Chapter I

NATURE OF INQUIRY AND

RESEARCH
 Lesson 1
Characteristics, Strengths,
Weaknesses and kinds of
quantitative research
What is RESEARCH? unbiased;
works with all angles
a system presented
or method

Research is a systematic and objective

creation of knowledge.

a creative
process
Why Do RESEARCH?
➢Helps solve recurring, long-term real-life
problems, not emergencies.

➢Provides data for better understanding of

real-life concerns and issues, individual or
group (community, national, international).

➢Makes recommendations to improve

existing situations or realities.
 When to use
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Research
• Quantitative data can help you see the big
picture. Qualitative data adds the details and
can also give a human voice to your survey
results.

• Let’s see how to use each method in a

research project:
 Formulating hypotheses

Qualitative research helps you gather

detailed information on a topic. You can use it to
initiate your research by discovering the
problems or opportunities people are thinking
about. Those ideas can become hypotheses to
be proven through quantitative research.
 Validating your hypotheses

Quantitative research will get you numbers

that you can apply statistical analysis to in order
to validate your hypotheses. Was that problem
real or just someone’s perception? The hard
facts obtained will enable you to make decisions
based on objective observations.
 Finding general answers

Quantitative research usually has more

respondents than qualitative research because it is
easier to conduct a multiple-choice survey than a
series of interviews or focus groups. Therefore, it
can help you definitely answer broad questions like:
Do people prefer you to your competitors? Which
of your company’s services are most important?
What ad is most appealing?
Incorporating the human element

Qualitative research can also help in the final

stages of your project. The quotes you obtained
from open-ended questions can put a human voice
to the objective numbers and trends in your results.
Many times it helps to hear your customers
describe your company in their own words to
uncover your blind spots. Qualitative data will get
you that.
 Characteristics of
Quantitative Research
Characteristics of Quantitative Research

1. Large Sample Size

The first and foremost characteristic of

quantitative research is the large sample size to
conduct research. Quantitative research is done
on a large number of audiences to ensure
reliability. The sample size used in quantitative
research represents the whole target market.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research
2. Structured Research Methods
Structural research methods like questionnaires, polls,
and surveys are used to conduct quantitative research. In-
depth information about the preferences of the audience can
be drawn using these structured research methods.
Moreover, with the help of the Internet and social
media, it is effortless to reach the vast population irrespective
of geographical boundaries. You can pay to run your Survey ad
on various social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube,
etc. and can collect the opinion of a large population.
In addition to this, these research methods are easy to
conduct through offline means. Also, a participant is only
required to fill out the questionnaire and is not required to be
part of the research process for a long time.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research

3. Highly Reliable Outcome

The outcome of quantitative research methods is quite
reliable, as participants of the research face close-ended
questions. Therefore, there are fewer chances of getting vague
information or wrong information from the participants.
Quantitative research methods are used for industrial
research purposes because of its reliability. Moreover, the
outcome of quantitative research is easy to understand and
explain.
The researchers present the outcome of the research to
get the approval of the management, and management can
understand this information quickly because it is represented in
the form of tables and graphs.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research
4. Reusable Outcome
Another characteristic of quantitative research is that
the outcome of quantitative research can be used multiple
times. Data collected for one research purpose can be used
for the prior study of another research problem.
Sometimes, researchers make the use of the outcome
of research for similar research problems, which reduces the
expense and time required for conducting research. For
example, if you have researched how much money a man will
be willing to pay to buy an electronic gadget.
You can use the output of the previous study to get a
reliable answer to the research problem of how much a man
will be willing to pay to buy an earphone. In this way, the
outcome of the previous research problem is used to support
the output of new but related research problems.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research
5. Close-ended questions
Another characteristic of quantitative research is close-ended
questions. Close-ended question’s answers are more specific and right to the
question than the open-ended questions. Responses to open-ended
questions are more detailed and scattered, and it requires real skills to pick
out the answers that you need.
Moreover, responses to Close-ended questions are more reliable
than the answers to questions of open-ended questions. In addition to this,
people also prefer to answer close-ended questions than open-ended
questions for various reasons. The followings are a few examples of close-
ended questions.
•How often do you shop online?
•How often do you pay for the subscription of a mobile app?
•How much are you ready to pay to buy a women’s health magazine?
The answer to the above questions would be in numerical form,
which can be used to derive meaningful conclusions.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research

6. Numerical Outcome

The outcome of quantitative research is

always in numerical form. For example, the result of
research can be represented in percentage, range of
numbers.
A numerical output is easy to read and
understand, and it is easy to deduce a conclusion
from the numerical outcome than a detailed result.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research

7. Generalization of Outcome

The outcome of quantitative research can be

generalized easily for the whole population. The
reason behind this is that quantitative research is
conducted on a large sample of the population.
A decision can be taken for the entire
population based on the outcome of the sample
population.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research

8. Prior study

The outcome of quantitative research can be

used for a previous study of another research.
Many scholars and researchers’ study and analyze
the outcome of previous research to establish their
research hypothesis or research problem.
The results of quantitative research are more
reliable than qualitative research and can be used
easily to deduce conclusions.
 Strengths of Using
Quantitative Methods
Strengths of Using Quantitative Methods

Quantitative researchers try to recognize

and isolate specific variables contained within
the study framework, seek correlation,
relationships and causality, and attempt to
control the environment in which the data is
collected to avoid the risk of variables, other
than the one being studied, accounting for the
relationships identified.
Strengths of Using Quantitative Methods
Among the specific strengths of using quantitative methods to
study social science research problems:

1. Allows for a broader study, involving a greater number of

subjects, and enhancing the generalization of the results;

2. Allows for greater objectivity and accuracy of results.

Generally, quantitative methods are designed to provide
summaries of data that support generalizations about the
phenomenon under study. In order to accomplish this,
quantitative research usually involves few variables and
many cases, and employs prescribed procedures to ensure
validity and reliability;
Strengths of Using Quantitative Methods
3. Applying well-established standards means that the
research can be replicated, and then analyzed and
compared with similar studies;

4. You can summarize vast sources of information and

make comparisons across categories and over time;
and,

5. Personal bias can be avoided by keeping a 'distance'

from participating subjects and using accepted
computational techniques.
 Limitations of Using
Quantitative Methods
Limitations of Using Quantitative Methods

Quantitative methods presume to have an

objective approach to studying research
problems, where data is controlled and
measured, to address the accumulation of facts,
and to determine the causes of behavior. As a
consequence, the results of quantitative
research may be statistically significant but are
often humanly insignificant.
Limitations of Using Quantitative Methods
Some specific limitations associated with using quantitative
methods to study research problems in the social sciences
include:

1. Quantitative data is more efficient and able to test

hypotheses, but may miss contextual detail;
2. Uses a static and rigid approach and so employs an inflexible
process of discovery;
3. The development of standard questions by researchers can
lead to "structural bias" and false representation, where
the data actually reflects the view of the researcher instead
of the participating subject;
4. Results provide less detail on behavior, attitudes, and
motivation;
Limitations of Using Quantitative Methods
5. Researcher may collect a much narrower and sometimes
superficial dataset;
6. Results are limited as they provide numerical descriptions
rather than detailed narrative and generally provide less
elaborate accounts of human perception;
7. The research is often carried out in an unnatural, artificial
environment so that a level of control can be applied to the
exercise. This level of control might not normally be in place
in the real world thus yielding "laboratory results" as
opposed to "real world results"; and,
8. Preset answers will not necessarily reflect how people really
feel about a subject and, in some cases, might just be the
closest match to the preconceived hypothesis.