WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Practical Research 1 – Quarter 3, Week 2

Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Kinds of Research Across Fields,

Characteristics, Strengths, Weaknesses, Kinds and Importance of
Qualitative Research

Name: _______________________________________Section: ____________________

Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC)

1. Differentiate quantitative from qualitative research (CS_RS11-IIIa-4);
2. Provide examples of research in areas of interest (CS_RS11-IIIa-5);
3. Describes characteristics, strengths, weaknesses and kinds of
qualitative research (CS_RS11-IIIb-1); and
4. Illustrate the importance of qualitative research across fields.
(CS_RS11-IIIb-2)

Time Allotment: 4 hours

Objectives:
After going through this learning activity sheet, you are expected to:
1. identify the difference between quantitative and qualitative
research;
2. give some examples of research in an identified area of interest;
3. clearly distinguish the different characteristics, strengths,
weakness, and kinds of qualitative research; and
4. showcase the various uses and importance of qualitative
research across fields.

Key Concepts
In this lesson, different features of a quantitative and qualitative
research have been compared. Examples of research in some area of interest
are identified. The characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, kinds, uses and
importance of qualitative research was been discussed to give more emphasis
on qualitative research which is the core of this subject.

Differentiating Qualitative from Quantitative Research

Research has two broad methodologies: qualitative research and

quantitative research. Each has features which may essential in your
research. In order to get the best results from these methods, it is very
important to understand first the differences between them. For more
practical distinctions, here are some easy-to-spot differences between
qualitative and quantitative research based on certain criteria:

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 Comparison Qualitative Quantitative
Criteria
General State postulates/assumptions Test hypothesis
Framework (flexible) (inflexible)
Objective To qualify and describe To quantify
experiences; create new theory
based on gathered data
Question Open-ended/expounded Closed-ended/fixed
Format
Sampling Purposive with maximum Samples with a
technique variation statistical representation
of the population
Sample Participants/informants Respondents
called
Design Phenonemenon/ethnography/ Survey/experiment
historical/case
study/participatory
Data- Interview Questionnaire/inventory
Gathering schedule/observation/focus
Tools group discussion guide
Data Format Textual narratives in matrices Numerical in
tables/graphs
Use Adds the details and can also Help you see the big
give a human voice to your picture
survey results
Data • Subjective • Objective
Analysis • Synthesize data, interpret, • Statistical
thematic

Activity 1. Distinguish Me!

Direction: Determine whether each word or group of words indicates

Qualitative Research or Quantitative Research.

__________________________ 1. Open-Ended Questions

__________________________ 2. Hypothesis
__________________________ 3. Statistical
__________________________ 4. Focus Group Discussion
__________________________ 5. Textual Narratives
__________________________ 6. Subjective
__________________________ 7. Tables and Graphs
__________________________ 8. Respondents
__________________________ 9. Flexible
__________________________ 10. Big Picture

The Kinds of Research Across Fields

Developing an interest in different kinds of research will somehow help

you look into something that may affect your personality or your life in some
important way. For you to define clearly the types of research in areas of
interest you want to embark, focus first on your scientific skills, passion and

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ideas. It will support you to connect to your career path. The following
examples of research in areas of interest might lead you to choose specific
topic of your research study which you will be exploring to create new
knowledge.

Areas of Interest Description Example of Studies

Arts-Based Personal expression in The Role of Arts in Student

Research various art forms is use Achievement in Reading
as a primary mode of
inquiry

Research in Deals with human Children In-Conflict with

Humanities culture such as Law: A Resolution and
philosophy, religion, Intervention
literature, linguistics
and history.

Includes ancient and

modern languages,
human geography, laws,
politics and other social
sciences.

Sports Research Intended for athletes to Student Involvement in

endure their health and Athletics and their
wellness goals through Academic Performance
proven high-quality
products.

Helps the coaches and

athletes to access
information and apply it
to develop programs and
techniques in sports.

Science Research Discover laws, Utilization of Garbage and

postulates, theories that other Waste Resources as
can explain natural or Cleaning Materials.
social phenomena.

Applies systematic and

constructed scientific
method to obtain,
analyze and interpret
data.

Mathematics Provides mathematics Student Difficulties in

Research mastery topics and General Mathematics:
helps develops Remediation and
confidence and interest Interventions
to solve more
mathematical problems.

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 Agriculture Improves productivity Green Space in School:
Research and quality of crops Social and Environment
irrigation, storage Perspective
methods, effective farm
management and
marketing of
agricultural resources.

