Simply put,Qualitative Researchis about understanding User Behavior from smaller sample size, and data is collected and synthesized in Textual Form. In contrast,Quantitative Researchcollects Information from larger sample size of users in numeric form , and data is analysed in numeric form as well.
Many times there is a confusion among those who undertake a research project about the differences between Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research methods. Infact, these two terms are often used interchangeably.
Well, not just that. Even those who have been working in theUX researchfield since years gets confused about the differences between qualitative and quantitative research.
Furthermore, there is a misconception among people that one research method is better than the other. However, each Research method serves different research purpose. Hence,It’s important to understand the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, especially if you’re new to the field.
Now that you got a gist of it, lets learn more in detail.
In this article we will explore
What is UX Research?
What is Qualitative Research?
What is Quantitative Research?
5 Major Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research.
When to use which research method?
Lets begin
What is UX Research?
UX (user experience) researchis thesystematic investigation of users and their requirements.The aim of UX research is to gather the information from users. For Example learning about user behaviors, needs, and motivations.
And thereby, it helps you in uncovering problems, gathering facts and revealing insights which serves many purposes throughout thedesign processin order to build the most efficient product for a great User Experience.
Furthermore,UX Research is asystematicapproach consisting of two parts
1. Collecting Data
UX Researcher begins by learning about requirements of the project from stakeholders. Then the UX Researcher conducts Research. For example User Interviews, Surveys, and even review the market in order to learn about the needs and goals of the end users.
2. Synthesizing the Data
UX Researcher works with UX Designersand other relevant stakeholders to synthesize the observations in order to reveal relevant Insights. And this is done by using Design techniques.
For Example,Empathy Maps,building Personas,Affinity Mappingand others.
There are two UX Research methods
- Qualitative Research
- Quantitative Research
What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative researchcollectsverbal, behavioral or observational data which is interpreted to get insights. UX researcherdirectly observes how people use product/service (or not) to meet their needs.
Moreover, it is an exploratory form of the research where the researcher gets to ask questions directly from the participants which helps them toprobe on user behavior. Infact, the Researcher asks open ended questions starting with ‘What’ , ‘why’ , ‘how’.
Qualitative data is interpreted by the researcher to describewhythings are happening.It is aimed at gaining a deep understanding of users, rather a surface description of a large sample of a population.
Qualitative data is unstructured and includes a lot of handwritten notes which would be tricky drawing r used to draw conclusions and presenting the findings.UX Researcher usually write up the key points during the research and then present those key points later.
Moreover, you not only get first hand experience and truthful reporting but also get the quotations of actual conversations. Additionally, Qualitative research aims to understand the social reality of individuals, groups and cultures of participants as nearly as possible
Lets Summarize
- Understand the behavior of the user on how people use your product.
- Gets to the root of a problem by getting inside the heart and mind of the user.
- Provide you with more detail about a situation
- explain ‘how’ and ‘why’ a particular phenomenon, or behavior,
- Enables data to be collected in natural environment of user.
What is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative Researchis a structured way of collecting and analyzing data innumeric form.Analysis, interpretation and presentation of numerical data is done by using Statistical techniques .
Not just that but QuantitativeResearch involvescomputational and mathematical tools as well to derive results.Quantitative Research is basically used to find patterns , make predictions, test relationships (between one thing / independent variable] with another thing [a dependent or outcome variable] ) and then generalize results to wider populations.
Quantitative Research isconclusive in its purpose as it tries to quantifies the problem by understanding how prevalent the problem is by looking for project able results.
Quantitative research is widely used in the natural and social sciences, chemistry, economics, sociology, marketing, etc.
To Conclude Quantitative Research is
- easy to carry out and give fast results.
- ‘scientific’ and less prone to human bias.
- the results have Statistical significance.
- Data is represented by various visualization tools is easier to understand.
5 Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Research.
1. Difference in the type of DataCollected
Thedata collectedthrough Qualitative Researchis in the form of text.Moreover, many times qualitative research is recorded which included collected user information by taking pictures, recording videos and more . Furthermore, this data is then presented through Visual tools like Personas, Empathy maps etc.
However,Quantitative researchinvolve surveys, experiments, wheredata is collected in non numeric form. It is a structured way of collecting and analyzing data innumeric form. And because of its non numeric nature, results are also unambiguous.
