Quantitative and qualitative research: received and interpretivist views of science.

Some clinicians still believe that qualitative research is a “soft” science and of lesser value to clinical decision making, but this position is no longer tenable.2-4 A quick search using the key word qualitative on the Canadian Family Physician website generated more than 100 qualitative research articles published in the past 3 years alone. This paper provides an overview of the history of science to help readers appreciate the basic epistemological commonalities and differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches to research.