COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 1

Methodological Critque of Quantitative and Qualitative Studies

Evelyn Welsh

University of British Columbia

COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 2

Methodological Critque of Quantitative and Qualitative Studies

Quantitative Approach Summary

Hamre and Piantas (2005) quantitative study titled, Can Instructional and Emotional

Support in the First-Grade Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School

Failure?, was taken from a large national study to examine ways in which teachers can limit

failure of at risk students by providing instructional and emotional support. A correlational

design was used to examine the relationship between the participants behavioral characteristics,

and their achievement indicators. The sampling was derived from a massive national study

conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The researchers

received permission of expecting mothers to participate in the study and were followed from the

age of one month through to grade one. The size of this sample allowed for a large cross section

of diverse socio-economic, educational and ethnic backgrounds. With this diverse population the

researchers were able to categorize them into functional and demographic risk groups.

Functional risk was defined by the childrens attention span, behaviours, academic performance

and social ability. The demographic risk group was distinguished by mothers who had less than 4

year college degree. A classroom assessment at fifty-four months was used by the Kindergarten

teachers to assess functional risk and to label each classroom as high, moderate and low level. A

standardized Classroom Observation System was conducted by professional observers at first

grade. A Woodcock-Johnson Psych-Educational Battery-revised was used to measure

achievement. Results were then entered into an ANOVA model, were used to then predict the

hypothesis. The overall design was thorough and sought to control as many variables as possible,

however, the main strength of the correlational design is the use of a coefficient to validate

results. However, there were some key limitations in the data. The first occurred when the
COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 3

classroom observation at 54 months was conducted. As it was only done in the course of one day,

which doesnt provide enough evidence when dividing classrooms into high, moderate and low

categories. Another contributing limitation was the differences in how each classroom

observation was conducted, as one assessed by a teacher and another by a professional observer

using a standardized system. Cause and effect is a known limitation of correlational designs (Gay

et al., n.d.) and the interactions between a teacher and professional observer would have been

different and in turn would alter the results.

Qualitative Approach Summary

In (Sleeter, 2009) study titled, Can Instructional and Emotional Support in the First-

Grade Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure, is a qualitative case

study design. It examines how teachers develop deeper thinking on curriculum throughout their

teacher education course work, in turn, informing deeper epistemological thinking (Sleeter,

2009). The participant, Anne, is a second year teacher involved in a graduate level

multicultural design course. Data was collected and triangulated using written and non-written

sources of data to strengthen the validity of the observations. A rubric was also used as a tool for

reflection by both the researcher and participant. The rubric was designed by the researcher for

the purposes of the study and was used to assist the researcher in determining the level of growth

developed by the participant. By using the case study design the researcher is able to situate

closely to the participant in order to record observations that facilitate deeper understanding of

the participants perspective. In this particular study the researcher is also Annes professor

which exemplifies both the strengths and limitations of a case study approach. The limitation

being that the observations can only be attributed to the individual of study and cannot be

generalized. Its strength allows the researcher to truly uncover the participants perspective. Use
COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 4

of a rubric also provided a specific benchmark for both the observations done in class settings

and as a reflective tool in personal responses.

Comparison of Approaches

Research Problems

Descriptions of both research problems share some key differences not only in the

design aspect, but also in the size and scope of the samples being studied. Having to draw from a

signal participant also allows the researcher to choose the subject that will best suit the purpose

of the study. In Sleeters case study, a participant thought to possess the most potential to learn

and develop was chosen. In contrast, the quantitative study deals with multiple variables and

groups that need careful grouping and control in order to protect the data collection process. This

large scale sample contributes to the validity of the results because they can be generalized to

larger populations outside the study. Overall, the quantitative research deals with an extremely

complex design and system, when compared against a signal case study using qualitative

observations. The controls and limitations between the two are on opposite scales of difficulty.

Data Analysis

Triangulation of observations are used in the (Sleeter, 2009) study which includes a

reflective journal, papers, interviews and classroom observations. These data sources were

carefully reviewed against a rubric designed to measure growth in the participants thinking. The

design of the rubric included four domains of epistemological thinking and three assessment

areas.

Comparatively, the (Hamre & Pianta, 2005) study does such a thorough job of controlling

threats to the data collection process because standardized tests, and observational tools are

implemented at each stage of data collection process. For instance, the use of the Woodcock-
COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 5

Johnson Psycho-educational Battery-Revised measures achievement at kindergarten and grade

one levels. This measurement displays a clear relationship between age and risk group.

Observational tools within the classrooms were also standardized to limit the error of teacher

observation; however, it also creates weakness in the results by the end of the study because it

was done in one day. More importance needed to be placed on these classroom observations such

as providing a longer period of classroom observation and by making sure the people

administering the assessment are perceived the same by the students.

Reporting of the Literature

In the (Hamre & Pianta, 2005) the review of the literature discusses how past studies and

theories focused on socio-emotional and motivational aspects of child learning which are

process-product oriented and lack evidence for the effects in the classroom. In other words,

Hamre and Pianta, argue that their study is more relevant because it yields results that are useful

and practical to classroom teachers rather than past research which focuses on classroom

composition and identification of at risk characteristics. A philosophical and theoretical review of

the literature is used in the (Sleeter, 2009) study. The researcher uses a comparison case study to

highlight what is described as a spectrum of how teachers view knowledge. On one end of the

spectrum is what Sleeter describes as a viewpoint that ultimately the teacher relinquishes

autonomy to an institution or government body, and at the other end is a teacher who takes

ownership of curriculum delivery (Sleeter, 2009). This is an important aspect of the qualitative

process because it allows the researcher to conclude that his own subject was able to start and

end at this spectrum of how knowledge is viewed.

Conclusions
COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 6

Hamre and Pianta report on the limitations of their study and how future replication of

similar studies will be needed to generalize the results. One difference noted in the qualitative

study is that Sleeter restates the limitations of his study in a positive light by posing a challenge

to teacher educators to develop courses that will produce deeper epistemological beliefs around

multicultural curriculum design. Whereas, the quantitative study admits that the hypothesis was

not answered clearly and the study needs to be replicated to be generalized to larger populations

of at risk students.

Part 2

Key Characteristics of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

Research projects that are related to cause and effect experiences, observe measurable

relationships and describe current conditions (Gay et al., 2012) require quantitative approaches.

The quantitative method strives to prove the hypothesis through a systematic design.

Alternatively, the qualitative approach seems to be concentrated on documenting authentic

experiences of the participants, where the hypothesis or question is never fully realized as it is

changed and altered over the course of the study.

My Research Project

Case Study or Action Research?

Students at risk of failure require a classroom and school community where they feel

connected and accountable, as they move through the education system and onto graduation. The

purpose of this research is to examine how reflective teaching practices can affect the learning of

students at risk of failure in a middle school classroom. The question asked is: How can student-

centered teaching practices help the learning of students at risk of failure in a grade 8 classroom?
COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 7

A case study or action research approach would be more appropriate for this particular

question because it is an area that I am passionate about and it would be easier to control the

environment of the study. It would also give me the opportunity to focus on developing better

instructional practice that can be applied directly to my current school setting. My strengths as an

educator are building strong rapport and safe environments for my students and this would lend

itself well the close in depth observations needed in a qualitative approach.

COMPARING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES 8

References

Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2012). Introduction to Educational Research. In

Educational Research Competencies for Analysis and Research (10 ed.pp. 3-367).

Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (n.d.). Introduction to Educational Research. In

Educational Research Competencies for Analysis and Applications (10 ed.pp. 3-637).

Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. P. (2005). Can Instructional and Emotional Support in the First Grade

Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure? Child

Development, 76(5), 949-967.

Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. P. (2005). Can Instructional and Emotional Support in the First-Grade

Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure? [Abstract]. Child

Development, 76(5), 949-967.

Sleeter, C. (2009). Developing Teacher Epistemological Sophistication About Multicultural

Curriculum: A Case Study. Action in Teacher Education, 31(1), 3-13.

Sleeter, C. (2009). Developing Teacher Epistemological Sophistication About Multicultural

Curriculum: A Case Study. Action in Teacher Education, 31(1), 3-13.