Qual, quant, repeat

Qualitative methods help you:

  • Decide what to measure.
  • Interpret the meaning of measurements.
  • Respond to measurements effectively.

Quantitative methods help you:

  • Identify problems to investigate.
  • Observe phenomena precisely.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies.

These methods thread together:

  • Identify problems to investigate. Where are things not measuring up? (quant)
  • Decide what to measure. What elements in the situation warrant scrutiny? (qual)
  • Observe phenomena precisely. What is really going on? (quant)
  • Interpret the meaning of measurements. What motivates what is going on? (qual)
  • Respond to measurements effectively. How can we act into the situation to change it? (qual)
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies. How does the situation change when we act into it? (quant)
  • Repeat…

It would be lovely if I could get these methods to interleave more elegantly. This is how they seem to me to line up, though.

 

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