STEPS IN THE PROCESS

OF QUANTITATIVE
DATA ANALYSIS
by: NESTLE D. PAZCOGUIN
 QUANTITATIVE DATA?
• Quantitative data is factual information involving numbers and
categories. Categories often refer to choices between options,
such as your favourite type of food or your opinion in a range
from strongly disagree to strongly agree. This leader to three
fundamental types of data:
• Numerical data (this could be whole numbers or decimals)
• Categories with a natural ordering (such as strongly agree, agree,
neutral, disagree, strongly disagree) – this is known as ordinal data
• Categories without any agreed ordering (such as protein, dairy,
carbohydrate, fruit and vegetables) – this is known as nominal data
 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
• You should choose a level of analysis that is appropriate for
your research question

• You should choose the type of statistical analysis appropriate

for the variables you have
• Nominal/Categorical, Ordinal, or Continuous
STEPS IN QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Step 1: Data Management
This involves familiarizing yourself with
appropriate software; systematically
logging in and screening your data:
entering the data into a program; and
finally, ‘cleaning’ your data.
STEPS IN QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Step 2: Understanding Variable types
Different data types demand discrete
treatment, so it has important to be able to
distinguish variables by both cause and
effect (dependent or independent), and
their measurement scales (nominal,
ordinal, interval, and ratio).2
STEPS IN QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Step 3: Run Descriptive Statistics
These are used to summarize the basic
features of a data set through measures of
central tendency (mean, mode, and
median), dispersion (range, quartiles,
variance, and standard deviation), and
distribution (skewness and kurtosis).
STEPS IN QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Step 4: Run Appropriate Inferential Statistics  
This allows researchers to assess their ability to
draw conclusions that extend beyond the
immediate data. For example, if a sample
represents the population; if there are differences
between two or more groups; if there are changes
over time; or if there is a relationship between two
or more variables.
STEPS IN QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Step 5: Make Sure You Select The
Right Statistical Test 
This relies on knowing the nature of
your variables; their scale of
measurement; their distribution shape;
and the types of question you want to
ask.
STEPS IN QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Step 6: Look for statistical
significance
This is generally captured through a ‘p-
value’, which assesses the probability
that your findings are more than
coincidence. The lower the p-value, the
more confident researchers can be that