Fisheries Research Increase productivity Fishing for Change: Fishery

and management of Policy in the Philippines
fishery resources to
provide food: protect
and maintain different
bodies of water for
sustainable supply of
aquatic resources.

Information and Aim to adapt current The Role of ICT in the New
Communication technology Normal Education
Technology (ICT) advancement which
Research enhances development
of resources

Business Research Acquire information in Business Practices and

business to maximize Strategies of Small
the sales and profit. Enterprises at Centrio Mall

Aids business
companies regulates
which product or service
is most profitable or in
demand.

Social Science Finds solutions for The Impact of COVID-19

Research human behavior, Pandemic on Employment
gathering information Opportunities.
about people and
society.

Activity 2: Where I Belong

Direction: Identify the specific area of interest that best fit for each given topic.
Write the letter of your answer in your answer sheet.
A. Arts-Based C. Science E. Business
B. Humanities D. ICT

1. Digital Age
2. Child in Conflict with the Law
3. Mural
4. Herbal Medicines
5. Financial Management

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Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical

data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or
experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or
generate new ideas for research.

The Importance of Qualitative Research

Qualitative researches can learn the behavior of the participants that

can give them a broad sense of who is doing what, when, where, how and why.
It promotes a deep, holistic understanding of a particular phenomenon.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

1. A focus on natural settings – events in life as lived in real situations

happen in natural settings in order to gain access to deeper levels with
certain rapport of the researcher with participants of the study to win
their trust. Example: A study on how the victims of Yolanda super
typhoon managed to survive after the tragedy will give a true picture of
the situation in the place where it happened with the researcher
conducting the inquiry amidst the ruins.
2. An interest in meanings, perspectives and understandings –
deeper discovery of the meanings that participants attach to their
behavior, how they interpret situations, and what’s their perspectives
are on particular issue. Example: Some students might see school as
their real home when they feel unwanted in their own homes.
3. An emphasis on process – the thrust of inquiry is directed towards
unpacking the “the black box” and unraveling the complex processes
that went on within it, focus on how things happen and how they
develop. Example: School bully who shares more experiences how the
bullying started and the process that led to this action.
4. An openness of mind – the emic (insider) perspective in qualitative
inquiry entails the researcher’s openness of mind to the situation
without prior judgment like in the study on the school bully must not
put the participant in bad light, instead look into the factors that led to
the situation.
5. A fairly deep involvement in natural inquiry - the listening process
with empathy is as important as the data, when the researcher gets
involved in the process of inquiry but without getting affected. Example:
In the inquiry on the school bully, researcher must not reveal emotion
to the participants.
6. A rapport with participants who gave trust – the rules of ethics
make the researcher free of any bias in listening to the confessions
made by the participants, and guided by the rule on confidentiality of
information given by the participants in order to gain their trust.
Example: Narratives of the student on bullying experience which might
give minimal harm to the participants must be kept confidential.
7. A concern with inductive analysis and grounded theory – not
concerned with testing a theory but understanding the quality of social
life through richly detailed material termed as “thick description”, like
the study on school bully which presents the detail and context in a
web of social relationships to show significance of an experience, or the
sequence of events. This can result to a model (grounded theory) for the

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 bullying situation from the richness of data to a general explanation
using inductive method.

Strengths of Qualitative Research

1. Adopts a naturalistic approach to its subject matter, which means that

those involve in the research understand things based on what they
find meaningful.
2. Promotes a full understanding of human behavior or personality traits
in their natural settings.
3. Instrumental for positive societal changes.
4. Engenders respect for people’s individuality as it demands the
researcher’s careful and attentive stand toward people’s world views.
5. A way of understanding and interpreting social interactions.
6. Increases the researcher’s interest in the study as it includes the
researcher’s experience or background knowledge in interpreting verbal
and visual data.
7. Offers multiple ways of acquiring and examining knowledge about
something

Weaknesses of Qualitative Research

1. Involves a lot of researcher’s subjectivity in data analysis.

2. Hard to know the validity or reliability of the data.
3. Its open-ended questions yield “data overload” that requires long-time
analysis.
4. Time-consuming.
5. Involves several processes, which results greatly depend on the
researcher’s views or interpretations.

Kinds of Qualitative Research

1. Phenomenology – from the Greek word “phainomenon” which means

“that which appears” and “logos” meaning a study. A descriptive study
of how individuals share their “lived experience”.
2. Ethnography – the study of people in the community that shows how
actions in one world make sense from the point of view of another. A
discovery and description of the culture of a group of people
3. Case Study – a kind of analysis of persons, events, decisions, periods,
projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied
holistically by one or more method. A research strategy, an empirical
inquiry that investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context in
either a single or multiple case.
4. Action Research – a practical approach to an inquiry in any social
situation. Focuses on solving an immediate problem or working with
others to address particular issues.
5. Historical Research – a procedure that is supplementary to observation
in which the researcher seeks to test the authenticity of the reports or
observations made by others. It is employed in reporting events and/or
conditions that occurred in the past.
6. Grounded Theory – takes place when you discover a new theory to
underlie your study at the time of data collection and analysis.

