Qualitative vs Quantitative: Essential Research Concepts for Scholars Qualitative Research Concepts 1-Ontology → Nature of reality (multiple, context-based). 2-Epistemology → How knowledge is created (through interaction and meaning). 3-Subjectivism → Reality shaped by perspectives and experiences. 4-Constructivism → Knowledge constructed through language and social interaction. 5-Interpretivism → Understanding human behavior through meanings, not numbers. 6-Truth (Relativism) → Different truths exist depending on culture, context, and experience. 7-Philosophical Assumptions → Frameworks guiding interpretation (e.g., feminism, critical theory). 8-Narratives → Stories as a source of knowledge. 9-Contextualization → Understanding phenomena within cultural/social contexts.
10-Critical Realism → Acknowledges objective structures but is shaped by power, history, and politics. Quantitative Research Concepts 1-Ontology → Reality is objective, fixed, and measurable. 2-Epistemology → Knowledge gained through observation, testing, and measurement. 3-Objectivism → Researcher neutrality; separation of values from facts. 4-Positivism → Knowledge based on observable facts, experiments, and statistics. 5-Empiricism → Reliance on measurable evidence. 6-Truth (Absolutism) → Universal truths discovered through systematic testing. 7-Variables → Measurable characteristics (independent, dependent, control). 8-Reliability → Consistency of measurement. 9-Validity → Accuracy of measurement. 10-Generalizability → Applying findings to larger populations.