The fourth basic orientation is on holistic treatment of phenomena. Where quantitative research emphasizes very specific study to determine correlations between specific variables under specific conditions, qualitative research emphasizes the ability to understand broad-based phenomena, and how different phenomena may interact in a complex environment.

5. In a business situation, prior to conducting confirmatory research, the orientation to holistic treatment is the most valuable. The business world does not exist in laboratory conditions, and this fact emphasizes the need to gain broad-based theoretical understanding of the world before focused research can be conducted. In business, research is expensive, so companies want to ensure that the testable hypotheses in any confirmatory research have been derived from an appropriate holistic understanding. They will need to structure the confirmatory research to isolate the dependent variable, and only holistic qualitative research can help them to understand what independent variables may be contributing to the...
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