Quantitative research methods

To fully research perspectives on counselling, there is a need to find out whom have encountered counselling and if not, why not. This would mean circulation of as many questionnaires to as wide an audience as possible in a very short space of time. Qualitative research: Undertaking qualitative research is a complex area of methodology. One of the major reasons for doing qualitative research is to become more experienced with the subject you're interested in. There is a need to use qualitative research as the basis for direct experience, but there is also the need to understand how to formulate theories and hypotheses that can be explicitly tested.

The qualitative research interview seeks to describe and the meanings of central themes in the life world of the subjects. The main task in interviewing is to understand the meaning of what the interviewees say. (Kvale,1996 pg.123) A qualitative research interview seeks to cover botha factual and a meaning level, though it is usually more difficult to interview on a meaning level.

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(Kvale,1996 pg.128)

Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant's experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-deph information around the topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses. (McNamara,1999. pg.89) There are a number of research methods as listed below. Quantitative research: Quantitative research methods are concerned with issues of measurement and the understanding of quantitative data, not with the doing of sums. The distinction between quantity and quality is not fundamental to the understanding of the research process.

However, it is easier to discuss survey research and secondary data analysis together, and in relation to general issues of measurement and evaluation. A quantitative research methodology is more appropriate when you need to forecast customer attitudes, behaviour and performance. Quantitative research is a scientific, statistics-based methodology designed to produce data that can be used by the larger population. It's quantifiable because it is so deeply rooted in numbers and statistics; quantitative research has the ability to effectively translate data into simple quantifiable charts and graphs.

Questionnaires: Questionnaires are an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large or small sector of the community. Often they are the only feasible way to reach a number of reviewers large enough to allow statistical analysis of the results. A well-designed questionnaire that is used effectively can gather information on both the overall performance of the research as well as information on specific areas identified.