LESSON 3:

TYPES OF
QUANTITATIVE
DATA
COLLECTION
 Key
concepts:
→ survey research
→ experimental research
→ official statistics
→ questionnaire
→ content analysis
 Objectives:
→ Describe data collection methods or procedures in
quantitative research.
→ Identify the strengths and weaknesses of
quantitative data collection method.
 Survey research
This is a research method involving the use of
standardized questionnaire or interviews to collect data
about people and their preferences, thoughts, and
behaviors in a systematic manner.

Questionnaire
Interview survey
survey
 • Surveys are an excellent vehicle for measuring
a whole variety of unobservable data.
• Survey research is also ideally suited for
Strengths remotely collecting data about a population
that is too large to observe directly.
• Unobtrusive nature
• Interviews may be the only way of reaching
certain population groups.
• Survey research is economical in terms of
researcher’s time, effort, and cost than most
other methods.
 Example
Customer’s Satisfaction
1. What is your favorite product?
2. Why did you purchase this product?
3. How satisfied are you with [product]?
4. Would you recommend [product] to a friend?
5. Would you recommend [company name] to a
friend?
6. If you could change one thing about [product],
what would it be?
 Experiment
One of the most rigorous of all research designs is the
experimental research. It is a controlled study in which
the researcher attempts to understand cause-and-effect
relationships. 

True Experimental Quasi-experimental

designs designs
 3 key
features:
→ one or more independent variables are
manipulated by the researcher.
→ subjects are randomly assigned to different
treatment levels.
→ the results of the treatments on outcomes are
observed.
 • Treatment and control groups. Some
Basic subjects are administered one or more
experimental stimulus called a treatment while
concepts other subjects are not given such a stimulus.
• Treatment manipulation. Treatments are
unique feature of experimental research that
sets this design apart from all other research
methods.
• Random selection and assignment. Random
selection is the process of randomly drawing a
sample from a population or a sampling frame.
 • Though experimental research requires theories for
framing hypotheses for testing, much of current
experimental research is atheoretical.
Four key • Many of the measurement instruments used in
experimental research are not tested for reliability
problems and validity and are incomparable across studies.
• Many experimental research use inappropriate
research designs, such as irrelevant dependent
variables, no interaction effects, no experimental
controls, nonequivalent stimulus across treatment
groups.
• The treatments used in experimental research may
be diverse, incomparable, and inconsistent across
studies and sometimes inappropriate for the subject
population.
 Example
Testing the effects of a new drug
intended to treat dementia

placebo
high low (sugar
dosage dosage pill)
 Official statistics
The use and analysis of official statistics for purposes
of social research is another alternative to collecting
quantitative data.

Unobtrusive Unobtrusive
measure method
 • The data have already been collected. As with other
kinds of secondary analysis of data considerable
time and expense may be saved.
Advantages • Since the people who are the source of the data are
not being asked questions that are part of a research
project, the problem of reactivity will be much less
pronounced than when data are collected by
interview or questionnaire.
• There is the prospect of analyzing the data both
cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
• There is the prospect as well of cross-cultural
analysis.
Example

births
death
marriage data
education data
crime data
 Content analysis
It is “an approach to the analysis of documents and
texts that seeks to quantify content in terms of
predetermined categories and in a systematic and
replicable manner” (Byrman, 2008, 275)
 Example
Content that is analyzed can be in any
form to begin with.
Print media Newspaper items, magazine articles,
books, catalogues
Other writings Web pages, advertisements,
billboards, posters, graffiti
Broadcast media Radio programs, news items, TV
programs
Other recordings Photos, drawings, videos, films,
music
Live situations Speeches, interviews, plays, concerts

Observations Gestures, rooms, products in shops

 Sources
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/content-analysis/
https://revisesociology.com/2015/12/22/official-statistics-
sociology/