A qualitative experiment uses non-objective methods like case studies or interviews to test a hypothesis. It is often used to formulate a hypothesis for a larger quantitative study. Quantitative research is more scientific and uses objective methods to record results. Qualitative research provides a deeper understanding of a topic, but its results cannot be generalized to the whole population. Qualitative and quantitative research methods can be used together to gain a better understanding of a topic.
A qualitative experiment is an experiment that uses a qualitative technique to determine the veracity of the hypothesis being tested. A variety of qualitative research methods may be used, including case studies, interviews or diaries, and these are all related by the fact that they are not objectively structured methods of gathering information. Researchers will usually conduct a qualitative experiment as a way to find a better hypothesis for a large-scale quantitative experiment that can more effectively provide evidence for or against the idea.
Understanding the difference between quantitative and qualitative research methods is the first step in understanding what a qualitative experiment is. Quantitative research is the more scientific in design and is generally concerned with having larger sample sizes and using objective methods for recording results. For example, a quantitative experiment can be conducted to determine the effectiveness of a diabetes drug by giving the drug to diabetics and taking their insulin levels to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. A qualitative experiment, on the other hand, would be something like a case study, where one observes a single person to learn about a condition or the effects of a treatment. Using quantitative methods is preferable to scientists because it offers more opportunities to generalize to the whole population.
Most often, a qualitative experiment will be used to get a general idea of a particular research area before formulating a hypothesis that can be tested on a larger scale in a quantitative study. Qualitative research is inherently flawed because it only examines a small population and the results cannot be recorded numerically, meaning that unreliable human interpretation lies at the heart of the findings. This creates a problem if a researcher wanted to generalize a finding to the entire population, because there are many different factors that could influence the results that aren’t adequately controlled for. A researcher may note in a case study that the patient showed increased anger while taking a drug, but may be erroneously linking the two and ignoring something relevant, such as increased stress at work.
Many different methods can be used in a qualitative experiment, but the most common are case studies and interviews. These methods are characteristic of qualitative research because it is difficult to study people in large numbers using these methods, and the researcher’s observations are central to the findings, even if they are at odds with the truth. In contrast, qualitative experiments provide a deeper understanding of the particular topic and get their name from the “quality” of their results. The use of qualitative and quantitative research methods together can therefore be used to gain a deep understanding of a topic and then test it objectively.
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