SOCW 6301 – Quantitative and Qualitative Research Questions

According to Creswell (2009), quantitative research is a “means for testing objective theories by examining the relationship among variables that can be measured and analyzed using statistical procedures.” Qualitative research, Creswell posits, is a “means for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to social or human problems.”

Consider the phenomenon of pain. Ethics committees and institutional review boards do not allow researchers to inflict equal doses of pain on subjects to examine their physiological response. In quantitative research, pain can be measured physiologically by blood pressure, changes in blood chemistry, muscle contractions, and pain scales (which are still subjective, but at least quantifiable). Researchers using a qualitative perspective may ask participants about their experience of being in physical pain, whether being in pain has changed them in any way, or what they have learned from experiencing physical pain.

For this Assignment, consider differences in how you might frame a research question in order to explore it using quantitative or qualitative research methods.

Submit a 2-page paper that highlights one of the research questions you shared in your Discussion post. Design a quantitative research question related to this problem and a qualitative research question related to the same problem. Please use the resources to support your answer.