Successfully conducted research studies often provide answers to challenges of social work practice, of obstacles in social work research, and of gaps in knowledge within the field. But how do they generate those answers? The foundations of a research study are a well-defined problem statement and research question. The research question drives the rest of the research choices, in particular how the study is conducted—the methodological approach.
A quantitative approach involves investigating the statistical relationships between variables, whereas a qualitative approach involves exploring participants’ lived experiences and describing phenomena. These two methodological approaches are represented differently in research questions. For example, suppose a researcher wanted to learn more about the mental health treatment of returning soldiers. One question could be: In the first 3 months following active duty, how often did soldiers access mental health treatment? This points to a quantitative approach because the treatments are quantifiable. A different question could be: In the first 3 months following active duty, what are soldiers’ experiences of mental health treatment? This points to a qualitative approach because the soldiers’ thoughts and experiences could not be counted or otherwise measured; they would need to be conveyed via the participants themselves, in interviews or open-ended surveys. Note how the topic is the same but the research then goes in two different directions depending on the question it seeks to answer.