collection of numerical data; exhibiting a view of the relationship between theory and research as deductive; a predilection for natural science approach (positivism)
experimental - medical; cross-sectional - observing a sample at the single point; longitudinal - sample at more than one point; case study - single case; comparative
emphasises words; inductive view of the relationship between theory and research; epistemological position stressing the understanding of the social world, in contrast to the adoption of a natural scientific model in quantitative research
ethnography; qualitative interviewing; focus group; language-based approaches to the collection of qualitative data; the collection and qualitative analysis of texts and documents
