Method | Strength | Weaknesses |
Qualitative | The qualitative analysis allows a complete, rich and detailed description. Can be faster when compared to quantitative methods. Does not reduce complex human experiences to numerical form and allows a good insight into a person‘s experiences and behavior. Qualitative methods can be cheaper than quantitative research. Ambiguities, which are inherent in human language, can be recognized in the analysis. | Qualitative data is difficult to analyze and needs a high level of interpretative skills. Good chance of bias. Hard to draw brief conclusions from qualitative data. Qualitative data faces difficulties in terms of comparison. Low level of accuracy in terms of statistics. |
Quantitative | Quantitative analysis allows for the classifying of features, counting them, and constructing more complex statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed. Findings can be generalized to a larger population. Allows researchers to analyze more easily because quantitative data is in numerical form. Provides a high level of accuracy. Compare measures of dispersion. Allows to present analysis graphically. | Picture of the data which emerges from quantitative analysis lacks the richness of detail compared with data from qualitative analysis reduced to numerical form. Quantitative implementation slow, and needs time compared with qualitative. Can be expensive. Low response rates. Not simple to implement. Quantitative often requires computer analysis. |