Critical evaluation of denzin and lincoln's comments - Essay Example

Critical evaluation of Denzin and Dincolns comments Nursing 17/07 When conducting a scientific research, researchers usually use twosets of data, namely; quantitative and qualitative data. These two types of data are different in different ways. First the two sets are collected for different purposes. Quantitative data is used test a hypotheses and check the cause and effect, and to make a prediction while the purpose of the qualitative data is to understand and interpret social interactions.Another different is seen from the group selected for study.

Qualitative research usually consist of a small group that is not randomly selected from the population while the quantitative research involves a larger group that is randomly selected. We therefore study study specific variables in the quantitative research, unlike the qualitative research where we deal with the whole group and not variables(Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 15).The methods used to gather data is also dissimilar. Qualitative data is collected interns of listening to word and observing images or objects while the quantitative data is collected as numbers.

This means that instruments that are used to collect qualitative data should have an open ended responses while the quantitative data must have exact measurement.The analysis of researched data is done by observing the resulting patterns while in the quantitative data is made by identifying the statistical relationships created. The quantitative research focuses on a wide scope of the study as it examines the breadth and depth of phenomena unlike the quantitative research that usually focuses on a smaller scope that tests a particular hypothesis in the study (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 15).ReferencesDenzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2000).

The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. Califonia: Sage Publications.