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Activity 3: True or False

Direction: Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if it is false in your answer
sheet.

________ 1. Qualitative research is a scientific method of observation that

gather non-numerical data.
_________2. Subjectivity is one of the strengths of a qualitative research.
________ 3. The listening process with empathy is not that important as the
data when the researcher gets involved in the process of inquiry.
________ 4. Culture and customs are one of the focus of ethnography.
________ 5. Qualitative research offers multiple ways of acquiring and
examining knowledge about something

Qualitative Research Across Fields

In a classic tradition of qualitative research, the disciplines commonly

associated with this kind of inquiry are sociology and anthropology which
study people and communities. But this practice has transformed the world,
and has slowly found significant application in several disciplines. The
following are some uses and importance of qualitative research across
disciplines:

Discipline Uses of Qualitative Research

Information and Communication Help determine why most client are
Technology (ICT) male high school students.
Education Through observation and
questioning, understand how
teachers and students views the
learning environment that leads to
the discovery of teaching skills and
reasons why some students are not
performing well.
Science and Medicine Answer systematically the kinds of
research questions that are not
easily answerable by experimental
methods like for example: the
practice of herbal or folk medicine in
villages and tribes. Qualitative
research addresses research
questions on the remedies and
efficacy of herbal medicine as it can
follow an investigation on doctors’
and patients’ attitudes, beliefs, and
preferences, and the whole question
how evidence turned into practice.
Technical Communication Focus groups are used to probe
deeper research results in order to
describe the current practices in
Technical Communication which in
the forms of e-mail, fax messaging,
video and voice conferencing,

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 intranet and extranet, jargons and
graphics
Advertising Understanding the consumer’s
wants and needs results to great
advertising that allows the
researcher to capture the world of
others.
Agriculture Investigate farming system and
qualitative research may involve the
introduction of rice technology to a
group of subsistence farmers and the
researcher’s decision on the use of
resources through focused interview.

Activity 4. Search and Justify Me!

Find at least two qualitative research across field in the internet. Using
your own words, explain the importance of qualitative research in that field.

Rubrics for Grading the Activity 4

3 2 1

Able to recognize the use or importance of

qualitative research on that particular
field.

Clearly state or explain the importance of

qualitative research on that particular
field.

Legend: 3 – Excellent 2 – Acceptable 1 - Unacceptable

Reflection
Directions: Give practical insights of the learned topics being discuss.

1. As an upcoming student researcher, what is the importance of qualitative

research in your daily life?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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2. What kind of qualitative research would you prefer to choose in doing your
research? Justify your answer.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Rubrics for grading your answer:

3 2 1 0

Practical insight Practical insight is Practical insight is No insights

is scientifically scientifically but explained, given.
and clearly not clearly consistent to the
explained, explained, concepts, but with
consistent using consistent using misconceptions.
concepts, and has concepts, and has
no no misconception.
misconception.

References

Baraceros, Esther L. Practical Research 1 First Edition. Manila. Rex

Bookstore, Inc. 2016

Henson, Ronald M. & Soriano, Robert F. Practical Research 1 Qualitative

Research World of Reality Dissections. Malabon City. Mutya
Publishing House, Inc. 2016.

Pastor, Maria Euleen Practical Research 1- Grade 11 Alternative Delivery

Mode Quarter 1- Module 2: Nature of Inquiry and Research. Cagayan de
Oro City. Department of Education- Division of Cagayan de Oro. 2020.

Website

Bhandari, Pritha. An Introduction to Qualitative Research.

www.scribbr.com. Access on April 10, 2021

Burias, Anthony. Importance of Qualitative Research Across Different

Fields. https://www.scribd.com . Access on April 10, 2021

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Email address: christine.vallente@deped.gov.ph
Division: AGUSAN DEL NORTE
School: MAGALLANES NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Author: CHRISTINE D. VALLENTE
Activity 1:
1. Qualitative 6. Qualitative
2. Quantitative 7. Quantitative
3. Quantitative 8. Quantitative
4. Qualitative 9. Qualitative
5. Qualitative 10. Quantitative
Activity 2:
1. D 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. E
Activity 3:
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T
Activity 4: Answers may vary
Answer Key