Both qualitative and quantitative researches are quite essential for any research. The two articles employing both qualitative and quantitative research with reference to suicide are indeed very essential in understanding the full mechanics of these two research paradigms as well as fully grasping the relevance of each research paradigm. It is very essential to note that the article focusing on suicides among Latina adolescents employs the quantitative technique for research and study but clearly outlines that the qualitative research technique also comes into play so as to give the quantitative research technique a broader scope and to fully exhaust all possible research paradigms as far as the research at hand is concerned. Thus, these two research methods though different in their depth and methodology, do have some outstanding similarities and in fact may in some cases arise as interdependent research techniques.
Analysis of the article on quantitative research versus the article on qualitative research brings out some disparities as far as the information derived from both research methods is concerned. The qualitative research method brings out information of a more personal and intimate manner or rather nature. This shows that this research method delves deeper beyond the technicalities of any given research problem and into the very intimate heart of the matter at hand (Bryman, 2010). A good example is when alienation comes out as one of the leading causes of suicides. Alienation is especially more prominent as a cause for suicides among Native Americans and among Hispanics than it is among the Anglos. A matter such as the feeling of alienation goes further beyond any attribute measurable by any scientific instrument available to man. This is an intimate matter affecting a given individual and might not easily be identified using other research methods other than the qualitative research method. The quantitative research method is on the other hand more inclined towards raw available data and information on the ground. This means that the quantitative research method emphasizes on raw tangible data and numbers from the field (Creswell, 2003). An example of this paradigm of the quantitative research method can be derived from the article on suicides among Latina adolescents. From the onset of the paper, it is clear that seventy-six participants will be taking part in the study. This thus shows the severity of thoroughness with reference to numbers as far as the quantitative research method is concerned. Nothing is left to chance with reference to the numbers and each data point is allocated relevant significance in the data cosmos as opposed to making assumptions and in some cases generalizations. Thus, the quantitative research method comes out as being more thorough and more detailed than the qualitative research method.
The quantitative research method thus appears to be giving data and information of a more technical nature (Creswell, 2003) as opposed to the qualitative research method that appears to be giving information of a more intimate and personal nature. A good example is the fact that the quantitative research article reveals that most adolescents attempt suicide using means that are directly available to them such as purposeful overdosing of drugs. The nature of this information clearly reveals that this illumination was arrived at after working the numbers. Nothing was left to chance and stringent numerical operations and research was performed before arriving at this revelation. The suicide article employing qualitative research reveals that, there has been several suicide notes left by the study group and even delves into the content and context of these suicide notes. This reveals a propensity to go beyond the technicalities of the matter at hand and deep into the heart of the issue at hand and all the factors in play contributing to the matter at hand be they numerical or otherwise.
An advantage of the qualitative research method is that it aims at fully understanding the issue at hand (Bryman, 2010), in this case suicides and the motivations behind these suicides. It aims at gaining a much deeper understanding of suicides as opposed to just getting the numbers and the trends of these suicides. A disadvantage of this method is that the exact number of people studied to get the five motivations behind suicides is unknown. Thus, it cannot be effectively concluded, that this sample is an ample representation of the entire population of teen age Latinos. The quantitative research method is advantageous because the numbers used in the research are clearly visible. This is effective even for future reference and the validity of the sample as far as it being an adequate representative of the entire population can be determined. A disadvantage of this method is that a miscalculation or error in the numbers can lead to completely wrong findings.
Qualitative research is a science because it employs the method of inquiry (Bryman, 2010). Qualitative research is aimed at gathering sufficient information on the behavioral and emotional factors in play as far as the research question in play is involved. It is thus a science that delves deeper than raw tangible data and evidence into the very heart of the research question at hand.
References
Bryman, A. (2010). Qualitative research. London: SAGE.
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
