IntroductionA research design refers to the entire research plan i.e., purpose and objectives of the study, data collection methods and analytical techniques used so as to ensure that the data is capable of answering the research question (Roberts, Sitas & Greenstein 2003:10-11). There are two types of research design: qualitative and quantitative. It is important to note that the qualitative and quantitative research design is overall the same since both projects arise from an idea that seeks to understand the phenomena and the surrounding world. However, discrepancies are evident especially with regards to data collection and also what the research seeks to achieve (Greenstein, Roberts and Sitas, 2003: 14). The objectives of this essay are to discuss the key elements of qualitative and quantitative research designs, including the distinction between them. The distinction between these two research designs will also be compared with scientific and non-scientific approaches. Empirical examples are also provided that illustrate the usefulness of the two projects. This essay will focus on the key characteristics of aspects of the data used and related collection techniques, how they are used and analyzed as discussed by Popper (1989), Ragin (2000), Flyvbjerg (20010, Janesick (2000), De Vaus ( 2001) ), Denzin (2000) and Greenstein, Roberts and Sitas (2003). Discussion Although the key elements of these two types of research designs are essentially identical, there are some notable differences in terms of how data are collected and analyzed theoretical framework, research questions, research approach (participants/sample), methods to be use (observation, focus group interviews, experiments, in-depth interviews, case studies and surveys… half of the article…) phase without distorting the original answers. In general, qualitative research focuses on discovering and understanding experiences, thinking perspectives by exploring meanings and actually extracting data. According to Janesick (2000) qualitative research uses inductive research because themes and patterns are generated from collected data, field notes, documents and interviews. Therefore, this makes qualitative research useful for gathering well-founded data. Furthermore, Janesick also points out that qualitative researchers are open-minded but not open-minded because they formulate questions to guide the study and those questions are under constant revision throughout the study to fit the discussion and study..