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Qualitative research methods are tools for gathering information that does not take a numerical form that can be counted and otherwise manipulated mathematically. If I live with a group of women and men and observe that males tend to dominate conversations, for example, my results consist of an interpretation based on a set of observations that I summarize in an overall impression. As such, it is a qualitative assessment of what is going on. By contrast, if I systematically count how often men and women interact and then compare the totals, my method is quantitative, because it produces numerical results.
Qualitative methods are most closely associated with participant observation, historical sociology, ethnomethodology, ethnography and ethnology. Quantitative methods are most closely associated with surveys, experiments, and other forms of numerical data gathering. Although quantitative methods are often considered superior to socalled "soft" qualitative methods, most sociologists appreciate that each provides unique and valuable insights into the workings of social life that are beyond the reach of the other.
Qualitative and quantitative research methods. (2000). In A. G. Johnson,
The Blackwell dictionary of sociology (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell
Publishers. Retrieved from Credo Reference.