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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH THE “NUMBERS GAME” by Dr. Ronald M. Henson Research Consultant What Is Quantitative Research scientific investigation of phenomena and their numerical properties and their relationships, by means of measurement to provide the fundamental connection between empirical observation and numerical expression (numbers game) * widely used in the natural sciences, social sciences, physics, biology, sociology, communication and education Quanti is NUMBERS NUMerics By Empirical Relationships Approaches in Quantitative Research generation of models, theories and hypotheses development of instruments and methods for measurement experimental control and manipulation of variables collection of empirical data modeling and analysis of data evaluation of results categorized into correlational research, causalcomparative research and experimental research collects numerical data in order to explain, predict and or control phenomena of interest data analysis is mainly statistical Origin of Quantitative Research first modelled in the physical sciences (Gustav Fechner’s psycho-physics Ernst Heinrich Weber Thomas Kuhn (1961) concluded that “large amounts of qualitative work have usually been prerequisite to fruitful quantification in the physical sciences” modern idea of quantitative processes rooted in Auguste Comte's positivist framework Gold Standard in Quantitative Research Statistics is the most widely used branch of mathematics in quantitative research collection of data based on a theory or hypothesis application of descriptive or inferential statistical methods software packages such as SPSS, MiniTab, StatPak causal relationships are studied by manipulating factors opinion surveys are widely used in the media set of structured questions and their responses are tabulated correlation does not imply causation spurious relationship can exist for variables between which covariance is found in some degree associations may be examined between any combination of continuous and categorical variables Measurement in Quantitative Research a means by which observations are expressed numerically in order to investigate causal relations or associations deterministic in nature Rasch model and item response models in the social sciences psychometrics for measuring social and psychological attributes use of proxies as stand-ins for other quantities that cannot be directly measured (e.g. tree-ring width) Quantitative Methods research techniques that are used to gather quantitative data information dealing with numbers and anything that is measurable schools of thought within each discipline (favor vs. scorn) quantitative methods truly scientific qualitative methods argue that quantitative methods tend to obscure the reality neglecting the non-measurable factors, which may be the most important use eclectic approaches, quantitative methods used with qualitative frame qualitative methods might be used to understand the meaning of the numbers produced by quantitative methods quantitative methods for precise and testable expression to qualitative ideas combination of quantitative and qualitative methods mixed-methods research. Examples of Quantitative Research percentage amounts of all members of audience watching soap opera survey that concludes that the average listener has profile of being male, with moderate income and not highly educated experiment in which group x was given Math program on TV and Group y was given Math instruction in the classroom where each participant is randomly assigned to one or other of the groups Quantitative Description know “how many” and/or “how often” profile a target audience and determine proportion of the audience survey of a large group of people (several hundred) structured questionnaire that contains predominantly closed-ended, or forcedchoice, questions Advantages of Quantification Thru Survey involves a convenience sample (e.g., a mall intercept study), data can be collected and analyzed fairly quickly involves a statistically valid random sample, the results from the sample can be generalized to the entire population if the response rate is high enough provide reliability e (i.e., repeatable) direction for planning programs and messages can be anonymous, which is useful for sensitive topics include visual material and can be used to pretest prototypes can generalize findings beyond participant group Disadvantages of Quantification Thru Survey limited ability to probe answers may share characteristics that don’t apply to the audience as a whole, a potential bias in the study can be very costly Common Uses of Survey assess the proportion of your target audience within a community assess the proportion of a target audience that practices a behavior assess the proportion of a target audience that recalls a message Types of Quantitative Researches Descriptive: involves collecting data in order to test hypotheses or answer questions concerning the current status of the respondents, determines and reports the way things are Correlational: attempts to determine whether and to what degree a relationship exists between two or more quantifiable variables, but not a cause-effect relationship, expressed by correlation coefficient, which is a number between .00 and 1.00 Cause-comparative: establishes the cause-effect relationship, compares the relationship, but the cause is not manipulated, such as "gender." Experimental: establishes the cause-effect relationship and does the comparison, but the cause is manipulated, the cause, independent variable makes the difference; effect, dependent variable is resultant Before Conducting a Quantitative Research Research plan: makes a research to think, plan facilitates evaluation of the proposed study § Introduction: a statement of the problem, a review of related literature, and a statement of the hypothesis. § Method: includes subjects, instruments-- materials if appropriate, design procedure. § Data analysis: description of the statistical technique or techniques that will be sued to analyze study data. § Time schedule: includes a listing of major activities or phases of the proposed study and a corresponding expected completion time for each activity. § Budget: expenses of the study Ethics In Quantitative Research respondents should not be harmed in any way (physically or mentally) respondents’ privacy should be strictly confidential, individual scores should never be reported, or made public human dignity and welfare of people (American Psychological Association)