SH1806

The Nature of Inquiry: An Introduction to Quantitative Research

I. An Overview of Research
German-American rocket scientist Wernher Von Braun once said: “Research is what I am doing when
I do not know what I am doing.” We as humans, try to explain things we do not understand. We try to
extract evidences from hunches and guesses. We try to survive and live by
observing the world around us. According to the Collin’s Dictionary (2018),
research is a task that involves studying and trying to gain and find out facts
about it. According to Cabauatan, De Castro, Grajo, and Uy (2016), inquiry
or research begins when a person is born. Through a baby’s senses, s/he tries
to grasp the feel of his or her new world. The information s/he gathers are
then stored in his or her brain. Babies normally can go along well with
people whom s/he is familiar with like his mom or dad or older sibling/s,
this is because the baby has registered their voices, their smells in their
minute brain structure but these babies dislike other relatives since they are
obviously not familiar with them. A person makes sense of his or her
surroundings through inquiry and this will go on until the person dies.
Research can be either applied or basic. The latter is sought only to gain
new knowledge or to gain a significant amount or mastery in a given subject Picture 1. Werner Heisenberg. A
or topic, while applied research is done to seek application of knowledge Nazi physicist. www.nobelprize.org
even if the information is old.
We also need to be aware that information constantly changes. On top of this are information and data
regarding science and technology. It is important to note that facts, knowledge, and learnings gained
from research should be used and applied in its relative field or shared with other disciplines. Also, in
this way, we would know if there are things that still needs discovery or at the least, improvement that
would require additional research.
There are multitudes or reasons why we do research and it differs from one person to another. Some
do research for profit, some for humanitarian purposes, and sadly, as history witnessed it, for world
domination. Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader made hundreds of German scientist research for weapons of
mass destruction so he could dominate the entire globe. One of the pioneering Nazi scientist was
Werner Heisenberg. A physicist that nearly created the first atomic bomb. However, he was out
researched by the Americans and by his archrival, American, J. Robert Oppenheimer who successfully
developed the first atomic bomb. However, the real aims of research is for the betterment of
humankind. The real aims of research are: (Cabauatan, De Castro, Grajo, and Uy, 2016)
1. Create new knowledge or information – The knowledge that we have at present may be outdated.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to gain new information about a certain topic.
2. Utilize the new knowledge – It is important that knowledge should not remain stagnant. Using the
acquired knowledge could produce other facts. Learning can only be appreciated fully if it is used
or applied.
3. Validate existing knowledge – an established fact can be rendered outdated and is prone to be
challenged. In order for this fact to become a reliable or credible, research should be done in order
to validate its truthfulness.
4. Improve the researcher – conducting research challenges the researcher to be creative, ethical and
seek help from reputable individuals if s/he is having difficulty. Conducting research also makes
the researcher contribute more for the well-being of others.
01 Handout 1 *Property of STI
student.feedback@sti.edu Page 1 of 3
 SH1806

II. Research Designs: An Introduction

There are two (2) main approaches to a research problem – these are quantitative and qualitative
methods. The former is concerned on the examination of relationship between variables with the goal
to study the relationship mathematically through statistical analysis. The latter is concerned with
explaining and searching answer about a phenomena or an occurrence. These two (2) are often
employed when conducting research in the field of social science. A researcher must first determine
which of these two main approach s/he should use. After that, a research should determine which
research design s/he should use. In your Practical Research 1, you have learned about the basic research
designs available. Let us review: (Arlos, Francisco, Jaime- Francisco, 2016)
1. Correlational – this type of research design attempts to know the degree of relationship between
two (2) or more variables using statistical information.
2. Experimental – this type of research design tries to explain the cause and effect relationships among
variables.
3. Experimental – it is considered the most effective method for testing cause and effect relationships.
It is also known as true experimentation as it uses the scientific method to gain the viable and
acceptable results.
4. Descriptive – Possibly the simplest research design as in only tries to describe what exists and may
help uncover new findings and learnings.

III. The Variables

We must understand that quantitative research involves measuring observable traits of people,
communities, population and others. These observable traits can be called as variables. These variables
serve as a foundation for gathering, organizing, presenting, and studying data in quantitative research
(Torneo & Clamor-Torneo, 2017).

All researches have at least two (2) types of variables: the independent variable and the dependent
variable. The independent variable, also known as the input variable is the probable cause of an
occurrence. It does not easily change. It is the variable that is controlled or manipulated by the
researcher so s/he may know if altering it would change the dependent variable or at least give off
minute reactions. The dependent variable is also known as the outcome variable. It is affected by the
independent variables and changes due to the manipulation and alteration of the independent variable.

As mentioned, variables are measureable. The date variables contain can be grouped as categorical
variables or numerical variables. Categorical variables may be placed in a ranking order, while
numerical variables have values or numerical measurements. Let us refer to the taxonomy so we can
have a better grasp of how we can measure variables.

01 Handout 1 *Property of STI

student.feedback@sti.edu Page 2 of 3
 SH1806

Statistical Data

Categorical Variable Numerical Variable

Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio

• Nominal variables – classifies individuals, objects, or responses based on the common

characteristic though it is limited to descriptive categories. Nominal variables cannot be ranked
because these are limited to descriptive categories, though we may count the frequencies. Examples
of nominal variables are gender, religion, and others.

• Ordinal variables – it has a characteristics of nominal variables but ranked in a certain order.
Examples of which are social status (Class A, Class B, Class C), Contest results (Champion, 1 st
runner-up, 2nd runner-up), degrees of weather anomalies and earthquakes which are used by
government agencies like the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration or PAGASA and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology or
PHILVOLCS (Signal no.1, Signal no. 2, magnitude 6, magnitude 8).

• Interval variables – numerical variables that are rank-ordered, with values in ranges. Examples are
age, measurements like temperature and others.

• Ratio variables – ratio variables has the characteristics of the other three (3) variables. They are
based on a fixed beginning point which is called a “true zero (0) point”, where the value of zero (0)
does not exist. Examples are family income, voter registration for 2000, 2004, and 2008, number of
students per classroom, and others.

References:
Collin's Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'research'. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/research
Francsico, P., Jaime-Francisco, V., & Arlos, A. (2016). Practical research 2: Quatitative reserach. Manila:
Minshapers Co., Inc.
Uy, C., Cabauatan, R., De Castro, B., & Grajo, J. (2016). Practical research 2. Quezon City: Vibal Group, Inc.
Clamor-Torneo, H. & Torneo, A. (2017). Practical research 2. Quezon City: Sibs Publishing House Inc.

01 Handout 1 *Property of STI

student.feedback@sti.edu Page 3 of 3