The most commonly undertaken kind of scholarship that Family Practice Residents choose to do is “research”. The broadest definition of research is simply “a systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.” Bearing in mind that for many peoples and communities, notably in Canada, research has quite negative implications and is understood a part of a colonial paradigm, it is nevertheless fair to surmise that, with these critiques in mind, research falls broadly into two domains: quantitative research and qualitative research.
Contemporary reference points, such as Wikipedia, summarize quantitative research as a research strategy focusing on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. Quantitative research is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philosophies. Quantitative research is mostly associated with the natural, applied, formal, and social sciences. This research strategy promotes the objective empirical investigation of observable phenomena to test and understand relationships. This is done through a range of quantifying methods and techniques, reflecting on its broad utilization as a research strategy across differing academic disciplines. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories, and hypotheses pertaining to phenomena. Quantitative data tends to be any data that is numerical in form such as statistics and percentages.
On the other hand, and again if you looked up it up in places like Wikipedia, qualitative research relies on data obtained by the researcher from first-hand observation, interviews, questionnaires (on which participants write descriptively), focus groups, participant-observation, recordings made in natural settings, documents, case studies, and artifacts. The data are generally nonnumerical. Qualitative methods include ethnography, grounded theory, discourse analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Qualitative research methods have been used in sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, social work, folklore, and educational research. Qualitative researchers study individuals’ understanding of their social reality.
There are many types of studies and projects that can be undertaken within the rubrics of quantitative research and qualitative research. These specifics are detailed in their individual sections.