Qualitative research is used to explore and understand people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviour and interactions. It generates non- numerical data, for example in music magazines understanding why the audience buys them. Qualitative research can be time consuming and faces difficulties with showing the reliability when dealing with case studies, but it makes the research of better quality like using images and videos. It seeks a wider understanding of the entire situation. As it is attitudes, behaviour and experiences which are important, fewer people take part in the research, but the contact with these people tends to last a lot longer.
Qualitative research diagram
Quantitative research generates numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers, for example in music magazines, how many people buy them. This type of research reaches many more people, but the contact with those people is much quicker than it is in qualitative research. Quantitative research can contain large amounts of statistics but it will have to be explained if wanting to go into further depth with the information. Quantitative research can include market research such as surveys or questionnaires, the questions are normally closed and if your questions are linked to each other and are similar, you can build up a clear picture of what your result is to be.
Quantitative research from Q magazine
I think I will be using both quantitative and qualitative research as I want to go in depth with my magazine as much as I can to meet the audience's needs.
