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Regina Pernice* Both quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies have been used in unemployment research. During the last 15 years however, quantitative methods have dominated. It is argued that strictly quantitative studies on their own may no longer advance knowledge in this field. Therefore, to deepen the understanding in this important research area, qualitative techniques need to be reintegrated into unemployment research. An example of this is the author's study of employment commitment and mental health of 532 long-term unemployed people. The instruments used were the General Health Questionnaire-12, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, a questionnaire and an in-depth self-selection interview. This procedure was repeated with 99 people in a follow-up study one year later. The results of the quantitative data collection method on employment commitment are compared with results obtained by the qualitative method and are discussed with reference to the benefits of incorporating a qualitative component into an otherwise quantitative methodology. A wide variety of research methods have been used in studies of unemployment which can be dichotomized broadly into two types: quantitative and qualitative. These two methods to research are underpinned by fundamentally different philosophies. The quantitative research tradition is based on both logical positivism and radical behaviourism, whereas the underlying philosophies of qualitative methods are the humanistic, phenomenological and existential paradigms. Given their contrasting roots, quantitative and qualitative research approaches are concerned with different aspects of a research issue. Quantitative studies attempt to establish causal associations among objectively specified variables through testing hypotheses derived from predictive theories (Kerlinger, 1986). In contrast qualitative research is committed to understanding the unique experiences of the individual from his/her perspective of the social world by seeking to develop shared meanings. The different research foci of the two approaches are also reflected in the methodologies used. Quantitative methods involve the precise measurement of variables and the collection of data under standardized conditions from a randomly selected sample, through either a questionnaire or similar written instrument or through an observation protocol. The researcher/experimenter's expertise during the research process, the reliability and consistency of the data collected, its analysis by sophisticated statistical means and its replicability are issues of crucial importance in quantitative studies. Different methods are necessarily used in qualitative research. Data are collected through observation, in-depth interviews or participation...