Describes characteristics, strengths, weaknesses and kinds of

quantitative research. CS_RS12-Ia-c-1

 MODULE 1
Characteristics
of Quantitative
Research
BEGIN
The primary goal of education is the acquisition of knowledge. However, it not just
stocking the brain with information, it requires understanding that inspires everyone to
create, construct, or produce things for the betterment of everyone.
Research in one way or another is a tool in such acquisition of knowledge. Let’s
find out why by studying the following lessons.

Hi! I am Teacher Research! I’m going to guide you

in your journey to this module.
At the end of the module, you should be able to:
”
 Recognize and describe the characteristics of quantitative research.
Directions: Write True if the statement is correct and False if the statement is wrong.
Write your answers in your research notebook.

1. Methods or procedures of data gathering include items like age, gender,

educational status, among others, that call for measurable characteristics of the
population.

2. Standardized instruments guide data collection, thus, ensuring the accuracy,

reliability, and validity of data.

3. Quantitative methods cannot be repeated to verify findings in another setting,

thus, reinforcing the validity of findings.

4. A large population yields unreliable data, but principles of random sampling

must be strictly followed to prevent researcher bias.

5. Quantitative research emphasizes proof, rather than discovery.

Activity 1. A-Cross Me Out!

Directions: Answer the crossword below. Use the word from the box. Write your
answers in your notebook.

Empirical Logical Cyclical

Analytical Replicability Critical
Activity 2. Fill me in!
Directions: Fill in the blanks to complete the paragraph below. Choose from the words
listed inside the box. Write your answer in your notebook.

Examination Questions strategies

Inquire Inquiry research

When you (1) __________ or investigate, you tend to ask (2) __________ to probe
or examine something. You do this kind of (3) _____________ through your HOTS or
higher-order thinking (4) _____________ of inferential, analytical, critical, creative, and
appreciative thinking to discover more understandable or meaningful things beyond such
object of your (5) __________. Thinking in this manner makes you ask open-ended
questions to elicit views, opinions, and beliefs of others in relation to your (6)
______________.
Characteristics of a Research

Research is a scientific, experimental, or inductive manner of thinking. Starting

from particular to more complex ideas, you execute varied thinking. Starting from
particular to more complex ideas, you execute varied thinking acts that range from lower-
order to higher-order thinking strategies reflected by these research activities: identifying
the topic or problem, gathering data, making theories, formulating hypotheses, analyzing
data, and drawing conclusions. Cognitively driven terms like empirical, logical, cyclical,
analytical, critical, methodical, and replicable are the right descriptive words to
characterize research.

The data we work on in research does not come mainly from yourself but also from
other sources of knowledge like people, books, and artworks, among others. Hence, one
cardinal principle in research is to give acknowledgment to owners of all sources of
knowledge involved in your way of not only thanking the authors of their contribution to
the field but also establishing the validity and reliability of the findings of your research
that ought to serve as an instrument for world progress.

The following are the general characteristics of a research.

EMPIRICAL- is based on direct experience or observation by the researcher.

LOGICAL- is based on valid procedure and principles.
CYCLICAL- it starts with a problem and ends with a problem.
ANALYTICAL – research utilized proven analytical procedures in gathering the data,
whether historical, descriptive and experimental, or case study.
REPLICABILITY – design and procedures are replicated to enable the researcher to
arrive at valid and conclusive results.
CRITICAL – research exhibits careful and precise judgment.

Characteristics of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research according to Prieto et. al. (2017) should have the following
characteristics;
 Methods or procedures of data gathering include items like age, gender,
educational status, among others, that call for measurable characteristics
of the population.
 Standardized instruments guide data collection, thus, ensuring the
accuracy, reliability, and validity of data.
  Figures, tables or graphs showcase summarized data collected in order to
show trends, relationships, or differences among variables. In sum, the
charts and tables allow you to see the evidence collected.
 A large population yields more reliable data, but principles of random
sampling must be strictly followed to prevent researcher’s bias.
 Quantitative methods can be repeated to verify findings in another setting,
thus, reinforcing the validity of findings.
 Quantitative research puts emphasis on proof, rather than discovery.

Since quantitative research uses numbers and figures to denote a particular thing,
this kind of research requires you to focus your full attention on the object of your study.
Doing this, you tend to exclude your thoughts and feelings about the subject or object.
This is why quantitative research is described as objective research in contrast to
qualitative research that is subjective. Characterized by objectiveness, in which only the
real or factual, not the emotional or cognitive existence of the object matters greatly to the
artist, quantitative research is analogous to scientific or experimental thinking. In this
case, researchers just do not identify problems but theorize, hypothesize, analyze, infer
and create as well. Quantitative research usually happens in hard sciences like physics,
chemistry, biology, and medicine, qualitative research, in soft sciences such as
humanities, social sciences, education, and psychology, among others.

APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

Directions: Answer the following questions.
A. How would you characterize quantitative research?

B. Fill up the table below with at least three chosen characteristics of quantitative
research and describe each.
Characteristics Description
C. Choose a word or a symbol that could be similar to quantitative research. Explain
briefly

Directions: Write True if the statement is correct and rewrite the sentence if the
statement is incorrect.

1. Methods or procedures of data gathering include items like age, gender,

educational status, among others, that call for measurable characteristics of the
population.

2. Standardized instruments guide data collection, thus, ensuring the accuracy,

reliability, and validity of data.

3. Quantitative methods cannot be repeated to verify findings in another setting,

thus, reinforcing the validity of findings.

4. A large population yields unreliable data, but principles of random sampling must
be strictly followed to prevent researcher’s bias.

