Introduction to Quantitative Research Charles Laugharne

Quantitative/Qualitative? Quantitative Emphasis on measuring and counting Makes general statements about people as groups Likes to prove causal relationships Tends to reduce things to smaller parts Qualitative Usually no counting Emphasis on feeling and experiences Tends to see the world as changing Emphasis on the individual Tends to see things holistically

Methods Quantitative Experiments Random control trials Surveys Qualitative Ethnography Phenomenology

How to measure Instruments e.g. (Temperature using a thermometer, ruler) Scales (used to measure things we cannot see) Counting (Number of people, ages and length of time)

The Building Blocks Theory – a set of ideas about a situation that guides a research study Hypothesis – the researcher’s prediction of what they might find Variables - independent variable – the “cause” - dependent variable – the “effect” Instruments – describes the tool used to collect data in a study e.g. questionnaire Measurement – the method used to measure the phenomenon being studied

Sampling Population - the units (people, events, objects or institutions) from which data are collected. - A clearly defined group who share common characteristics, as defined by the researcher. Sample - a proportion or subset of the sample - a section of a defined population used in a study to provide data Census

Evaluating quantitative research Validity Does it study what is says it studies? The extent to which a tool of data collection has produced what it intended to produce. Reliability The accuracy of the tool of data collection. Are the results repeated in further studies? Generalizability In quantitative research, the ability to apply the results of a study to other like situations.