EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Part II

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

Quantitative research
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

hideThis article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these

issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)

This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009)

This article needs attention from an expert in sociology. (November 2009)

00

In natural and social sciences, and maybe in other fields, quantitative research is the

systematic empirical investigation of observable phenomena via statistical,
mathematical, or computational techniques.[1] The objective of quantitative research is to
develop and employ mathematical models, theories, and hypotheses pertaining to
phenomena. The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it
provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical
expression of quantitative relationships.
Quantitative data is any data that is in numerical form such as statistics, percentages,
etc.[1] The researcher analyses the data with the help of statistics and hopes the
numbers will yield an unbiased result that can be generalized to some larger
population. Qualitative research, on the other hand, inquires deeply into specific
experiences, with the intention of describing and exploring meaning through text,
narrative, or visual-based data, by developing themes exclusive to that set of
participants.[2]
Quantitative research is widely used
in psychology, economics, demography, sociology, marketing, community health, health
& human development, gender studies, and political science; and less frequently
in anthropology and history. Research in mathematical sciences, such as physics, is
also "quantitative" by definition, though this use of the term differs in context. In the
social sciences, the term relates to empirical methods originating in both
philosophical positivism and the history of statistics, in contrast with qualitative
research methods.
Qualitative research produces information only on the particular cases studied, and any
more general conclusions are only hypotheses. Quantitative methods can be used to
verify which of such hypotheses are true. A comprehensive analysis of 1274 articles
published in the top two American sociology journals between 1935 and 2005 found that
roughly two thirds of these articles used quantitative method.[3]

Contents
 EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Part II
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

 1Overview
 2Use of statistics
 3Measurement
 4Relationship with qualitative methods
 5Examples
 6See also
 7References

Overview[edit]
Quantitative research is generally closely affiliated with ideas from 'the scientific
method', which can include:

 The generation of models, theories and hypotheses

 The development of instruments and methods for measurement
 Experimental control and manipulation of variables
 Collection of empirical data
 Modeling and analysis of data
Quantitative research is often contrasted with qualitative research, which purports to be
focused more on discovering underlying meanings and patterns of relationships,
including classifications of types of phenomena and entities, in a manner that does not
involve mathematical models.[4] Approaches to quantitative psychology were first
modeled on quantitative approaches in the physical sciences by Gustav Fechner in his
work on psychophysics, which built on the work of Ernst Heinrich Weber. Although a
distinction is commonly drawn between qualitative and quantitative aspects of scientific
investigation, it has been argued that the two go hand in hand. For example, based on
analysis of the history of science, Kuhn concludes that “large amounts of qualitative
work have usually been prerequisite to fruitful quantification in the physical sciences”.
[5]
 Qualitative research is often used to gain a general sense of phenomena and to form
theories that can be tested using further quantitative research. For instance, in the
social sciences qualitative research methods are often used to gain better
understanding of such things as intentionality (from the speech response of the
researchee) and meaning (why did this person/group say something and what did it
mean to them?) (Kieron Yeoman).
Although quantitative investigation of the world has existed since people first began to
record events or objects that had been counted, the modern idea of quantitative
processes have their roots in Auguste Comte's positivist framework.[6] Positivism
emphasized the use of the scientific method through observation to empirically test
hypotheses explaining and predicting what, where, why, how, and when phenomena
occurred. Positivist scholars like Comte believed only scientific methods rather than
previous spiritual explanations for human behavior could advance.
Quantitative methods are an integral component of the five angles of analysis fostered
by the data percolation methodology, [7] which also includes qualitative methods, reviews
of the literature (including scholarly), interviews with experts and computer simulation,
and which forms an extension of data triangulation.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Part II
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

Quantitative methods have limitations. These studies do not provide reasoning behind
participants' responses, they often do not reach underrepresented populations, and they
may span long periods in order to collect the data. [8]

