DDBA 8300 Week 3 Tradition Comparison Paper Example

The Same Owners Through Two Lenses: Comparing What a Survey and an Interview Study Would See, and Never Reach, in Independent Dental Practice Owners' Decisions About Joining a Dental Service Organization

Student Name

Walden University

DDBA 8300: Qualitative and Quantitative Methodology for Applied Business Research

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

The Same Owners Through Two Lenses: Comparing What a Survey and an Interview Study Would See, and Never Reach, in Independent Dental Practice Owners' Decisions About Joining a Dental Service Organization

The Problem Both Traditions Face

Independent dental practices are being approached by dental service organizations, companies that buy or affiliate with practices and take over billing, purchasing, staffing and marketing in exchange for a share of revenue or an ownership stake. In the state where I practice as a consultant to dental offices, several owners I work with have received offers in the past two years. Some accepted, some declined and some are still deciding. The business problem is that independent owners face a consequential, often irreversible decision with little evidence about how others have made it. This paper sets a quantitative and a qualitative approach against that same problem and compares what each could and could not see.

The Two Studies

The quantitative version would survey practice owners in one state, using the state dental association's member list of about 1,900 owners, asking whether they had received an offer, whether they affiliated and how they rated factors such as administrative burden, retirement plans, debt and concern about clinical autonomy. It would test which factors were associated with the decision to affiliate. The qualitative version would interview about 15 owners who received offers, chosen to include those who affiliated, those who declined and those still deciding, asking them to describe how they reached their decision and what weighed most.

Side by Side

Table 1

What Each Study Would See and Never Reach

Both columns assume the same state and the same population of owners.

What the Survey Would See

The survey would answer questions about how much and how often. It could estimate what share of owners have received offers, compare owners who affiliated with those who did not and test whether factors such as approaching retirement or practice debt are associated with affiliation once other factors are accounted for. Its findings could describe owners across the state, if enough of them responded. What it would never reach is the reasoning: why an owner who rated administrative burden highly still declined, or how a conversation with a colleague who had affiliated changed someone's mind.

What the Interviews Would See

The interviews would reach that reasoning. Owners could describe the sequence of their decision, the moment they began to take an offer seriously, the role of a spouse or an associate dentist, the fear of losing control over clinical choices and the relief, for some, at handing off payroll and insurance billing. Factors no survey designer anticipated could emerge. What the interviews would never reach is any statement about how common these patterns are, or whether the reasons fifteen owners gave apply to the other 1,885.

What Neither Would Reach

Neither study would show whether affiliating turned out well. Both would capture decisions and reasons, not outcomes. A study of outcomes would need practice financial data and patient measures over years, which neither design includes.

How the Comparison Informs the Choice

Bryman (2006), examining published studies that combined methods, found that researchers often justify combining approaches in general terms but use the results in specific ways, such as using qualitative findings to explain quantitative patterns. The comparison above suggests where each would add value here. Creswell and Creswell (2018) recommend letting the research question decide. If my question is what factors are associated with owners' decisions to affiliate, the survey fits. If it is how owners make the decision, the interviews fit. Patton (2015) notes that qualitative inquiry is especially useful when a phenomenon is new and its important dimensions are not yet known; dental service organizations are new enough in my state that I lean toward starting with interviews.

References

Bryman, A. (2006). Integrating quantitative and qualitative research: How is it done? Qualitative Research, 6(1), 97-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794106058877

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.