In this part of the course we will suggest seven different goals of social research. We will examine how different research strategies allow us to achieve different goals. It is in the framework of this discussion that we will raise the issue of the divide between qualitative and quantitative approaches and will suggest few strategies to overcome this divide
It obviously does not make sense to suppose that the ultimate purpose of concept formation in the historical sciences could be the deductive arrangement of concepts and laws - discovered by employing correlations - under other concepts and laws of increasing general validity and abstract content"
(Max Weber, emphasis in original, cited in Zaret and Ragin, 1983, 743).
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1. Identifying general patterns and relationships Source: Ragin, 1994, chapter 2 |
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Qualitative researchers interested in commonalities examine many aspects or features of a relatively small number of cases in depth. A study of how one becomes a marijuana user (Becker 1953) is an example of a qualitative study Comparative researchers interested in diversity study a moderate number of cases in a comprehensive manner, though in not as much detail as in most qualitative research. A study of the checkered history of democratic institutions in South American countries is an example of a comparative study. Quantitative researchers interested in how variables covary across cases typically examine a relatively small number of features of cases (that is, variables) across many, many cases. A study of the correspondence between the intensity of party competition and the level of voter turnout across all counties in the US is an example of a quantitative study Source: Ragin, 1994, chapter 2 |
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