Abstract
For institutional researchers, the choice to use a quantitative or qualitative approach to research is dictated by time, money, resources, and staff. Frequently, the choice to use one or the other approach is made at the method level. Choices made at this level generally have rigor, but ignore the underlying philosophical assumptions structuring beliefs about methodology, knowledge, and reality. When choosing a method, institutional researchers also choose what they believe to be knowledge, reality, and the correct method to measure both. The purpose of this paper is to clarify and explore the assumptions underlying quantitative and qualitative research. The reason for highlighting the assumptions is to increase the general level of understanding and appreciation of epistemological issues in institutional research. Articulation of these assumptions should foster greater awareness of the appropriateness of different kinds of knowledge for different purposes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allender, J. S. (1986). Educational research: A personal and social process.Review of Educational Research 56(2): 173–193.
Banks, J. A. (1988).Multiethnic Education, 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Bauman, Z. (1992).Intimations of Postmodernity. New York: Routledge.
Bernstein, R. J. (1976).The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory. Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press.
Bernstein, R. J. (1983).Beyond Objectivism and Relativism. Science, Hermeneutics, and Praxis. Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press.
Bohannon, T. R. (1988). Applying regression analysis to problems in institutional research. In B. D. Yancey (ed.),Applying Statistics in Institutional Research, 43–60. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Bunda, M. A. (1991). Capturing the richness of student outcomes with qualitative techniques. In D. M. Fetterman (ed.),Using Qualitative Methods in Institutional Research, pp. 35–47. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Cziko, G. A. (1989). Unpredictability and indeterminism in human behavior: Arguments and implications for educational research.Educational Researcher 18(3): 17–25.
Darder, A. (1991).Culture and Power in the Classroom. A Critical Foundation for Bi-cultural Education. New York: Bergin & Garvey.
Denzin, N. K. (1971). The logic of naturalistic inquiry.Social Forces 50: 166–182.
Denzin, N. K., and Y. S. Lincoln (1994) (eds.).Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Dewey, J. (1933).How We Think. Massachusetts: D. C. Heath.
Dilthey, W. (1990). The rise of hermeneutics. In G. L. Ormiston and A. D. Schrift (eds.),The Hermeneutic Tradition. From Ast to Ricoeur (pp. 101–114). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Donmoyer, R. (1985). The rescue from relativism: Two failed attempts and an alternative strategy.Educational Researcher 14(10): 13–20.
Eisner, E. W. (1981). On the differences between scientific and artistic approaches to qualitative research.Educational Researcher 10(4): 5–9.
Eisner, E. W. (1983). Anastasia might still be alive, but the monarchy is dead.Educational Researcher 12(5): 13–14, 23–24.
Fetterman, D. M. (1991). Qualitative resource landmarks. In D. M. Fetterman (ed.),Using Qualitative Methods in Institutional Research, pp. 81–84. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Fincher, C. (1985). The art and science of institutional research. In M. W. Peterson and M. Corcoran (eds.),Institutional Research in Transition, pp. 17–37. New Directions for Institutional Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers.
Firestone, W. A. (1987). Meaning in method: The rhetoric of quantitative and qualitative research.Educational Researcher 16(7): 16–21.
Firestone, W. A. (1993). Alternative arguments for generalizing from data as applied to qualitative research.Educational Researcher 22(4): 16–23.
Flew, A. (1984).A Dictionary of Philosophy. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
Garrison, J. W. (1986). Some principles of postpositivistic philosophy of science.Educational Researcher 15(9): 12–18.
Geertz, C. (1973).The interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Giarelli, J. M., and Chambliss, J. J. (1988). Philosophy of education as qualitative inquiry. In R. R. Sherman and R. B. Webb (eds.),Qualitative Research in Education: Focus and Methods, pp. 30–43. New York: The Falmer Press.
Giroux, H. A. (1988).Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life. Critical Pedagogy in the Modern Age. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Giroux, H. A. (1991) (ed.).Postmodernism, Feminism, and Cultural Politics. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Gordon, E. W., F. Miller, and D. Rollock (1990). Coping with communicentric bias in knowledge production in the social sciences.Educational Researcher 19(3): 14–19.
