Qualitative "Versus" Quantitative Methods in Social Research

Abstract

The perennial controversy over quantitative and qualitative methods is addressed from an empirical point of view rather than as a purely methodological or epistemological question. Consideration of empirical findings leads to rejection of the prevailing views that social science is either nomothetic or idiographic and that a significant methodological distinction can be drawn between quantitative and qualitative methods in social research. As a consequence, quantitative and qualitative methods are seen as inherently complementary, and the question of objectivity in social science is viewed, not as a matter of following "correct" procedure, but rather as an issue dealt with as a practical matter by researchers in terms of internal and external coherence.