1 pr2 characteristics

Quantitative Research

1. Quantitative Research What is ?

2. Objectives At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to: 1. discuss the basics of quantitative research; and 2. apply the quantitative method of their research.

3. Definition “Explaining PHENOMENA by collecting numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically based methods (statistics).” Aliaga and Gunderson (2000) What is a phenomenon ? -a peculiar incident that can happen anywhere, with any discipline or in any organization. Example: increase in sales change in turn-over rates change in drop-out rates decrease in the number of failing students in Math shift in percentage of dengue patients rise in the rate of youth drug addiction

4. Characteristics 1. It is reliable and objective 2. It uses statistics to generalize findings 3. It looks at the connections between variables and establishes cause and effect relationships in highly controlled circumstances. 4. It reduces and restructures a complex problem to a limited number of variables. 5. It tests theories and hypothesis. 6. It assumes that the sample is representative of the population. 7. The subjectivity of its methodology is a secondary concern. 8. It deals with the details of the subject.

5. Advantages 1. It allows the researcher to measure and analyze the data to arrive at an objective answer to the problem posed or stated. 2. The result is reliable since the study uses a big sample of the population. 3. Standards are usually used in choosing the instruments, the sampling procedures, and in choosing the most appropriate statistical treatment, thus making the research replicable. 4. Personal biases can be avoided since personal interaction is not part of the research process. 5. Processes involved are simplified since the steps in doing quantitative research are made easy and systematic. 6. Results can be reduced through statistical treatments and interpreted in a few statements.

6. Disadvantages 1. The context of the study or the experiment is ignored in such a way that it does not consider the natural setting where the study is conducted. 2. Having a large study sample requires researchers to spend more resources. 3. Results are limited since they are usually based on the analysis of numbers and are not obtained from detailed narratives. 4. It provides less elaborate accounts of human perceptions. 5. In experimental research, the level of control might not be normally placed in the real world because it is usually done in a laboratory.

7. Disadvantages 6. Preset or fixed alternative answers may not necessarily reflect the true answers of the participants. 7. Findings can be influenced by the researcher’s perspective since most of the time, the participants are unknown to him/ her.

8. Importance of Quantitative Research in different fields 1. Education 2. Business 3. Medical and Health Allied Services 4. Science and Technology

9. Summary

10. Activity 1 Nature of Quantitative Research Answer the following questions based on your knowledge gained from the discussion. Define quantitative research. Explain at least two (2) characteristics of research. Explain at least two (2) advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research. Specify the importance of quantitative research to the different fields of study. Mention at least two (2) fields of study as examples.