- Published: September 26, 2022
- Updated: September 26, 2022
- University / College: Cornell University
- Level: Intermediate School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 9
Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation Qualitative Evaluation I have been before involved in a survey concerning a soft drink. The company was researching on the possible reception of a particular soft drink brand that was being introduced into the market. Being carried out at the mall, I was purposely picked from the shoppers as I had with me another soft drink which was from a rival company. The researcher briefly explained to me the purpose of the survey and I agreed to be a part of it and be interviewed.
I was given a sample of the soft drink to have a taste and based on the packaging, flavor and brand, I was asked some questions. It was a form of an informal interview based on a standard set of questions. Most of the questions were open ended which required that I give my own in-depth opinion on particular aspects of the soft drink. This predominantly involved giving my perception and feelings about the product. For example, they wanted my opinion on whether I loved, hated, or was indifferent with regards to the soft drink.
I do not believe the findings of this qualitative evaluation process were either valid or effective. This is for the following reasons; first the manner in which the respondents were selected was subjective in nature. I was picked to be an interviewee based on the fact that I had with me a soft drink from another company. That is, I was purposely picked, this would lock out other prospective respondents who would be also invaluable in reflecting the true perception of the populace towards the soft drink. Secondly, the questions asked were open ended. This makes data interpretation difficult and leaves the interpretation of the results at the discretion of the researcher, which might result to biased conclusions. Thirdly, the number of respondents interviewed was few in number. This would make it difficult to make any inference of the results to the general population.
The findings of the evaluation were never shared with me, as the researcher considered them a part of the soft drinks’ company competitive strategy. However, as a form of compensation for my willingness to be part of the survey, I was given additional bottles of the soft drink to share with my friends.
Quantitative Evaluation
In the 1st set of variables, the trend and pattern which can be observed is that as the days go by, consecutively, the respective temperature rises. That is, the earlier months have lower temperatures but as the year progresses so does the temperature.
In the 2nd set of variables, the pattern being notice is, as the price of gasoline per gallon increases so does the price of oil per barrel. That is, if the set of variables were to be plotted in a line graph against each other, they would form a upward sloping line, indicative of positively correlated variables.
Quantitative data has been classified as having the benefit that it allows room for generalization beyond the data set under investigation. From both the data sets a conclusion or inference can be made that the set of variables in each data set are positively correlated. Thus it can be generalized that as the year progresses it can be expected that the temperature will rise higher and higher . in the 2nd set of variables it can be generalized that for as long as the gasoline price per gallon increases, there will be a subsequent increase in the price of oil per barrel.
Cited works
Russell, Bernard Harvey. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. California: Sage publication, 2001.