This comprehensive review explores the key disparities between quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, aiming to enhance researchers' comprehension and facilitate informed decision-making in study design. The article underscores the significance of understanding these methodologies for researchers, emphasizing their distinct frameworks, tools, and philosophical underpinnings. The review spans the period from 2000 to 2024, systematically surveying English-language literature across prominent databases. Employing a strategic search strategy and Boolean operators, the investigation focuses on discerning significant characteristics of qualitative research methodologies, including research paradigms, data collection, and analysis methods. MeSH terms were applied in PubMed, and strict inclusion criteria were set for articles, resulting in the evaluation of 44 selected papers. The collected material, organized based on scientific content, provides a wealth of information on the characteristics of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The characteristics of qualitative research are elucidated through illustrative examples, emphasizing its naturalistic, inductive, and bottom-up approach. This method explores phenomena in-depth, using unstructured or semi-structured data collection, and often culminates in a descriptive report. However, concerns about reliability, validity, and time-consuming data gathering are acknowledged. In contrast, quantitative research, characterized by its scientific, deductive, and top-down approach, employs laboratory settings and structured data collection methods, concluding with statistical reports and emphasizing reliability and validity. The review recognizes the need for larger sample sizes in quantitative research and highlights its controlled, structured, and less time-consuming data collection methods