Exploring Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Studying the Social World (Research Paper Sample)

Exploring Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Studying the Social World: A Critical Appraisal
Name:
University:
Introduction
Critical appraisal of past studies or articles can be used to inform the research design of new studies. Hence, critical analysis of research articles can assist the research to gain important insights into both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. For instance, in the current critical analysis, the reviewer will be able to concisely determine study goals, reference population, and study designs, the strength of the evidence as well as the validity and reliability of the study (Haq, 2014). This paper, therefore, critically analyses the articles, “Alcohol use, socioeconomic deprivation and ethnicity in older people” by Rao et al. (2015) and “Older peoples’ narratives of use and misuse of alcohol and psychotropic drugs” by Johannesson et al. (2015). The reviewer will sequentially critique the research problem, literature review, research hypothesis, research design, and findings to identify the overall strengths and weaknesses of the two articles. Finally, the reviewer will compare the two methodologies used in the articles.
Quantitative Article Critique: Rao, R., Schofield, P. & Ashworth, M (2015) Alcohol Use, Socioeconomic Deprivation, and Ethnicity in Older People. BMJ
The objective of this article was to explore the relationship between alcohol consumption, health, ethnicity, and socioeconomic deprivation. A literature review informed this topic of studies that have been conducted on areas related to the current study area. The review presented the existing evidence of the relationship between past studies and the purpose of the study. In addition, the review contained a mix of old and new research articles. Considering that this study was published in 2015, some articles reviewed in the study can be considered too old. Nonetheless, comprehensive literature helps the reader to see the research gap identified by Rao et al. (2015).
To attain the study objective, the reviewer conducted a quantitative sample survey targeting 27 991 people aged 65 and over from an inner-city population. These people were found in the primary care database, i.e., Lambeth DataNet. A quantitative study approach is used in this study as the variables can be described objectively in terms of numbers or be ranked. However, quantitative studies can sometimes have considerable limitations when used in these types of studies. For instance, in this study, Rao, Schofield, and Ashworth (2015) wanted to measure the alcohol consumption behaviour of older people within a particular area of London. Here, one of the main features of the cohort design is the exposure of the population to alcohol use while the researcher does not adequately control non-exposure to this phenomenon; rather, the choice is made rather subjectively. In this regard, there is a high possibility of selection biases. Besides, it is essential to know who and where the data was collected to establish its accuracy.