Method

Strength

Weaknesses

Qualitative

Ÿ The qualitative analysis allows a complete, rich and detailed description.

Ÿ Can be faster when compared to quantitative methods.

Ÿ Does not reduce complex human experiences to numerical form and allows a good insight into a person‘s experiences and behavior.

Ÿ Qualitative methods can be cheaper than quantitative research.

Ÿ Ambiguities, which are inherent in human language, can be recognized in the analysis.

Ÿ Qualitative data is difficult to analyze and needs a high level of interpretative skills.

Ÿ Good chance of bias.

Ÿ Hard to draw brief conclusions from qualitative data.

Ÿ Qualitative data faces difficulties in terms of comparison.

Ÿ Low level of accuracy in terms of statistics.

Quantitative

Ÿ Quantitative analysis allows for the classifying of features, counting them, and constructing more complex statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed.

Ÿ Findings can be generalized to a larger population.

Ÿ Allows researchers to analyze more easily because quantitative data is in numerical form.

Ÿ Provides a high level of accuracy.

Ÿ Compare measures of dispersion.

Ÿ Allows to present analysis graphically.

Ÿ Picture of the data which emerges from quantitative analysis lacks the richness of detail compared with data from qualitative analysis reduced to numerical form.

Ÿ Quantitative implementation slow, and needs time compared with qualitative.

Ÿ Can be expensive.

Ÿ Low response rates.

Ÿ Not simple to implement.

Ÿ Quantitative often requires computer analysis.