2. Sample Size
Qualitative research requiressmaller sample sizeswhich help researchers get abundant yet quality data from the participants. Only a small sample size is selected with a view to get a thorough understanding of the target concept.
However , inQuantitative Research you need to study a larger sample sizewhich helps the Researcher reach an accurate generalized conclusion. The results that you get from a Larger sample size has greater credibility because the statistical analysis has more depth to review.
3. Data Analysis
Qualitative data is non numeric and textual collected through different methods like in-depth interviewing, participant observation to name a few. Textual data is then interpreted by the researchers who needs to follow different tangents to Sort out information which takes a lot of time.
Infact, each data point needs to be evaluated subjectively because Unlike other research methods, qualitative research doesn’t have any evaluation guidelines. Thistakes up lot of time for Qualitative data to be analysed and synthesized to make sense.
However, In Quantitative Research, data is collected innumeric form through research methods likesurveys, questionnaires. This information is then Analysed, interpreted and presented in numerical form using Statistical techniques.
Thus,interpreting Quantitative data and presenting those findings is fast, straightforward and less open to error and subjectivity.
4. Difference in Research Objectives
Qualitative Research is exploratory in nature and it aims to provide acomplete, detailed description of the research topic. Additionally Qualitative research focuses to understand the purpose behind the user decision and get specific insights.
However, Quantitative Research focuses oncounting and classifying features and then constructing statistical models to explain what is observed. In fact, it is moreconclusiveand answers questions such as How many? How much? How often?
5. Open Ended vs Closed Ended Questions
Qualitative research process relies on open ended questioning.Open–ended questionsaren’t answered with simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, it infactrequires the respondent to elaborateon their perspective and you get feedback in their own words.
Moreover, this also helps the researcher get emotional responses which is usable in understanding why people make the choices they do and what influences their behavior?
However, Quantitative Research relies on closed ended questions.Closed–ended questionsareusually multiple-choice questions , ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, or rating scale. They can only be answered by selecting from a limited number of options.Closed-ended questions give limited insight, but can be analyzed easily.
When to Use Qualitative Research Method?
Qualitative research helps you to gather feedback and insights from a relatively small group . Infact it focuses more on collecting user “data” as opposed to just insight. Lets discuss now when should you use Qualitative Research
1. When you need to Explore User Problem-Explore problems customers encounter with Qualitative research. Speaking to Respondents directly help to disclose their experiences, thoughts and feelings without constraint . Furthermore, it would help you to define user problem and make sense out of it.
2. When Problems cant be quantified-Not all problems can be quantified. In factwicked or complex problemsneeds to be probed thoroughly .Qualitative research helps to break down the complexity into more manageable parts which can be then used to solve the Problems.
3. To understand the Context and User Environment-To get a clear product direction, you need to Understanding the context and environment a user.
Additionally you need to understand What are the products they use? At what place they use it? Do they deal with other people while using it? What are the challenges they face? All of this information would only be available by observing and collecting data in person.
4. To Generate Product Ideas– Use Qualitative Research while generating New product idea. ConductingFocus group would help yougauge opinion and gather information directly from users.
Furthermore Qualitative research helps you to investigate current or potential positioning and marketing strategy, understand purchase dynamics, and understand customer perceptions. All of this can be used to generate ideas to build a better business.
When to use Quantitative Research Method?
Quantitative research helps you to answer questions like ‘how much’ , ‘how many’ , ‘ how often’ . Answering these questions are most important whenresearch focuses more on collecting user “data” as opposed to just insight.
Well, it isnt quiet right to say that you cant gather insights from Quantitative research approach however the scope is limited. Infact, Quantitative research usually answers the “who” and “what” of user behavior.
Best time to use Quantitative Research Approach is
Capabilities
- While Exploring and validating concepts with considerably large sample ( 50-1000+ participants)
- When you have an Hypothesis to validate/ invalidate.
- While Capturing task completion times. For example, click paths, heat maps, and success or failure scores
- When Measuring the satisfaction and usability with standard measures. For example , SUS (System Usability Scale), Net Promoter Score)
- When you want to gather feedback from a diverse population who are not located at the same place.
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Referencesand Further Reading
iff-international.com/2017/10/difference-between-qualitative-and-quantitative-research/
https://www.mcgill.ca/mqhrg/resources/what-difference-between-qualitative-and-quantitative-research
https://web.csulb.edu/~msaintg/ppa696/696quali.htm
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1120221.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757586/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/quantitative-research
