Qualitative & Quantitative Data Methods
Are Analogous to the Senses of Sight &
Hearing
Qualitative and
quantitative methods of analysis work better together, just as the senses of
hearing and sight do. Of course, a
person can get by with just one. Blind
people often develop especially acute hearing and can use Braille for
reading. Deaf people learn to read lips and
tend to be particularly adept at interpreting visual cues. But generally, a person can do better using
the two senses together—for example, to notice facial expressions and tones of
voice as well as listening to the words that are spoken. Just as the senses of hearing and seeing
generally work better together, so too do quantitative and qualitative methods
of data coding, analysis, and interpretation.
There are more than
the two senses of seeing and hearing, of course; touch and smell are obvious
additions to the list. And there are
more than two categories of data and analysis.
Graphic/visual data and analyses constitute another category as do combined/mixed
data and methods. The analogies can only
be pushed so far, but the point is clear:
one gets a richer, fuller understanding by combining information from
all the senses rather than relying one just one. Likewise you get a fuller, richer
understanding by using all data sources and methods of analysis, rather than using
only one.
For a researcher to
say that I am only going to study quantitative data or only qualitative
evidence is akin to saying I’m intentionally going to plug my ears or wear
blinders. This can lead to what
psychologists call “learned helplessness.” Self-inflicted injury might be a more accurate
term.
Of course, a
researcher might want to isolate one approach for analytic purposes. For example, I have sometimes looked at video
evidence with the sound off, and then listened to the sound track while not
looking at the video, and then read transcripts describing the actions and
words on the video. But this kind of
analytic “taking apart” is usually done with the goal putting together a better
understanding of the whole.
