Essay examples --

Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative data. First we will begin my defining just what qualitative and quantitative data is. Qualitative data is data that can be observed, but not measured. It also deals with descriptions of variables: color, appearance, taste, etc. It is characterized by no numerical values. Quantitative data is data that can be measured. It deals with numbers: length, weight, time, etc. â€Å"While the goals of some data collection may be exclusively qualitative or quantitative, in many cases both are desirable (O’Rourke & O’Rourke, 2000).† For qualitative observations, researchers watch and record whatever seems interesting to them. The people and animals that are observed in these research experiments are called participants and subjects. The locations of the observations are called study sites. Researchers tend to rely on gatekeepers, or informants, in their observations. There are six different types of qualitative observations: participant observations, ethnographic observations, case studies, archaeological data, focus groups, and naturalistic animal studies. â€Å"Qualitative research within development faces particular challenges as it is often conducted by researchers either not socialized in a discipline such as anthropology or sociology, which has clear guidelines for fieldwork and note taking, or so resource constrained as to be unable to follow them (Camfield & Palmer-Jones, 2013).† For quantitative direct observations, they exist in numbers and conditions so that they can be counted. The number may be an actual value, test score, or may reflect an arbitrary value. These observations are conducted by researchers counting the frequency of one or more variables and these observations ar... ...When this takes place, it again reduces the validity of the observation. Even though there are many advantages and disadvantages to self-reporting, no other method would collect the same detailed, in-depth information from participants. References: Camfield, Laura & Palmer-Jones, Richard. Improving the quality of development research: What could archiving qualitative data for reanalysis and revisiting research sites contribute? Progress in Developmental Studies. Oct2013, Vol. 13 Issue 4, p343-338. Ellis, L., Walsh, A., & Hartley, R. D. (2010). Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. O’Rourke, Thomas W. & O’Rourke, Diane P. Bridging the qualitative-quantitative data canyon. American Journal of Health Studies. 2000, Vol.16 Issue 1, p52-54.