Two paradigms of scientific inquiry in creating nursing knowledge are quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The key difference between quantitative and qualitative methods is their flexibility. I think the debate is miniscule and quantitative and qualitative research methods should be combined.
Qualitative research must be systematic, rigorous and planned to make it credible and dependable. The purpose of qualitative research is to describe, explore, and explain phenomena being studied. Qualitative research questions often take the form of what is this? or what is happening here? and are more concerned with the process rather than the outcome. (Ploeg J, 1999).
In qualitative methods, the relationship between the researcher and the participant is often less formal than in quantitative research. Qualitative research methods have become increasingly important as ways of developing nursing knowledge for evidence-based nursing practice. Qualitative research answers a wide variety of questions related to nursing's concern with human responses to actual or potential health problems. (Ploeg J, 1999). Qualitative research plays an important part in providing evidence for practice in nursing, and is gaining greater acceptance within medicine. (Bailey, Froggatt, and Krishnasamy, 2002).
"A quantitative approach is one in which the investigator primarily uses post-positivist claims for developing knowledge (i.e. cause and effect thinking, reduction to specific variables