Quantity and Quality in Social Research

This book provides the student with a concise account of the debate about the nature and comparative values of quantitative and qualitative research methods. In recent years, this debate has been of central importance in the social sciences, and Alan Bryman's exposition will therefore be of relevance to students in a wide range of disciplines, particularly including sociology, education, social psychology, social policy and organizational studies. Ostensibly, much of the discussion about the appropriateness and viability of quantitative and qualitative methods is concerned with data collection and interpretation. It is now widely accepted, however, that it is important for the student to understand the ways in which methodological and epistemological issues are interwoven. Alan Bryman provides a succinct summary of the relevant philosophical issues, bearing in mind that these are topics with which social science students are often unfamiliar. Debate in this area has often been characterized by exaggerated portraits of the two research traditions. Both when outlining the differences between quantitative and qualitative research, and when examining the possibilities for integration, Alan Bryman is careful to counter this effect by examining what social researchers actually do. He draws upon numerous examples from a variety of social science disciplines by way of illustration.