5. Quantitative research emphasizes proof, rather than discovery.

 Strengths and
Weaknesses
of Quantitative
Research
BEGIN
Research is used to address the problems encountered by people in an
organization or a community. In conducting this kind of research, there are many things
to be considered by the researcher before the conduct of research. It is not a perfect
design for conducting analysis and investigation because it has weaknesses other than
its strengths. Let us find out what are those.

”
 Describe the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative research

Hi! I am your research teacher! I’m going to guide

you in your journey to this module.
At the end of the module, you should be able to:
Directions: Write Strength if the statement describes the strength of quantitative
research and Weakness if the statement is a flaw of quantitative research.

1. The most reliable and valid way of concluding results is to give way to a new
hypothesis or to disprove it.
2. Quantitative research can be costly.
3. It requires extensive use of mathematics.
4. The results or generalizations are more reliable and valid.
5. It can filter out external factors.

Directions: Search for the word related in quantitative research in the following puzzle.
Write words in your notebook.
Directions: Fill in the blanks to complete the paragraph below. Choose from the words
listed inside the box. Write your answer in your notebook.

researcher observations quantitative

questionnaires hypothesis

Qualitative research tends to cause a (1) __________ to become immersed in the

research topic. For example, a researcher using qualitative research may conduct in-
depth interviews, interact with participants and rely on her own (2) ___________. A
researcher using (3) ______________ research methods remains separated from the
subject matter. The researcher remains objective when conducting research. Instead of
conducting in-depth interviews, a researcher may use (4) ___________ and
questionnaires to test a hypothesis. An advantage of using quantitative research is that
the researcher remains more objective while proving or disproving a (5)
______________.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research involves creating a hypothesis and identifying statistics to

explain research findings. Using quantitative research has many advantages. For
example, quantitative research allows a researcher to objectively detail evidence.
However, quantitative research also has disadvantages.

Objectivity

Qualitative research tends to cause a researcher to become immersed in the

research topic. For example, a researcher using qualitative research may conduct in-
depth interviews, interact with participants and rely on her observations. A researcher
using quantitative research methods remains separated from the subject matter. The
researcher remains objective when conducting research. Instead of conducting in-depth
interviews, a researcher may use analysis and questionnaires to test a hypothesis. An
advantage of using quantitative research is that the researcher remains more objective
while proving or disproving a hypothesis.
Time Consuming

Quantitative and qualitative research both encompass planning before conducting

or analyzing research. Quantitative research, however, involves more planning, which
becomes a disadvantage. For instance, all aspects of a research study must be carefully
designed before collecting any data. A researcher needs a concrete hypothesis and
needs to know the type of research involved---such as questionnaires and test questions.
With qualitative research, the design typically emerges as the research study develops.

Data-Driven

Quantitative research depends on data and involves testing a hypothesis, but it

can miss contextual details. For example, a researcher doesn't provide a detailed
description when using quantitative research. Instead, the researcher depends on
numbers and statistics to prove a hypothesis. A researcher researching diabetes
medication, for instance, might record how many times a research participant missed the
medication but not the details of what happened during a participant's day to cause him
to forget to take the diabetes medication.

Strengths

 Quantitative research design is the most reliable and valid way of concluding
results, giving way to a new hypothesis or to disproving it.

 Because of a bigger number of sample of a population, the results or

generalizations are more reliable and valid.

 Quantitative experiments filter out external factors, if properly designed, and so the
results gained can be seen, as real and unbiased. Quantitative experiments are
useful for testing the results gained by a series of qualitative experiments, leading
to a final answer, and a narrowing down of possible directions to follow.

Weaknesses

 Quantitative research can be costly, difficult, and time-consuming-difficult because

most researchers are non-mathematicians.

 Quantitative studies require extensive statistical treatment, requiring stringent

standards, more so with confirmation of results. When ambiguities in some findings
surface, retesting and refinement of the design call for another investment in time
and resources to polish the results.

 Quantitative methods also tend to turn out only proved or unproven results, leaving
little room for uncertainty, or grey areas. For the social sciences, education,
 anthropology, and psychology, human nature is a lot more complex than just a
simple yes or no response.

APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

A. Complete the table below with the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative
research.
Strengths Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

B. From the weaknesses of quantitative research mentioned suggest ways how to

address or deal with these weaknesses.
Weaknesses Response/ Action
Directions: Write Strength if the statement describes the strength of quantitative
research and Weakness if the statement is an imperfection of quantitative research.
1. The most reliable and valid way of concluding results, giving way to a new
hypothesis or to disproving it.
2. Quantitative research can be costly, difficult, and time-consuming-difficult
because most researchers are non-mathematicians.
3. Quantitative methods also tend to turn out only proved or unproven results,
leaving little room for uncertainty, or grey areas.
4. The results or generalizations are more reliable and valid.
5. Quantitative experiments filter out external factors, if properly designed, and so
the results gained can be seen, as real and unbiased.
 The following terms used in this module
are defined as follows…

Research is defined as the scientific investigation of phenomena

which includes collection, presentation, analysis, and interpretation
of facts that line an individual‘s speculation with reality.

Quantitative research is defined as a systematic investigation of

phenomena by gathering quantifiable data and performing
statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.
Strengths of quantitative research pertain to the advantages in conducting research
such as being objective, can be replicated, being easy to analyze through computer
applications, follows scientific and systematic methods in obtaining information because
it uses numeric data.
Weaknesses of quantitative research refer to the disadvantage in conducting research
such as requiring a large number of respondents, time-consuming, some data could be
inaccurate and incomplete during data collection.

Baraceros, Esther L., (2016). Practical Research 2, Rexbookstore, Inc., Quezon City,
Philippines
Prieto, Nelia G.et.al., (2017). Practical Research for Senior High School 2 (Quantitative
Research) Lorimar Publishing, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines