Breaking down the quantitative/qualitative divide

Question 1

The natural sciences have often been characterized as being positivist in epistemological orientation. Which of the following has been proposed as an alternative account?

a) Marxism

b) Subjectivism

c) Interpretivism

d) Realism

Question 2

How is it argued that qualitative research can have "empiricist overtones"?

a) Semi-structured interview schedules are used to quantify behaviour

b) There is an emphasis on direct observation of people and social settings

c) Qualitative researchers prefer to conduct statistical analyses of their data

d) It typically involves testing a clearly defined hypothesis

Question 3

Why might we say that quantitative researchers also try to study social meanings?

a) Because the method they use most is the in-depth interview

b) Because their written reports usually refer to an interpretivist epistemology

c) Because surveys and questionnaires are used to examine attitudes and opinions

d) Because they observe human behaviour in a laboratory

Question 4

Why does Bryman argue that research methods can be seen as relatively "free-floating" or autonomous?

a) Because researchers often change their minds about which method to use

b) Because most qualitative researchers are Hippies who believe in free love

c) Because there is no longer any meaningful distinction between quantitative and qualitative research

d) Because there is no inevitable connection between a researcher's choice of method and their epistemological/ ontological beliefs

Question 5

Which of the following is not one of the contrasts that has been made to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research?

a) Behaviour versus meaning

b) Numbers versus words

c) Traditional versus modern

d) Artificial versus natural

Question 6

What does the term "quasi-quantification" refer to?

a) The use of words like "many", "some" or "often" in qualitative research

b) A poor attempt at statistical analysis

c) The use of a survey instrument that has not been tested for inter-coder reliability

d) The way scientists talk about their data in numerical terms to enhance the credibility of their findings

Question 7

Why is it argued that qualitative research may not really be "naturalistic"?

a) Because participant observation has to be overt and so causes reactivity effects

b) Because methods such as interviews and focus groups constitute artificial social settings

c) Because quantitative methods such as structured observation tend to take place in more naturalistic environments

d) Because it is concerned with the social world rather than the natural world

Question 8

What is "ethnostatistics"?

a) The study of the way statistics are constructed, interpreted and represented

b) The study of the way ethnic minorities are represented in official statistics

c) A new computer program designed to help lay people understand statistics

d) An interpretivist approach made famous by the work of Garfinkel (1967) 

Question 9

In what way does the thematic analysis of interview data suggest quantification?

a) It demands the use of computer programs like SPSS

b) It is based on numbers rather than text

c) It involves establishing the frequency of particular words, phrases or themes

d) It is usually followed by a stage of rigorous statistical testing

Question 10

How does quantification help the qualitative researcher avoid being accused of anecdotalism?

a) By allowing them to focus on extreme examples in the data and ignore the rest

b) By providing a structure to an otherwise unstructured dataset

c) By making it more likely that official statistics will be included in their report

d) By providing some idea of the prevalence of an usual or striking response