Use of Quantitative Data in Qualitative Research
The use of quantitative data in qualitative research is not only useful, and often
unavoidable, it provides yet another perspective. Continuing with the day care
example, making a mental count of the number of broken toys may be useful,
knowing the rate of staff turnover is important, comparing pay scales may shed
light on employment variables, and the ratio of children to care givers could be
significant. These are quantitative data, things with numeric values (e.g. 75
broken toys, a 1:10 vs 1:5 teacher/child ratio). While qualitative researchers may
not always actively seek this type of information, it is often readily present and
provides another source of insight. Most qualitative researchers do not statistically
manipulate these numeric values; rather, they will use their general descriptive
properties (e.g. counts, frequencies). If, on the other hand, you have selected a
research methodology that purposefully blends qualitative research techniques
with collecting data to be statistically analyzed, then your approach to data
collection will be very different and you will have to concern yourself with
various protocols relevant to the quantitative researcher.