Is the “quantitative vs qualitative” debate actually outdated? by Alexa Ferdinands

Hello Curious Learner,

The Quali Q Blog has another guest today. Alexa Ferdinands is a Registered Dietitian and PhD Candidate in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. She is using institutional ethnography to explore the social organization of young people’s weight experiences, with the aim of identifying public health levers for intervention. Her post describes a recent experience she had during a local health conference. I was at her session, and asked her to write about it for the blog. It was an uncomfortable experience for her and those in the audience who were familiar with qualitative methods. Still, a learning experience for all of us. Without further ado, Alexa’s post:

Through my graduate training, I came to believe that the “quantitative versus qualitative” debate was obsolete. Recently, however, I discovered that these debates may only be outdated in the context of my everyday academic circles.

A few months ago, I attended a health research conference to present my qualitative PhD work. I was looking forward to discussions to help me view my research in novel light. While I guessed that attendees might be positivist-leaning, I did not expect to be interrogated about the paradigmatic underpinnings of my research.  

During the question period, a professor asked me how my research could be bias-free, since the research assistants that I hired were previous interview participants. I thought she was posing this question merely to test my knowledge, like a candidacy exam. I argued that subjectivity is a strength in qualitative research; it is not to be avoided. The research assistants’ lived experience with the phenomenon under study, and their prolonged engagement in the project, strengthened their ability to purposefully collect and analyze data. I had hired them for those specific reasons. However, my response did not please her. She immediately restated her question. I saw, and the audience saw, in her eyes that she did not think I knew what I was talking about.

At the time, I felt belittled and started to second-guess myself. Upon later reflection, though, I realized that this experience taught me some important lessons. First being that the “quantitative versus qualitative” debate indeed lives on. Knowing this, I would not be as rattled if/when I am asked a similar question again. I usually run through presentations beforehand with like-minded labmates, but it would be wise to also practice with (friendly) colleagues who ascribe to positivist paradigms, to work through unexpected questions in advance. If asked this question again, I would also offer to discuss qualitative research with the inquirer after the session, as it’s difficult to explain the tenets of qualitative research within the short time allotted for questioning.

Have you experienced something similar? How did you, or would you, respond?

Alexa

Alexa’s experience, although uncomfortable, is not unique. I always think of Brené Brown who teaches us to take the advice from people who are in the arena, fighting the good fight. You can try to learn from people from a positivist paradigm; however, take their advice and opinion with a grain of salt because they do not always know what is best for your qualitative research.

Talk soon,

Maira