Qualitative researchers can explain causation through metaphor, narratives, and thought experiments; these can in turn generate explanatory concepts that may be tested with quantitative methodologies. Qualitative research is less concerned with the frequency of an event as it is with “unriddling” or sensemaking from the data.
Neither qualitative nor quantitative research methods are inherently superior to the other; rather, each has trade-offs. However, we tend to be biased toward quantitative methods. This may have negative repercussions.
Related
Citations
Ladner, Sam. Mixed Methods: A Short Guide to Applied Mixed Methods Research. Sam Ladner, 2019.
