In this article, I will define quantitative and qualitative research methods and provide examples in the context of social issues that I hope will provide insight into how these methods are correctly applied. Social problems are very broad and diverse and generally consist of factors or consequences that directly or indirectly affect a person or many members of a society and are considered problems, controversies or both and are related to values morals, therefore their immediate social environment may become vulnerable in certain respects, this may also affect the environment of several individuals and, therefore, society. There are two methods for approaching the study of the world; deductive and inductive (L. Osburn, personal communication, August 11, 2011). Quantitative research uses deductive reasoning also called top-down or (top-down approach) starting with a theory, then hypothesis, followed by observation and finally confirmation. , ranging from the general to the more specific. Quantitative methods use numbers and statistics to show the results of the research exercise and are mainly concerned with mathematics and statistics. In quantitative research there are levels of measurement, first nominal, which are names of things followed by an ordinal sequence of things, an interval where the sequence has equal distance between each element and a ratio where there is a true zero (Alston and Bowles, 2003, p. 7-9).Quantitative research is the oldest form of research; it is incredibly formal, coming from the paradigm of positivism or the outsider approach. The method involves trying to establish cause and effect relationships between variables. This method can be considered unbiased because the researcher is not us...... middle of article...... or an obstacle? Outcomes of social work student internships. Australian Social Work, 58(3), 301-312. doi:10.1111/j.1447-0748.2005.00222.xBarria, L. & Roper, S. (2010). The development of human rights institutions: a comparative study. Palgrave Macmillan: New York. Faherty, V. (2008) Compassionate Statistics applied quantitative analysis to social services. Sage Publications: California. Research Methods Knowledge Base, Deduction and Induction, The Social Research Methods Web Center. Retrieved from: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.phpCoster, P. and Woolf, A. (Eds.). (2011). World Book: Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa, (pp. 56-57). Arcturus Publishers: Chicago. Stevenson, H. (1995). Relationship between adolescents' perceptions of racial socialization and racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology. DOI: 10.1177/00957984950211005