COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN-BACOLOD –BED - SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

PRACTICAL RESEARCH 2 - INTRODUCTION TO QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

CHAPTER 1 -NATURE OF INQUIRY AND RESEARCH

Learning Competencies :

The learner:

1.1.describes characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, and kinds of quantitative research

1.2. illustrates the importance of quantitative research across fields
1.3differentiates kinds of variables and their uses
SECTION 1 - OVERVIEW OF QN RESEARCH

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH

Quantitative research is the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomenon using tools of mathematics and statistics.
o Quantitative - involves quantification or measurement and usually involves numbers
o Empirical - concerned with things or characteristics that are observable
o Social phenomenon - concerned with people, their communities, their organizations and even their behavior.
• Quantitative research uses QN methods (pertains to the various QN techniques for collection, analysis and interpretation of data
o Survey -most popular technique for data collection
o Descriptive statistics and interpretative statistics commonly used for analyzing data
APPLICATIONS OF QN RESEARCH APPROACH

o To measure or evaluate something or when we are looking for numerical answers to complex questions
o To test theories ,models or hypotheses
o To develop quantitative model that can be used to predict or project future events based on past events or scenarios
FEATURES OF QN RESEARCH

QN research approach is differentiated from the QL research approach by the following:

1. the kinds of research problems it addresses

 The QN research approach is best for research problems or questions that require quantification or measurement.
2. its philosophical underpinnings
QN research is associated with a philosophy called positivism. In positivism knowledge is believed to come from empirical observation and the use of
logic.
The task of the QN researcher is to discover the patterns, frameworks and laws that govern social phenomena through objective, careful and
systematic observation and verification.
Empiricism- What cannot be observed using the five senses, cannot be reasonably studied. Researchers promote objective investigation as it provides
a common reference for evaluating data or evidence.
3. its adoption of the scientific method
QN researchers adopt research procedures, measurements ,analytical techniques, and rigorous testing that approximate those used by scientists -and
this is referred to as the scientific method which involves :
a. identifying research problem and stating research questions
b. Reviewing related literature
c. Formulating framework and hypothesis
d. Choosing data collection method and analysis
e. Collecting data
f. Analyzing data
g. Concluding and making recommendations
This is also referred to as the research cycle .
4. its deductive orientation

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

A. Determine which approach will match with the questions below-Qualitative or Quantitative? Why so?

1. What is it like growing up in a single-parent family in a rural environment?

2. How many text messages do SHS teachers send a day?
3. How frequently do teachers use the Schoology for their subject -related communications to students?
4. What are the experiences of people working night shifts in health care?
5. How would overweight people describe their meal times while dieting?
B. Given the following scenario which research approach will you use? Why?
A sales supervisor would like to find out what days of the week do people prefer to go shopping, and find out which among the
age groups has the highest spending during shopping.
TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

1. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH . Its main purpose is to observe, describe and document aspects of a situation
as it naturally occurs and sometimes to serve as a starting point for hypothesis generation or theory
development. It is used to gather information from groups of people by selecting and studying samples
chosen from a population. This is useful when the objective of the study is to see general picture of the
population under investigation in terms of their social and economic characteristics, opinions, and their
knowledge about the behavior towards a certain phenomenon.
Example : What are the sleeping habits of SHS students at CSAB?
What is the Health status of elementary school children in Bacolod City?
2. CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH . It is conducted to find out the direction, associations and/or relationship
between different variables or groups of respondents under study. A positive relationship means that
high values of one variable correspond with high values of the other and a negative relationship means
that a high values of one variable correspond with low values in the other
3. CAUSAL COMPARATIVE. This research derives conclusion from observations and manifestations that
already occurred in the past and now compared to some dependent variables. It discusses why and how
a phenomenon occurs. Its purpose is to determine cause and effect relationships among variables.
An IV is identified but NOT manipulated
The effects of the IV on the DV are measured
are NOT randomly assigned
Example : A researcher is interested in how weight influences stress-coping level of adults. Here the
respondents would be separated into different groups (underweight, normal, overweight) and their
stress-coping levels measured. ( a pre-existing characteristic (weight) was used to form the groups)
What is the effect of Home Schooling on the Social Skills of Adolescents?
4. EXPERIMENTAL –
An experiment tests an idea to determine whether it influences an outcome.
-Used when the researcher wants to establish possible cause and effect between variables.
-The researcher manipulates conditions or inputs to observe the outcomes
a)True experiments, the researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions of the
experimental variable.
b)Quasi-experiments include assignment, but not random assignment of participants to
groups.
o Applies the scientific method to prove the ‘cause and effect ‘relationship among a group of variables
Example: What is the effect of mentoring on the grades of college students ?

