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Easter Essay HELP!

I have been given an essay question over the easter holidays as part of my a2 revision and i am stuck on a specific part!

'explain how quantitative methods have great difficulties in exploring meaning and interpretations' - could anybody tell me what this means? it's the 'meaning and interpretations' part that is getting me all confused! :confused:
Meaning = what something means to you.
Interpretation = the act of assigning meaning.

Example, two men fighting. What does this mean?

One interpretation:
If it's in the street, it's a brawl and maybe you should call the police...

Another interpretation:
If it's in a boxing ring, it's a legal fight and you'd probably look a bit daft calling the police...

"Meaning and Interpretation", therefore, capture a range of depth and detail about something - in a way that quantitative data cannot.

eg. Quantitative data about people who wear glasses can tell us how many.
It can't tell us what the person who wears glasses feels about having to do this (but qualitative data can)
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Wilson90
Quantitative = empirical, it is scored eg. 1-10 (most associated with positivist thinking, as opposed to the chicago school of thought)

For example, if you asked 10 different people how they felt about something, with 10 being highest and 1 the lowest. Some people's perception of what might constitute as a rating of 8 may be different to another persons. It is impossible to determine this difference with quantitative methods.

Qualitative methods, however, can determine someones exact perception by use of what the say, rather than a score or a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer. They also give reasons as to why something may be 'yes' or 'no', whereas quantitative methods do not.
(edited 12 years ago)

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