Use of statistics[edit]
Statistics is the most widely used branch of mathematics in quantitative research
outside of the physical sciences, and also finds applications within the physical
sciences, such as in statistical mechanics. Statistical methods are used extensively
within fields such as economics, social sciences and biology. Quantitative research
using statistical methods starts with the collection of data, based on the hypothesis or
theory. Usually a big sample of data is collected – this would require verification,
validation and recording before the analysis can take place. Software packages such
as SPSS and R are typically used for this purpose. Causal relationships are studied by
manipulating factors thought to influence the phenomena of interest while controlling
other variables relevant to the experimental outcomes. In the field of health, for
example, researchers might measure and study the relationship between dietary intake
and measurable physiological effects such as weight loss, controlling for other key
variables such as exercise. Quantitatively based opinion surveys are widely used in the
media, with statistics such as the proportion of respondents in favor of a position
commonly reported. In opinion surveys, respondents are asked a set of structured
questions and their responses are tabulated. In the field of climate science, researchers
compile and compare statistics such as temperature or atmospheric concentrations of
carbon dioxide.
Empirical relationships and associations are also frequently studied by using some form
of general linear model, non-linear model, or by using factor analysis. A fundamental
principle in quantitative research is that correlation does not imply causation, although
some such as Clive Granger suggest that a series of correlations can imply a degree of
causality. This principle follows from the fact that it is always possible a spurious
relationship exists for variables between which covariance is found in some degree.
Associations may be examined between any combination of continuous and categorical
variables using methods of statistics.

Measurement[edit]
Views regarding the role of measurement in quantitative research are somewhat
divergent. Measurement is often regarded as being only a means by which observations
are expressed numerically in order to investigate causal relations or associations.
However, it has been argued that measurement often plays a more important role in
quantitative research.[9] For example, Kuhn argued that within quantitative research, the
results that are shown can prove to be strange. This is because accepting a theory
based on results of quantitative data could prove to be a natural phenomenon. He
argued that such abnormalities are interesting when done during the process of
obtaining data, as seen below:
When measurement departs from theory, it is likely to yield mere numbers, and their
very neutrality makes them particularly sterile as a source of remedial suggestions. But
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Part II
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

numbers register the departure from theory with an authority and finesse that no
qualitative technique can duplicate, and that departure is often enough to start a search
(Kuhn, 1961, p. 180).
In classical physics, the theory and definitions which underpin measurement are
generally deterministic in nature. In contrast, probabilistic measurement models
known as the Rasch model and Item response theory models are generally
employed in the social sciences. Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with
the theory and technique for measuring social and psychological attributes and
phenomena. This field is central to much quantitative research that is undertaken
within the social sciences.
Quantitative research may involve the use of proxies as stand-ins for other
quantities that cannot be directly measured. Tree-ring width, for example, is
considered a reliable proxy of ambient environmental conditions such as the warmth
of growing seasons or amount of rainfall. Although scientists cannot directly
measure the temperature of past years, tree-ring width and other climate proxies
have been used to provide a semi-quantitative record of average temperature in the
Northern Hemisphere back to 1000 A.D. When used in this way, the proxy record
(tree ring width, say) only reconstructs a certain amount of the variance of the
original record. The proxy may be calibrated (for example, during the period of the
instrumental record) to determine how much variation is captured, including whether
both short and long term variation is revealed. In the case of tree-ring width, different
species in different places may show more or less sensitivity to, say, rainfall or
temperature: when reconstructing a temperature record there is considerable skill in
selecting proxies that are well correlated with the desired variable. [10]

Relationship with qualitative methods[edit]

Further information: Qualitative research

In most physical and biological sciences, the use of either quantitative or qualitative

methods is uncontroversial, and each is used when appropriate. In the social
sciences, particularly in sociology, social anthropology and psychology, the use of
one or other type of method can be a matter of controversy and even ideology, with
particular schools of thought within each discipline favouring one type of method and
pouring scorn on to the other. The majority tendency throughout the history of social
science, however, is to use eclectic approaches-by combining both methods.
Qualitative methods might be used to understand the meaning of the conclusions
produced by quantitative methods. Using quantitative methods, it is possible to give
precise and testable expression to qualitative ideas. This combination of quantitative
and qualitative data gathering is often referred to as mixed-methods research.[11]