Gore, J. M. (1993).The Struggle for Pedagogies. Critical and Feminist Discourses as Regimes of Truth. New York: Routledge.
Guba, E. (1987). What have we learned about naturalistic evaluation?Evaluation Practice 8(1): 23–43.
Guba, E., and Y. Lincoln (1981).Effective Evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Guba, E. G., and Y. S. Lincoln (1988). Do inquiry paradigms imply inquiry methodologies? In D. M. Fetterman (ed.),Qualitative Approaches to Evaluation in Education: The Silent Scientific Revolution, pp. 89–115. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Gubrium, J. (1988).Analyzing Field Reality. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Habermas, J. (1971).Knowledge and Human Interest. Boston, MA: Beacon.
Habermas, J. (1988).On the Logic of the Social Sciences (S. W. Nicholsen and J. A. Stark, trans.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Hall, E. T. (1976).Beyond Culture. New York: Doubleday.
Herriott, R. E., and W. A. Firestone (1983). Multisite qualitative policy research: Optimizing description and generalizability.Educational Researcher 12(2): 14–19.
Heyl, J. D. (1975). Paradigms in social science.Society 12(5): 61–67.
Hinkle, D. E., G. W. McLaughlin, and J. T. Austin (1988). Using log-linear models in higher education research. In B. D. Yancey (ed.),Applying statistics in Institutional Research, pp. 23–42. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Howe, K. R. (1985). Two dogmas of educational research.Educational Researcher 14(8): 10–18.
Howe, K. R. (1988). Against the quantitative-qualitative incompatibility thesis or dogmas die hard.Educational Researcher 17(8): 10–16.
Hutchinson, S. A. (1988). Educational and grounded theory. In R. R. Sherman and R. B. Webb (eds.),Qualitative Research in Education: Focus and Methods, pp. 123–140. New York: The Falmer Press.
Jacob, E. (1988). Clarifying qualitative research: A focus on traditions.Educational Researcher (17(1): 16–24.
James, W. (1918).The Principles of Psychology. New York: Dover.
Jennings, L. W., and D. M. Young (1988). Forecasting methods for institutional research. In B. D. Yancey (ed.),Applying Statistics in Institutional Research, pp. 77–96. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Kaplan, A. (1964).The Conduct of Inquiry. San Francisco: Chandler.
Kent, T. (1991). On the very idea of a discourse community.College Composition and Communication 42(4): 425–445.
Kirk, J., and M. L. Miller (1986).Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Kuhn, T. S. (1962).The structure of Scientific Revolutions. Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press.
Kuhn, T. S. (1970).The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kuhn, T. S. (1974). Second thoughts on paradigms. Reprinted inThe Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kvale, S. (1983). The qualitative research interview: A phenomenological and a hermeneutical mode of understanding.Journal of Phenomenological Psychology 14(2): 171–196.
Lancy, D. (1993).Qualitative Research in Education. New York: Longman.
Lather, P. 1991a).Getting Smart: Feminist Research and Pedagogy Within the Post-modern. New York: Routledge.
Lather, P. (1991b). Deconstructing/deconstructive inquiry: The politics of knowing and being known.Educational Theory 41(2): 153–173.
Lewin, K. (1951).Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper.
Lincoln, Y. S., and E. G. Guba (1985).Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Marshall, C., Y. S. Lincoln, and A. E. Austin (1991). Integrating a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the quality of academic life: Political and logistical issues. In D. M. Fetterman (ed.),Using Qualitative Methods in Institutional Research, pp. 65–80. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
McCracken, G. (1988).The Long Interview. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Merton, R. (1972). Insiders and outsiders: A chapter in the sociology of knowledge. InVarieties of Political Expression in Sociology. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Miles, M. B., and A. M. Huberman (1984). Drawing valid meaning from qualitative data: Toward a shared craft.Educational Researcher 13(5): 20–30.
Mishler, E. G. (1986).Research Interviewing. Context and Narrative. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Moss, P. A. (1990, April).Multiple Triangulation in Impact Assessment: Setting the Context. Remarks prepared for oral presentation in P. LeMahieu (Chair), Multiple triangulation in impact assessment: The Pittsburgh discussion project experience. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Research Association, Boston, Massachusetts.
