When it comes to gathering and evaluating data in research, qualitative and quantitative analysis are two very important methodologies. Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings. Since both research methods share the same goals, which is data analysis, both approaches can be employed individually or simultaneously. When qualitative and quantitative analyses are used simultaneously, this technique is known as mixed-method analysis. Using them simultaneously can compensate for the flaws that each method possesses and provide high-quality results. The main difference between quantitative and qualitative analysis is the fact that quantitative analysis reflects information that can be readily measured or quantified, such as the number of individuals who have purchased an item while qualitative data convey thoughts or sentiments that cannot be expressed by a numerical statistic such as an average. Therefore, when it comes to quantitative data, it is information about quantities and hence numbers while qualitative data is descriptive and refers to phenomena that can be observed but not quantified. Quantitative research is used if a researcher wishes to confirm or test a theory or a hypothesis while qualitative research is used when a researcher wishes to understand some experience, concepts, thoughts, or feelings. Finally, when analyzing quantitative data, averages, means, and other numerical data points may be derived using statistical methods while qualitative data analysis requires a more complicated approach since it is non-statistical and subjective in nature.
