Cracking the Code: Decoding Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

Research is one of the foundations of mass communication. It gives us evidence to make better decisions, improve media, and understand the role media plays in our lives. Research empowers us to navigate the complex and influential world of mass communication responsibly and effectively.

Quantitative and qualitative research are two distinct approaches used in mass communication studies to gain insights into various aspects of media, audiences, and communication processes. Each method employs unique methodologies and data analysis techniques to investigate different aspects of the field.

Quantitative research in mass communication relies on numbers and statistics to make conclusions. Researchers use surveys, experiments, content analysis, and data to gather numerical information about things like how people use media, who the audience is, or how well ads work. This approach helps measure different factors and find cause-and-effect relationships. For example, a survey might tell us how many people watch a specific TV show, or analyzing social media data could reveal public feelings toward a political campaign. Quantitative research is great at providing precise, numerical results that apply to larger groups of people.

While searching for examples of quantitative mass communication research, I came across this article about the 2016 presidential election. Researchers were studying the effects of fake news on the public’s evaluation of news media. They used real and fake news articles and tweets to determine whether priming had an effect on an individual’s ability to identify fake news. This is important to the field of mass communication because it allows researchers to determine what is important when dealing with fake news and how best to help the public push past the fake news to find real sources of information.

On the other hand, qualitative research in mass communication focuses on understanding the deeper meanings, motivations, and social contexts behind media and communication. This method uses interviews, focus groups, observation, and analysis texts to dig into people's experiences and thoughts about media. It explores why people like certain media, how they interpret messages, and how media affects cultures. For instance, through interviews, we can learn how viewers emotionally connect with a TV show, or by analyzing news articles, we can uncover underlying biases. Qualitative research is excellent at revealing detailed insights about human behavior and society.

While looking for examples of qualitative research, I found an article about researchers studying the experiences of frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers synthesized literature regarding the experiences of frontline workers to determine eight key themes that resonated with frontline workers across geographic and temporal boundaries. This is important to the field of mass communication because it allows us to see into experiences we may not have, empathize with the workers, and attempt to find solutions to the problems that they expressed as a collective whole.

In conclusion, both quantitative and qualitative research are important in mass communication. Quantitative research gives us numbers and measurable results, while qualitative research helps us understand the complexities of media consumption and communication. I personally found the qualitative study easier to understand because I found myself a bit confused by the way the quantitative study was coding their research to determine their results.

What did you think about the different research studies I presented? Was one or the other easier to understand? Are there other examples you can think of, maybe some mixed-methods studies you think I should take a look at? Let me know in the comments!