Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods Essay

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods - Essay Example Broadly, research methods are divided into two categories namely quantitative research method and qualitative research method. Both are different in nature and have different applicability. Both the methods find their applications in different disciplines and have strengths and shortcomings in various domains. There are certain pre requisites that apply to each of them and each of them underlines a specific method of implementation. Qualitative research method: This method of research is subjective in nature which mostly contains case studies, interviews, unlike quantitative methods the outcomes are in textual form and not in digits and statistical values. Questions like why, where when who are touched upon by this type of research method. Qualitative approach is scientific in nature and may not have a fixed deterministic solution by end of research conducted. Such research can be helpful in studying the behaviors, approach, their fears and concerns including natural response, dealin g with opinions and possibly culture oriented issues. While quantitative research provides fixed results, their counterpart lay foundation for the study and research beyond the point where the scope of quantitative research ends. Such research approaches are inductive in nature and the mode of language used is informal .Furthermore, qualitative research is most suited to the initial stages (Merriam, 2009). The tools and techniques that might be used during qualitative approach can possibly include memos, interviews, artifacts, picture or any piece of video (Pitney & Parker,pg53, 2009) . Stressing on the importance of qualitative approach Donald Campbell stated that â€Å"All research ultimately has a qualitative grounding† (Farrell, pg8, 2011). Characteristic feature of such an approach is its ability to address the intangible aspects of society and human nature. Lincoln defines qualitative research as interpretive and naturalistic in nature (Flick,pg2, 2007). Three broad typ es of qualitative research encompass Case studies: while adopting case studies for purpose of research, focus is concentrated on an individual phenomena and concept that are constrained by duration and activities. Various data collection procedures are adopted during the case study approach. Phenomenological studies: In such approach attempt is being made to get the response of people based on their personal experience about a particular instance and event, intensive research is being carried out number of times through the aide of detailed elaborations Ethnographic studies: As the name implies, the focus of research in this category is a particular group of individuals that are involved in a similar kind of task. This kind of research is conducted over period of time with focus on one type of cultural group that have something in common between them. The commonality could be the interest, an experience, cultural trend or any other event undergone by the people being examined (Marie , pg 172, 2008). Role Play Simulation: In such kind of research role assignment might be done or the individuals conducting research might be required to observe a particular role to deduce any conclusion from it Comprehensive Interviews: The aim behind such type of research is to get into the details of the matter and probe all possible options .The method of interrogation and opinion determination is slightly different from quantitative research. Other forms of qualitative research include grounded theory. Quantitative researc

Arabic writing system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Arabic writing system - Essay Example 800 B.C.), whence came the letters of the ancient Roman alphabet, and ultimately all Western alphabets. The North Arabic script, which eventually prevailed and became the Arabic script of the Quran, relates most substantially and directly to the Nabatian script, which was derived from the Aramaic script. Old Aramaic, the language of Jesus and the Apostles, dates from the 2nd millennium B.C., and some dialects of which are still spoken by tiny groups in the Middle East. Arabic script still shares with Aramaic the names of the alphabet letters (Alef, Jeem, Dal, Zai, Sheen, etc.); similar graphic representation for phonetically similar letters (Sad and Dad, Ta and Tha, etc.); connections of letters in the same word and several forms of each letter depending on its location in the word, except for letters that cannot be connected to the letters which come after them (Alef, Dal/Dthal, Raa/Zai, Waw). The Arabic alphabet contains 18 letter shapes, by adding one, two, or three dots to letters with similar phonetic characteristics a total of 28 letters is obtained. These contain three long vow els, while diacritics can be added to indicate short vowels. With the spread of Islam, the Arabic alphabet was adapted by several non-Arab nations for writing their own languages. In Iran Arabic letters were used to write Farsi, with the addition of four letters to represent the phonetics that did not exist in Arabic: p, ch, zh, and g. The Ottoman Turks used the Arabic alphabet until 1929 and added still another letter. This alphabet was also used to write other Turkish languages and dialects, such as Kazakh, Uzbek, etc. Several other languages used the Arabic alphabet at one time or another, including Urdu, Malay, Swahili, Hausa, Algerian Tribal, and others. Arabic script is not used solely for writing Arabic, but for a variety of languages. In each language, it has been modified to fit the language's sound system. There are sounds not found in Arabic, but found in, for instance, Persian, Malay and Urdu: such sounds don't correspond to any sound from the Arabic system of sounds for which the Arabic alphabet can be used. For example, the Arabic language lacks a [p] sounding letter, so many languages add their own letter for [p] in the script, though the symbol used may differ between languages. These modifications tend to fall into groups: all the Indian and Turkic languages written in Arabic tend to use the Persian modified letters (and those are the languages that are "geographically closer" to Persia), whereas West African languages tend to imitate those of Ajami, and Indonesian ones those of Jawi. A writing system in which the Persian modified letters are used is called Perso-Arabic script by the scholars. Generally, in countries wher e national education is effective and where the national language is written in Arabic script, Arabic script is also used to write the other languages used in that country (Coulmas 20). The Arabic alphabet is written from right to left and is composed of 28 basic letters. Adaptations of the script for other languages such as Persian and Urdu have additional letters. There is no difference between written and printed letters; the writing is unicase (i.e. the concept of upper and lower case letters does not exist). On the other hand, most of the letters are attached to one another, even when printed, and their appearance changes as a function of whether they connect to preceding or following letters. Some