Qualitative vs. quantitative research: Everything you need to know

“I got the skills to pay the bills” sang the Beastie Boys, but the fact is some skills pay a whole lot better than others. In today’s data-driven world, the ability to gather and interpret information effectively can be worth a fortune. Without that, many brands won’t just struggle to thrive, they’ll struggle to even survive.

The two main techniques – qualitative and quantitative research – are very different, so what are their pros and cons? Why use one instead of the other? What even are they, for goodness’ sake? Glad you asked.

The short answer is qualitative research goes deep into the “why” behind human behaviors and experiences, while quantitative research zeroes in on the “what” through numbers and statistical analysis.

Both research methods are widely used by market research companies and consumer research platforms. They act as powerful sources of insight for marketers, storytellers, journalists, psychologists, economists, brand managers, social scientists – the list goes on.

Now let’s get down and dirty with both methodologies to see how they can help you understand audiences on a much deeper level.

What is qualitative research?

Qualitative research is a research method focused on understanding people’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It goes beyond numbers to capture vivid, detailed stories that reveal all the nuanced richness of human behavior. A good example of qualitative research in action is the insight that 37% of internet users say they mainly read reviews when looking for information about brands, products, or services, and 34% say they trust what they discover.

Examples of qualitative research

As you might expect, there are several forms of qualitative research:

• One-on-one interviews – or even just deep, meaningful conversations – are a great way to uncover personal stories and explanations that other methods might miss.
• Focus groups bring together a number of people for lively discussions, often unearthing diverse viewpoints that wouldn’t emerge in solo interviews. 
• Online forums and open-ended surveys can also be goldmines for qualitative research. 

All these formats give participants the opportunity to express their thoughts at their own pace, making it easier to capture a wide range of experiences.

Pros and cons of qualitative research

Qualitative research wins big when it comes to creating deep, contextual understanding. As we’ve seen, it’s all about uncovering the “why” behind behaviors, helping researchers explore emotions and motivations in a way raw numbers can’t match.

However, the very richness of detail can make it hard to see the wood for the trees. While that’s rarely a problem in the lumber industry, it can cause the dreaded “analysis paralysis” in consumer research. Also since qualitative data usually comes from smaller groups, the insights might not be representative of larger populations, making it tricky to generalize findings.

By its nature qualitative data is pretty subjective, which can open the door to the classic challenge of researcher bias.

Finally, analyzing qualitative data usually demands time and expertise – fine if they’re available, not so fine if they aren’t.

Despite these hurdles, qualitative research is invaluable for capturing the human element, helping brands craft more empathetic strategies.

What is quantitative research?

Quantitative research is a research method that uses numerical and statistical techniques to measure behaviors, opinions, or events. It provides a data-driven foundation for spotting trends and predicting outcomes. A good example of quantitative research in action is the insight that people aged 65 and older are 67% less likely to take part in cycling compared to the average person.

Examples of quantitative research

Quantitative research typically relies on structured methods:

• Surveys are a tried-and-tested quantitative research technique, using structured questions to gather standardized responses from large groups. Once-upon-a-time this involved an army of researchers with clipboards and questionnaires; today it’s all online. Either way the goal is the same: help researchers identify patterns and make reliable generalizations.
• Experiments are also important in quantitative research. By carefully controlling different variables, researchers can uncover cause-and-effect relationships, such as how tweaking the design of an ad can influence consumer behavior in unexpected ways.
• Structured observations – which is just a fancy name for noting down specific behaviors the researcher sees using an agreed checklist – carefully record specific behaviors or events, allowing researchers to quantify and analyze these in settings like a workplace.

Pros and cons of quantitative research

Quantitative research shines in generating results that can be generalized across larger populations. Its structured, objective approach minimizes researcher bias and delivers clear, reliable data.

But this emphasis on numbers comes with limitations. While it measures the “what,” quantitative often misses the “why.” Closed-ended surveys and controlled experiments can overlook the deeper motivations driving human behavior, so the picture it paints isn’t truly complete.

Despite these issues, quantitative research is vital when it comes to spotting trends and making strategic decisions with precision, especially when combined with qualitative insights.

Key differences between qualitative and quantitative research

The main way qualitative and quantitative research differ is their focus. As we’ve said, qualitative research seeks to understand the “why”, exploring emotions and experiences, while quantitative research measures the “what” with statistical precision. If you’ve got a sneaking feeling that neither of these techniques are quite enough on their own you’d be right.

The magic of mixed methods research

Combining qualitative and quantitative research is where the magic really starts to happen. Mixed methods research brings together the depth of qualitative insights with the breadth of quantitative data to address complex questions more fully – which sounds like a win/win to us.

For instance, quantitative data might reveal how many customers are satisfied, while qualitative data explains why – delivering a richer, more nuanced perspective.

Mixed methods research can be applied sequentially (starting with one method and following up with another) or concurrently (using both methods simultaneously). This flexibility makes it particularly valuable in fields like healthcare, education, and social sciences.

Although it’s usually more resource-intensive, mixed methods research reliably delivers deeper, actionable insights that lead to better decision-making.

Different data collection techniques for qualitative and quantitative  research

Qualitative research uses a variety of data collection methods:

• In-depth interviews are a prime way to collect qualitative data. These are typically semi-structured conversations where participants can freely share their thoughts and feelings. The flexible format helps uncover deeper insights, as participants can explore topics that matter most to them.
• Focus groups bring together a small number of participants to discuss a particular topic in a group setting. The interaction between group members can spark new ideas and reveal perspectives that might not emerge in individual interviews. Researchers often use this method to gather feedback on products, services, or marketing messages.
• Participant observation involves the researcher immersing themselves in the environment being studied, observing behaviors and interactions as they happen in real-time. This method is useful for capturing social dynamics, group behaviors, and subtle non-verbal cues that participants might not be able to put into words.

In contrast, quantitative research relies on techniques such as:

• Surveys with structured questions – often multiple-choice or rating scales – to collect standardized responses from a large number of participants. This allows researchers to identify patterns, trends, and correlations across a wide demographic and is the the most common quantitative research data collection technique.
• Structured observations, where researchers record behaviors or events systematically for statistical analysis.

If you forget everything else, remember this

Obviously we hope every word here stays with you forever, but if not, perhaps the biggest takeaway from this blog is that while qualitative and quantitative research are powerful on their own, it’s when they’re brought together that things get really interesting.

That’s often the key to identifying and defining audiences, and understanding how, where, and when to reach them for maximum impact.

To do this, more and more brands and marketers are turning to audience profiling data like GWI’s to analyze audience behaviors and perceptions on a massive scale so they can tailor their activity to their consumers. But that’s another blog for another day.

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