Practical Research 2

Quantitative Research
 RESEARCH
1. Nature of 2. Identifying the 3. Learning from
Inquiry and Inquiry and Others and
Research Stating the Reviewing the
Problem
Literature

4. Understanding 5. Finding 6. Reporting and

Data & Ways to Answers Sharing
through Data Findings
Systematically Collection
Collect Data
“Millions saw the apple fall,
but only Isaac Newton was
the first to ask why.”
What is Research?
`
What is Quantitative Research?
Factors to consider
• Field of study
• Nature of study
• Purpose of the study
• Population of the study
• Tools readily available
• Method and design
• Instrument
• Amount of human interaction or characteristics to be studied
• Desired implications and results
Quantitative
• Positivist thought – can be verified by observation and
experimentation
• Distribution of variables that can be generalized to entire population
• Less interaction between researcher and subjects – more objectivity
• Four categories:
• Descriptive design
• Correlation
• Casual comparative
• Quasi-experimental
Quantitative Research
1. Exploratory -- It is a good starting point to get
familiarized with some insights and ideas (e.g.
identify the dependent and independent variables)
2. Descriptive – “The mapping out of a circumstance,
situation, or set of events” (McNabb)
3. Causal—experimenting (statistically speaking) to
asses cause and effect. For example, whether or not
a P.A. program is achieving its objectives.
Experiments in the social science take place
“naturally” (e.g. The effectiveness of Homeland
Security to respond to natural or anthropogenic
hazards).
Advantages
• Observations are used throughout
studies
• Formulating hypotheses allows for
speculation about outcomes;
applicable instrument
• Safeguards used to minimize or
eliminate bias
• Predicts correlation between objects
• Systematic data collection and
analysis
• Generalizable to other institutions for
further research
• Recognized criteria for assessment and
validity
• More research conducted by this
method
Disadvantages
• Should only be used if data can be measured
by numbers, results quantified
• Instrument or method chosen is subjective and
research is dependent upon tool chosen
• Lack of independent thought by researcher
when dependent on instrument or mathematics
used to extract or evaluate data
• Individuals’ decisions not evaluated based on
their culture or social interactions
• Decisions made without regard to individual
human thought or choice to predict behavior
• All individuals are measured same way
• Experiences
• Backgrounds
• Intelligence
• Ability to change decisions at any given point in
time
• Independent though