Quantitative Studies

Qualitative Studies

Case Studies

Researcher identifies topic or question(s) of interest and selects participants and arranges procedures that provide answers that are accepted with predetermined degree of confidence; research questions are often stated in hypotheses that are accepted or rejected using statistical tests and anaylses.

Researcher identifies topic of question(s) of interest; collects information from a variety of sources, often as a participant observer; and accepts the analytical task as one of discovering answers that emerge from information that is available as a result of the study.

Research identifies topic or question(s) of interest, determines appropriate unit to represent it, and defines what is known based on careful analysis of multiple sources of information about the “case.”.

Research process may vary greatly from context being investigated (e.g., survey of how principals spend their time) or appropriately reflect it (e.g., observation of how principals spend their time).

Research process is designed to reflect, as much as possible, the natural, ongoing context being investigated; in-formation is often gathered by participant observers (individuals actively engaged, immersed, or involved in the information collection setting or activity).

Research process is defined by systematic series of steps designed to provide careful analysis of the case.

Information collection may last a few hours or a few days, but generally is of short-term duration using carefully constructed measures designed specifically to generate valid and reliable information under the conditions of the study.

Information collection may last a few months

or as long as it takes for an adequate answer to emerge; the time frame for the sudy is often not defined at the time the research is undertaken.

Information collection may last a few hours, a few days, a few months, or as long as is necessary to adequately “define” the case

Report of the outcomes of the process is generally expository, consisting of a series of statistical answers to questions under investigation.

Report of outcomes of the process is generally narrative, consisting of a series of “pages to the story” or “chapters to the book”.

Report of outcomes of the process is generally narrative in nature, consisting of a series of illustrative descriptions of key aspects of the case.