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

A. Determine the type of quantitative research that will match the following:

a. The types of activities used in math classrooms and test scores of students
b. The Attitude of Senior Citizens Toward Covid-19 Vaccination
c. The Effect of the New Treatment Plan on Breast Cancer
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF QN RESEARCH APPROACH

STRENGTHS
Findings can be generalized
Samples can be selected to ensure
‘representativeness’
Estimates of magnitude and distribution of
impacts can be obtained
Clear documentation can be provided on the
content and application of the survey
instruments to assess validity of the instrument
Standardized approached allows replication
Objective
Numerical data can be analyzed in a quick and
easy way.
Uses statistical techniques
WEAKNESSES
Many information are difficult to obtain through
structured data collection instruments
Self-reported information from questionnaires
maybe inaccurate or incomplete
The administration of a structured questionnaire
creates an unnatural situation which may alienate
the respondents
Research methods are inflexible
Requires a large number of respondents
The information in contextual factors to help
interpret the results or to explain variations are
usually ignored.
If not done seriously and correctly, data from
questionnaires may be incomplete and inaccurate

CHAPTER 1 : SECTION 2 - THE IMPORTANCE OF QN RESEARCH ACROSS FIELDS

Quantitative research is widely used in psychology, economics, demography, sociology, marketing, community
health, health & human development, gender studies , and political science. Now ,think of ways by which
research has helped the following professionals in their respective fields?
1.surgeons
2. engineers
3. businessmen
4. teachers
SECTION 3 : THE USES OF VARIABLES IN QN RESEARCH

A VARIABLE refers to characteristics, or attribute of an individual or an organization that can be measured or

observed and that varies among the people or organization being studied (Creswell, 2002).

A variable varies and has values. The values of variables under study are the research data.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF VARIABLES (VAR.) IN QNR & THEIR USES

A. OPERATIONAL VARIABLES -used to investigate causal relationships or associations

1. independent var. (IV) or change var. -var. that are presumed to cause changes in a phenomenon or
situation or another var.
-occurs prior to all var.
- also called treatment, antecedent, manipulated or predictor var.
-parenting styles of parents which affect the level of self-esteem of children
2. dependent var. (DV) or outcome or effect var.- changes brought about by the IV
-Researchers predict or associate the values of the DV through the values of the IV
- No. of migrants to a host country is a DV of the socioeconomic status of the source country
A var. is not only measured, but can also be manipulated and controlled . An IV (also called
an experimental or predictor V ) is a var that is being manipulated in an experiment in order to
observe effect this has on a DV (outcome var).

3.Intervening var. These var are the links between the DV and the IV
- A country’s regime type and its support for the LGBT rights may be influenced by the country’s
level of freedom of assembly

4.Antecedent var.-IVs which precede other IVs

- var. That affect the link between the cause, connecting, and effect var.
- increase or decrease the strength of the relationship between the IV and the DV
-The research is investigating the positive relationship between internet usage and political participation.
There are studies that disprove the relationship due to access and censorship. Thus internet access and
censorship maybe treated as antecedent var. to internet usage (IV) and political participation (DV)

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

Given the description below,identify the IV and the DV.
a) A researcher explores whether people who already speak multiple languages learn new
languages faster than people who only speak one language
b) A researcher explores whether there is a link between the amount of time someone spends
studying and the grade they get in their academic subjects.
c) The higher the temperature of the air in the oven, the faster a cake will bake

B.MEASURING VARIABLES -classified according to the data they contain

1. Categorical or Qualitative var. – maybe classified according to categories or maybe placed in rank
orders
a. Nominal : enables the classification of individuals, objects or responses based on a common
property or characteristics
: used to name, label or categorize particular attributes that are being measured. It takes qualitative
values representing different categories, and there is no intrinsic ordering of these categories.
: can also take quantitative values. However, these quantitative values do not have numeric
properties
: person’s phone number, National Identification Number postal code
b. Ordinal : has all the characteristics of a nominal var. but ranked in a certain order
: social class ; results of competition
2. Numerical or Quantitative var. – have numerical values or measures varies in=n degree or amount of a
phenomenon
a. Interval : used to define values measured along a scale, with each point placed at an equal distance
from one another
: do not have a “true zero” value ,since zero does not actually represent none or nothing
 : When comparing two interval var. , that they differ from each other and that one is more than the
other we say
: temperature measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit, time
b. Ratio : has all the properties of interval variable plus a real absolute zero. That is, value of zero
represents the total absence of the variable being measured.
Ex. Height of children in centimeters , Reaction time in a computer task

CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

Read the problem and identify the variables described. Identify the type of each variable.
A researcher is tracking the spread of a disease through a group of people. They are collecting data on
if the people in the group currently have the disease, have recovered from the disease, or have never
had the disease, as well as tracking the body temperatures of all the individuals. Which of these
variables is categorical?

a) Variable :
Type:
b) Variable :
Type
A. Variables and Theories
A theory is a set of systematically interrelated constructs and propositions intended to explain and
predict a phenomenon or behavior of interest within certain boundary conditions and assumptions (
Bhattacherjee, 2012)
Theories – models and explanations that elaborate on why events have occurred, used to describe
causal relationship[s between action and/or events

Building Blocks of a Theory

a) Constructs – the ‘WHAT’ of theories ; what concepts are important for explaining a phenomenon
b) Propositions – the ‘HOW’ ; how are the concepts related to each other
c) Logic – the ‘WHY’ – Why are these concepts related?
d) Conditions/Assumptions – examine the ‘who, when and where’

B. Uses of Variables in Quantitative Research

1. Classifying –Variables are used to describe the phenomenon or population
2. Measuring –Variables allow the researcher to measure the frequency, magnitude and impact of a
particular subject or concept
3. Explaining –Variables allow researchers to identify the meaning, purpose and use of social phenomena
4. Assessing relationships