Reflections post Theme 4

Another quite short seminar, and I didn't bother to go to the lecture because I felt that I had other things that were more important to do.

In general, and this was also mentioned at the seminar, we students had a pretty good understanding about the concepts qualitative- and quantitative methods on beforehand. Having about the same understanding about the concepts, we began in our seminar-small-group-discussion to talk about the texts we had read and what quantitative methods had been used in them. Questionnaires were common when wanting quantitative data, and also to collect data on the Internet using an algorithm for a computer to collect data about whatever is being investigated.

We also mentioned some things about the difference between the two. When forming a quantitative research you might ask your self why things are as they are, and if it's about, let's say, how many people feel a certain way if you want to know more about why they feel this way you need more qualitative information for a deeper understanding of why people feel the way they feel. This might now be optimal for many participants as its more time consuming, and thus the target group of some investigation might be narrowed down because of this.

In the bigger group the talk was basically the same with some exceptions. One thing mentioned was that the paper by Ilias and colleagues, even though it had qualitative elements, they collected data of the subconciousness of the human which led to a quantitative study. 

Important to note it that both quantitative- and qualitative methods are no better than the other. It's always about the context that you're using them in, and they can complement each other.