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CHAPTER FIVE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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5.3.1 Distinction between quantitative and qualitative research approaches In quantitative research methods, researchers try to understand the facts of a research investigation from an outsider’s perspective while in qualitative research method, researchers try to achieve an insider’s view by talking to subjects or observing their behaviour in a subjective way (Welman, Kruger and Mitchell 2005:9). Researchers in quantitative research do not begin analyzing data until they have completed the process of collecting all the data they plan to collect and condensed the data into numbers. In qualitative research, analysis begins early while still collecting data (Neuman 1994:405).
In quantitative research, researchers seek explanations and predications that will generalize to other persons and places. The intention is to establish, confirm, or validate relationships and to develop generalizations that contribute to existing theories. With qualitative research researchers seek a deeper understanding of complex situations. Their work is sometimes (although not always) exploratory in nature, they may use their observation to build theory from the ground up (Leedy and Ormrod 2013:96).
Quantitative research is a means of testing objective theories by examining the relationship among variables. These variables, in turn, can be measured, typically using instruments, so that the data represented as numbers can be analyzed using statistical procedures. The final written report has a set structure consisting of introduction, literature and theory, methods, results and discussion, while qualitative research is a means for exploring and understanding the meanings individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. The process of research involves dealing with emerging questions and procedures, data typically collected in the participants’ setting, and data analysis which inductively builds from particulars to general themes. The researcher makes interpretations of the meaning of the data. The final written report has a flexible structure (Creswell 2009:4).
According to Ngulube (2005:130) quantitative studies rely on statistical and mathematical techniques while qualitative study is concerned with the qualities that
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things have (Williams 2003:5 cited in Ngulube 2005:130). In a quantitative study, researchers use deductive reasoning to develop from the general theory specific predictions that can be tested empirically. In qualitative research the researcher uses information from the participants inductively as the basis for developing a theory firmly rooted in the participants’ experiences. The participants’ input is the starting point from which the researcher begins to conceptualize, seeking to explain patterns, commonalities and relationships emerging from the researcher- participant interactions (Polit and Beck 2004:29).
5.3.2 Justification for using combined methods
The present study used a combination of methods that is quantitative and qualitative, because the nature of the study demanded a combination of approaches to soliciting and analyzing data. Ngulube (2005:131) states that both qualitative and quantitative methods have something to offer. Respondents with visual impairments were more easily interviewed while those in wheelchairs, the disabilities unit and library staff were thought to prefer answering a self-administered questionnaire in their own time.
The combination of methods helped to get sufficient and comprehensive information and generate confidence in the researcher’s findings and conclusions.
Leedy and Ormrod (2001) state that a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods is known as the multi-method approach or triangulation. Triangulation refers to research strategies and research designs involving more than one research method or more than one technique or style of inquiry, recognizing that the use of two or more ways of gathering information tells more than using one (Pons 1992:588 cited in Kamosho and Kigongo-Bukenya 2006:101).The combination of methods facilitates the collection of different kinds of data and generates confidence in reaching a conclusion.
This research study was conducted within the paradigm of pragmatism. Barker (2003:312) defines a paradigm as a model or pattern containing a set of legitimated assumptions and a design for collecting and interpreting data. The paradigm legitimizes the manner in which the research on a particular topic is conducted and
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guides the research concerning what knowledge exists and how it can be known and comprehended (Munyua and Stilwell 2012:11). Stilwell (2006:3) cited in Munyua and Stilwell (2012:12) claims that paradigms are important for understanding and contributing to the logic and harmony of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies. The identification of the paradigm applied helps to filter researchers’ ways of viewing the world and guides how knowledge is conceived and analyzed in order to uncover the essential features of the research (Terre- Blanche and Durrheim 2006:2 cited in Munyua and Stilwell 2012:12). Creswell (2009:10) defines pragmatism as a world view arising out of actions, situations and consequences rather than antecedent conditions. It concerns the application of what works and in finding solutions to problems. Punch (2009:291) explains that pragmatism has two implications: the research question(s) is more important than the method used or the paradigm underlying the method and the decision regarding the use of either qualitative, quantitative methods or mixed methods depends on the research questions being asked.
The researcher used the paradigm of pragmatism because the intention was to address the problems which people with visual impairments and in wheelchairs face by applying different approaches to data gathering. In this study the main research question together with subsidiary research questions were put forward to address the research problem. Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004:17) cited in Munyua and Stilwell 2012:26) claim that mixed methods research fits the pragmatic paradigm and is ontologically based on the discovering of patterns, testing of theories and discovering and revealing the best set of explanations for understanding the results.
Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to gather information and address the challenges facing people with visual impairments and in wheelchairs in accessing information resources in academic libraries in Tanzania.