Research Methodologies: Numbers vs Stories
Research methods fall into two main camps, and understanding the difference is crucial for your exams. Quantitative research is all about numbers, statistics, and hard data collected through surveys, experiments, and structured interviews. It's rigid and focuses on proving specific facts.
Qualitative research is completely different - it explores feelings, opinions, and experiences through focus groups, open-ended interviews, and observations. It's more exploratory and asks "how?" and "why?" rather than "how many?"
You'll also encounter different types of research purposes. Descriptive research simply describes what's happening, whilst analytical research digs deeper to find causes. Exploratory research formulates new questions and hypotheses, and predictive research tries to forecast future outcomes based on current evidence.
Remember: Most real research projects combine both quantitative and qualitative methods to get the full picture.