A500.7.3.GA – Quantitative Research Reflection

Richard Martinez

December 3, 2015

MSLD 500

            In my last blog I discussed Qualitative Research and summarized the main elements. In this blog entry I will be discussing Quantitative Research its main elements as well as advantages and disadvantages. Quantitative Research is defined as research that is centered on scientific approaches and produces data that looks to form relationships between two or more variables and uses statistical methods to exam the connections. This research aims at explanation and answers primarily to why. Quantitative research will test hypotheses, it will look at cause and effect and it will make predictions.

            The group studied in quantitative research is usually larger that in qualitative research and its more focused on numbers and statistics. Quantitative research data will identify statistical relationships and objectivity is critical. There are several strengths and weaknesses associated with quantitative research. There are four primary strengths associated with quantitative research. The first is that it permits the research and explanation of social structures and methods that are not directly observable. It is also well-suited for quantitative description and comparisons between groups and areas. Another strength is that it describes changes. The last strength is the analysis and explanation of casual dependencies between social phenomena. A disadvantage or weakness of quantitative research is that it is only applicable for measurable or quantifiable data. Another disadvantage is it presumes relatively extensive information on the subject matter to be able to ask the right questions. Quantitative research produces a static view of the reality and is difficult to study processes or dynamic data. And the final primary weakness is that quantitative research does not have a full description of the participant’s perspectives or intentions and meanings.

            The research process consists of multiple steps beginning with your research idea. From here you must conduct a literature review and then a theoretical formulation of the research problem. From here we move to the next step which is the empirical research questions. Next is the research design or planning which may include experimental design, longitudinal design, cross-sectional design, and case study design. The next step is that data collection. Data collection can be completed by a questionnaire, structured interview, unstructured interview, observation, participant observation, document analysis, and unobtrusive measures. Each of these data collection methods can be used in all four of the research designs. After data collection then data must then be analyzed. From here the next step is to answer the empirical research questions and then the theoretical interpretation of the results. After that the next step is the comparison with earlier research and then finally your conclusions.

            Quantitative research tends to only generate proved or unproven results and there is very little room for grey areas or uncertainty. This form of research is usually time consuming and can be expensive especially if the design has to be adjusted and the research retested. Quantitative research is also seen as unbiased.