7.3 Quantitative Research Reflection

Some researchers or social scientists in the world believe there are patterns and regularities that occur in society in human behaviors, which are not random, as some others tend to think. These researchers want to find out why these patterns exist in order to explain them. Once they are able to explain the patterns they turn their explanations into a theory developing a hypothesis about the relationships to find out if theory is valid. The researchers will use a process called quantitative research. In order to research quantitatively, the researcher will abide by a generalized sequence as follows: observe events from afar not letting the participants know of their presence or distribute a questionnaire, they then arrange and summarize the data, analyze and finally draw conclusions from their research findings.

These researchers ask two types of questions using either descriptive research in order to find out what happens or exists in society, or they may use explanatory research in order to find out why something exists or happens in society. Using this type of social research can help in the developments of comparing or classifying the data collected. The researchers will then research the questions using either empirical or theoretical research. Empirical research has an object to study, such as a problem of reality; where theoretical research studies problems that are related to concepts, perspectives or theories in the discipline.

In order to explain why something is the way it is a researcher will use the quantitative research method. This method is based on the idea that social phenomena can be quantified, measured and expressed numerically. This information will then be analyzed usually by statistical methods, which will only provide the researcher with limited information as it only provides quantities and some level of statistical significance, if there is any at all.

Once the information has been analyzed thoroughly the information can then be classified into variables or observation units, which are then transformed into a data matrix. Variables are what can be observed or measured and observation units can be a number of things such as an individual, group etc. In order to determine the observation unit the researcher will use a process called sampling where he or she will study a sample group from the population in order to represent the entire group, as it is impossible to measure everyone. The sampling is random in order to provide the most accurate results producing minimal errors. Quantitative research method then allows the researcher to compare groups and or other variables chosen to provide the audience with an explanation of the social phenomena.

Performing quantitative research can be a tedious but informative task. If paired with another type of research called qualitative research the results will be able to be a balance in explaining not only the why, but the how as well.

http://qualitativeresearch.ratcliffs.net/
Rose & Sullivan 1996, 10
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