ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the major tenets that govern how researchers work within the qualitative and quantitative paradigms, as well as discusses mixed methods. Qualitative researchers base their data and analyses in text and narrative, while quantitative researchers use numerical representations of data and statistical analyses. Quantitative researchers tend to be very focused upon the long story' of research and the body of literature. The research group then examined how teachers responsively engaged children in conversation, as well as selected features of the children's language production. Researchers engage in an accounting of findings and a discussion of their relevance that is consistent with the organizing theoretical framework. While quantitative and qualitative researchers might draw upon both inductive and deductive reasoning models, there are patterns within each paradigm. The chapter then outlines the premises of research by drawing comparisons between qualitative and quantitative approaches.
