Hello guys! Today we are talking about qualitative and quantitative analysis and their main differences. When stepping into the data science field you’ll inevitably start noticing arising questions like “what is quantitative analysis?”, “what is the difference between qualitative and quantitative analysis?” and “what’s the qualitative analysis definition”, and this article will answer exactly that.
Let’s find out all the ins and outs of these two research methods, when should we use one or the other, what tools do they employ and what’s the difference between the two.
Qualitative Analysis vs Quantitative Analysis
Here’s an easy answer to the “what’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative analysis” question. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis are methods of research. To understand their differences follow this example. Say, you have an awesome website and would like to find out why visitors leave it without checking out their purchase.
In order to find a solution to this question, you’ll have to turn to qualitative or quantitative analysis, or better – their combination. The quantitative analysis is done by performing data collection, classification and analysis, and offers insights into what has happened. Quantitative analysis will provide you with the total numbers of carts that have been abandoned, your monthly bounce rate, and the speed at which your home page loads on different devices.
The qualitative analysis, on the other hand, is done by conducting open-end surveys, user testing and interviews with your users which presents insights into why it has happened. The qualitative analysis produces information that can not be directly counted, but that relates to how users feel about your checkout page, what do they think about your product and what would make them complete their purchase.
Let’s look deeper into quantitative and qualitative analysis in particular.
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Quantitative Analysis
The quantitative analysis definition comes from the word “quantity”, meaning this research method analyzes values you can count. Here’s a simple and concise way to describe quantitive analysis:
A quantitive analysis is an assessment of a certain event or a situation by the means of mathematical or statistical modelling. It uses data measurement and comparison to illustrate a given case with a numerical value.
The quantitive analysis is the backbone of any ecommerce business. If you don’t know how many visitors arrive at your website daily, how many sign up for a newsletter and make a purchase by receiving their weekly email update you can’t optimize your website for better results.
In order to start using quantitative analysis tools (which if you’ve subscribed to any data analytics platform like VWO or Google Analytics you already do) take a look at the list of quantitative analysis methods listed below:
Quantitative Analysis methods
- Web analytics
- Heatmaps analysis
- Surveys
- Polls
- Technical analysis
Qualitative Analysis
The qualitative analysis comes from the word “quality”, meaning this research method analyzes the quality of certain values, not their count. Here’s a clean and straightforward way to define qualitative analysis:
A qualitative analysis is an assessment of a certain event or a situation by the means of inquiry or observation. It investigates all the data like interviews and freewritten user feedback forms that can not be counted but must be accounted for.
Without employing qualitative analysis methods, it’s hard to get into the user’s heads and find out why some conversion optimization tools work and others just wouldn’t. By asking your customers to voice their concerns directly you receive priceless insights into how you can make your selling platform and your product better.
If you got inspired and are ready to use qualitative analysis tools (which if you’ve subscribed to any user behaviour platforms like Hotjar or OptinMonster you already do) take a look at the list of qualitative analysis methods listed below:
Qualitative Analysis methods
- User Testing
- Interview
- Open-ended surveys
- Live chat and support log analysis
- Sessions replay video analysis
- Heuristic analysis
Conclusion
Adopting both – qualitative and quantitative analysis – is incredibly crucial to any business that wants to succeed. Qualitative and quantitative analyses are interconnected, and in order to optimize your website efficiently, you’ll need a description of the given problem in a numeric value and in the form of the mindflow feedback from your customers.
To keep increasing your sales and making your customers happier, take a look at our following conversion optimization articles:
