Complete thesis - Murdoch University

emphasise the importance of participants in the study and assume change will take place, ifonly because the study has been conducted.Since change is accepted as a fundamental goal of this research, an evaluation strategy thatapplies a qualitative approach to the collection and analysis of data is seen to have thepotential to provide the information required. Therefore, rather than viewing qualitativeresearch as a distinct research approach (eg Cash and Lawrence (1989)) it can be arguedthat it is primarily a perspective to be used within the chosen research methodology.4.2.1 Quantitative versus qualitative methodsBoth quantitative and qualitative research may be interpreted from many perspectives, generallybased on the epistemological and philosophical stance taken by the researcher. Puristquantitative research come from a positivist philosophy, focusing on objectivity, deduction,confirmation, theory/hypothesis testing, explanation, prediction, standardised data collectionand statistical analysis. On the other hand, purist qualitative research come from aconstructivist background, focusing on subjectivity, induction, discovery, theory/hypothesisgeneration, the researcher as the primary data collection instrument, and qualitative analysis(Johnson and Onwuegbizue, 2004). Some purists advocate the incompatibility thesis, whichmaintains that qualitative and quantitative research paradigms and methods should not bemixed.However, the two research types do have characteristics in common. Both describe data,construct explanatory arguments from data, speculate about why the results occurred as theydid, incorporate safeguards to minimise bias and invalidity, and attempt to provide warrantedassertions about humans and their environments (Johnson and Onwuegbizue, 2004).Quantitative research has some characteristics of qualitative research: subjectivity is usedwhen deciding what to study, developing instruments that are believed to measure the targetconstruct, choosing the statistical method of analysis, interpreting scores, selecting thealpha level of significance, deciding what elements of the findings should be emphasised, anddeciding which findings are significant from a practical point of view, are all methods usedin both paradigms.Conversely, qualitative research has some characteristics of quantitative research, in thatmember checking, triangulation, negative case sampling, pattern matching and external auditsare used to ensure rigorous research in both paradigms.Qualitative research is predicated on the assumption that each individual, culture and settingis unique and requires incorporation into the research. While quantitative research is200