1. Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Experimental
Laboratory-like control
Logical Positivism
Field research
Ethnography or phenomenology
Constructivist
Both are empirical!

2. Reductionistic vs. Constructivistic
Seeks facts and causes apart from individual states
How is experience shaped by the world?
Seeks to understand a phenomenon from within an individual’s state of being
How is the world experienced?

3. Role of Measurement
Creates variables that are amenable to statistical analysis
External, easily verifiable
Uses discourse as data, long descriptive text using people’s own words and dialogues.
Seeks techniques to explore a phenomenon from “under the skin” of another

4. Deductive vs. Inductive
Variables are conceived a priori
Research question/Hypothesis comes first
No preconceived assumptions/ suspend your beliefs
Patterns emerged from the collected data after the fact

5. Interventions vs. Naturalistic
Interventions are seen as a way of discovery
Manipulate the environment and measure changes
Sensitive to the effects of the research(er) on the population studied
Try to develop trust in the population being studied

6. Role of the Researcher
Researcher’s judgement essential before and after
Researcher should be “absent” during experiment
Researcher “becomes the instrument”
Tries to suspend any predispostions and assume it is being experienced for the “first time”

7. Reduction vs. Holist
Truth is to be found incrementally, one small “tweak” after another
Science has always found out about phenomena little at a time
Humanistic perspective urges a holist approach
When we reduce people to variables, we lose the larger understandings possible

8. Science vs. Art Quantitative Approach
Once you understand the basic rules, anyone can do it.
Qualitative Approach
Takes a lot of practice to do it well.