Quantitative + Qualitative Research

'Quantitative Research

• To quantify data and generalize results from a sample to the population of interest
• To measure the incidence of various views and opinions in a chosen sample
• Sometimes followed by qualitative research which is used to explore some findings further

Usually a large number of cases representing the population of interest. Randomly selected respondents

Structured techniques such as online questionnaires, on-street or telephone interviews.

Statistical data is usually in the form of tabulations (tabs). Findings are conclusive and usually descriptive in nature.

Used to recommend a final course of action.

Qualitative Research

• To gain an understanding of underlying reasons and motivations
• To provide insights into the setting of a problem, generating ideas and/or hypotheses for later quantitative research
• To uncover prevalent trends in thought and opinion

Usually a small number of non-representative cases. Respondents selected to fulfil a given quota.

Unstructured or semi-structured techniques e.g. individual depth interviews or group discussions

Non-statistical.

Exploratory and/or investigative. Findings are not conclusive and cannot be used to make generalizations about the population of interest. Develop an initial understanding and sound base for further decision making.'

http://www.snapsurveys.com/techadvqualquant.shtml

Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research is used for the collection and analysis of data, an example of a way I could use this as a multimedia designer would be to create a survey on what people want and only allow them to Yes and No answers, through this method I would be able to create a tally on what people think would be a good idea and what people think is bad idea. Then with the data that you gather you would be able to start the project in hand. Using this style you would be able to carry out a questionnaire at each design stage, making sure you keep to what the users want. There is a disadvantage to this way however, people take time to fill out questionnaires and return them to the correct place making it difficult to gather results to analyse. However there is advantage to using this method at every design stage this being you wouldn't create something that people don’t want.

Another way you could use this type of research is for usability test to check if your product is of a good standard. If I was the in the situation where I need to carry out a usability test this I would create a questionnaire about the product, then once they have finished the usability test, make them fill the questionnaires in then with all the data I gather I will be able to count how many yes’ and how many no’s, this would allow me to change my product to suit the users needs.

Quantitative research allows you to get a brief idea on what users like and don’t like however because you haven’t been given a full on idea you can only assume what they think about the product which is quite an disadvantage. However an advantage of this way is you get a solid idea on what is good and what is bad about the product that they are testing, this saves time and money because ideally you would carry out these tests before you start working on your idea.

There are 3 effective ways you can get people to fill in your questionnaires these can be either through an online survey, on-street questionnaire or telephone interviews. However each one of these options has a major advantage and disadvantage. For the online survey a disadvantage would be that you can’t see through the screen to check to see if the person is just completing the survey for the sake of it or actually taking it seriously. Although this being a disadvantage it is somewhat of an advantage at the same time, since you it means people are actually filling the survey out meaning you will get some results whether these be accurate or inaccurate. A disadvantage of performing an on-street questionnaire is that you aren't guaranteed people will spend time filling them in and you might not get enough results to be able to analyse the data fairly. This could also sway the other way and you could get a lot of people fill out the questionnaire and end up with a lot of results allowing you too see what is good and what isn't so good. The next one isn't a favorite of mine and telephone interviews, there is one major disadvantage to this which is when people hear what you are calling for they instantly hang up the phone, meaning you get absolutely no results at all. On the other hand is that you get some good results because the people you phone are interested in the subject.

Qualitative Research

Unlike Quantitative research qualitative research allows us to gain a more in-depth answer from our users.

Qualitative research data isn't represented in the form of a statistical chart, because the data you gather you aren't able to put into a statistical chart.

Personally for me qualitative research is more handy then quantitative research as a multimedia designer, this is because it allows me to get more of a detailed answer than what quantitative research would.

Qualitative research is carried out in the same way quantitative is except you would use more open ended questions allowing the answer to be more detailed.

For a multimedia designer qualitative research comes in handy when performing usability tests, because qualitative research allows you to get the users opinion on the product, you are provided with an insight to problems before they occur. This is a huge advantage for a multimedia designer because you are able to pinpoint the exact area where users aren't happy with and change them to something that they happy with. Although this could become a disadvantage and by changing the thing that they aren't happy with could be something you worked exceptionally hard at.

A disadvantage of this method is getting data to analyze because of only being able to do questionnaires or online surveys, you have a limited audience with the questionnaires because  you would need to give them to people who are interested in the subject due to the style of questions. Online surveys aren't too bad however you audience is still quite small as you would need to advertise them in a way were it appeals to all people not just multimedia designers.

A advantage of this method is that data you do receive you are able to acknowledge the similar thoughts and opinions that you receive from users and act upon this to change your work to suit the users. Also with this you gain peoples critism on your work. From this you can find your strengths and weaknesses and work on improving them.

Sampling plays a big part of of qualitative research there are different ways to perform sampling there is;

Random sample;

This is where you pick your sample at random, you could withdraw there name from a hat or something. However two major disadvantages of this is that it is very time consuming. Also some people that are selected may choose to not take part.

This way would get you results but there is a better way but unfortunately it shares the same disadvantages this is;

Systematic sampling;

An example of the way you would perform this is if you get a register and select every 5th person to fill the questionnaire in. unfortunately this has the same disadvantages as random sampling.

And a less effective way

Stratified sampling;

This is when a certain variable effects your research, such as gender, age etc this has two disadvantages one that is very time consuming and two its not a truly represented sample

And the least effective

Opportunity sampling;

This where you sort of stand around and grab anyone who is willing to do your questionnaire a major disadvantage of this is that it is a very poor representative of your research

For qualitative research you would need to pick one of these methods.

Mixed Research Method

Mixed research methods is when you combine quantitative research methods and qualitative research methods together to get more accurate results

For a multimedia designer these are very useful for example if you was performing a usability test and you had design a questionnaire you can use a mix of really closed question and really open questions giving you a mix of quantitative and qualitative results. You can then analyze all the data and put the quantitative results into a statistical chart and qualitative results you can read through and analyze the results.

This allows you as a multimedia designer to get the best results to improve your product.

The disadvantage of this is you could end up with too much data to analyze and too many opinions making it very time consuming to sift through them.

Mixing both your research methods can be useful but you may often find the one way will come out stronger than the other. This meaning that your quantitative research maybe stronger then your qualitative.