Qualitative Research 2008).

Ideally, if companies budget allow, they may use both qualitative and quantitative research since both research methods provide different perspectives and usually complement each other. Qualitative research allows the researcher to generate theory, usually by means of small samples, and quantitative research tests and refines theory by means of larger samples in order to generalize finding. Thus the two forms rely upon each other (Hanson and Grimmer 2007). Given the importance of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research, companies can adopt a mixed approach which is the combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods in order to gain the advantages of both (Amaratunga, et al. 2002). In mixed research approaches, it is common to begin qualitative research, for example, in-depth interviews of selected dealers or a series of focus group discussions with customers in order to understand of the problem and bring issues to the surface. By using qualitative research it helps to clarify and define a problem. Also, it opens researches’ eyes to factors and considerations that might have been overlooked if they had rushed into full-scale survey. The qualitative phrase serves as a foundation for the quantitative phrase of the research project and it provides the researcher firsthand knowledge. Armed with this knowledge of the problem, the researcher’s design and execution of the quantitative phase are invariably superior to what they might have been without quantitative research. However, in some case, qualitative research is used after a quantitative study because it helps the researcher understand the quantitative research (Onwuegbuzie, Johnson and Kathleen 2009). In the end, using mixed approaches can help companies to design their strategies effectively and improve overall business performance.

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