An Analytical Comparison of Observation Methods in Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Using a comparative-analytical method, this paper seeks to present a systematic framework for observation as a technique of data collection in qualitative and quantitative research. To this end, while expressing goals and definitions of scientific observation, steps of observation, types and techniques of observation, auxiliary tools, methods of collecting and recording observational data and the common limitations and errors in observation and the error control methods have been studied and compared from different perspectives. Fifteen Iranian research articles and fourteen foreign research articles - which, according to the researchers, collected the required data through observation - were analyzed and compared. The findings show that, Iranian researches, in this area, have more restrictions in the enjoyment of digital tools, and the collaboration of the members under study for observation, but foreign researches have been widely welcomed by participants, and, unlike Iranian articles, they have detailed the limitations of the observation process.