Examples[edit]
 Research that consists of the percentage amounts of all the elements that make up
Earth's atmosphere.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Part II
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

 Survey that concludes that the average patient has to wait two hours in the waiting room
of a certain doctor before being selected.
 An experiment in which group x was given two tablets of aspirin a day and group y was
given two tablets of a placebo a day where each participant is randomly assigned to one
or other of the groups. The numerical factors such as two tablets, percent of elements
and the time of waiting make the situations and results quantitative.
 In finance, quantitative research into the stock markets is used to develop models to
price complex trades, and develop algorithms to exploit investment hypotheses, as seen
in quantitative hedge funds and Trading Strategy Indices.[12]

See also[edit]
 Antipositivism
 Case study research
 Econometrics
 Falsifiability
 Market research
 Positivism
 Qualitative research
 Quantitative marketing research
 Quantitative psychology
 Quantification (science)
 Observational study
 Sociological positivism
 Statistical survey
 Statistics

References[edit]
Library resources about
Quantitative research

Resources in your
library
Resources in other
libraries

1. ^ Jump up to:a b Given, Lisa M. (2008).  The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods.
Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.  ISBN  978-1-4129-4163-1.
2. ^ Corrine, Glesne (2011).  Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction  (4th ed.).
Boston:  Pearson.  ISBN  978-0137047970. OCLC  464594493.
3. ^ Hunter, Laura; Leahey, Erin (2008). "Collaborative Research in Sociology: Trends and
Contributing Factors". The American Sociologist. 39(4): 290–306.  doi:10.1007/s12108-008-
9042-1.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Part II
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

4. ^ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT OpenCourseWare. 11.201 Gateway to the

Profession of Planning, Fall 2010. p. 4.
5. ^ Kuhn, Thomas S. (1961). "The Function of Measurement in Modern Physical
Science".  Isis. 52 (2): 161–193 (162). doi:10.1086/349468.  JSTOR  228678.
6. ^ Kasim, R., Alexander, K. and Hudson, J. (2010).  A choice of research strategy for
identifying community-based action skill requirements in the process of delivering housing market
renewal. Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment, University of Salford, UK.
7. ^ Mesly, Olivier (2015). Creating Models in Psychological Research. United States: Springer
Psychology: 126 pages. ISBN 978-3-319-15752-8
8. ^ Goertzen, Melissa J. (2017). "Introduction to Quantitative Research and Data". Library
Technology Reports. 53 (4): 12–18. ISSN 0024-2586.
9. ^ Moballeghi, M. & Moghaddam, G.G. (2008).  "How Do We Measure Use of Scientific
Journals? A Note on Research Methodologies". Scientometrics. 76 (1): 125–
133.  doi:10.1007/s11192-007-1901-y.
10. ^ Briffa, Keith R.; Osborn, Timothy J.; Schweingruber, Fritz H.; Harris, Ian C.; Jones, Philip D.;
Shiyatov, Stepan G.; Vaganov, Eugene A. (2001).  "Low-frequency temperature variations from a
northern tree ring density network"  (PDF).  Journal of Geophysical Research. 106 (D3): 2929–
2941.  Bibcode:2001JGR...106.2929B.  doi:10.1029/2000JD900617.
11. ^ Diriwächter, R. & Valsiner, J. (January 2006) Qualitative Developmental Research Methods
in Their Historical and Epistemological Contexts. FQS. Vol 7, No. 1, Art. 8
12. ^ A Simple Overview of Quantitative Analysis. Investopeda, January 2018

 [1]

1. ^ Apuke, O. (2017). "Quantitative Research Methods A synopsis review".  Arabian Journal of

Business and Management Review. 6  (10): 40–47.
Categories: 
 Quantitative research