Packer, M. J., and R. B. Addison (1989). Introduction. In M. J. Packer and R. B. Addison (eds.),Entering the Circle: Hermeneutic Investigation in Psychology, pp. 13–36. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Patton, M. Q. (1980).Qualitative Evaluation Methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Peterson, M. W. (1985a). Emerging developments in postsecondary organization theory and research: Fragmentation or integration.Educational Researcher 14(3): 5–12.
Peterson, M. W. (1985b). Institutional research: An evolutionary perspective. In M. W. Peterson and M. Corcoran (eds.),Institutional Research in Transition, pp. 5–15. New Directions for Institutional Research, no. 46. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers.
Peterson, M. W., and M. G. Spencer (1993). Qualitative and quantitative approaches to academic culture: Do they tell us the same thing?Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Vol. IX, pp. 344–388. New York: Agathon Press.
Phillips, D. C. (1983). After the wake: Postpositivistic educational thought.Educational Researcher 12(5); 4–12.
Pike, K. L. (1967).Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behavior. The Hague: Mouton.
Rabinow, P., and W. M. Sullivan (1987). The interpretive turn: A second look. In P. Rabinow and W. M. Sullivan (eds.),Interpretive Social Science. A Second Look, pp. 1–30. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Rogers, C. R. (1951).Client-Centered Therapy. Boston: Houghton.
Rosenau, P. M. (1992).Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads, and Intrusions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Rossman, G. B., and B. L. Wilson (1985). Numbers and words. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods in a single large-scale evaluation study.Evaluation Review 9(5): 627–643.
Runes, D. D. (1983).Dictionary of Philosophy. New York: Philosophical Library, Inc.
Schultz, A. (1967).The Phenomenology of the Social World. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
Sherman, R. R., and R. B. Webb (1988). Qualitative research in education: A focus. In R. R. Sherman and R. B. Webb (eds.),Qualitative Research in Education: Focus and Methods, pp. 2–21. New York: The Falmer Press.
Shulman, L. S. (1981). Disciplines of inquiry in education: An overview.Educational Researcher 10(6): 5–12, 23.
Smith, J. K. (1983a). Quantitative versus qualitative research: An attempt to clarify the issue.Educational Researcher 12(3): 6–13.
Smith, J. K. (1983b). Quantitative versus interpretive: The problem of conducting social inquiry. In E. House (ed.),Philosophy of Evaluation, pp. 27–52. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Smith, J. K. (1984). The problem of criteria for judging interpretive inquiry.Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 6(4): 379–391.
Smith, J. K., and L. Heshusius (1986). Closing down the conversation: The end of the quantitative-qualitative debate among educational inquirers.Educational Researcher 15(1): 4–12.
Soltis, J. F. (1984). On the nature of educational research.Educational Researcher 13(10: 5–10.
Stanfield, J. H. (1985). The ethnocentric basis of social science knowledge production. In E. W. Gorden (ed.),Review of Research in Education, vol. 12, pp. 387–415. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Taylor, C. (1987). Interpretation and the science of man. In P. Rabinow and W. M. Sullivan (eds.),Interpretive Social Science. A Second Look, pp. 33–81. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Tierney, W. G. (1991). Utilizing ethnographic interviews to enhance academic decision making. In D. M. Fetterman (ed.),Using Qualitative Methods in Institutional Research, pp. 7–22. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Urmson, J. O., and J. Ree (1989) (eds.).The Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy and Philosophies. Boston: Unwin Hyman.
Yancey, B. D. (1988a). Exploratory data analysis methods for institutional researchers. In B. D. Yancey (ed.),Applying Statistics in Institutional Research, pp. 97–110. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Yancey, B. D. (1988b). Institutional research and the classical experimental paradigm. In B. D. Yancey (ed.),Applying Statistics in Institutional Research, pp. 5–10. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hathaway, R.S. Assumptions underlying quantitative and qualitative research: Implications for institutional research. Res High Educ 36, 535–562 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208830
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208830