Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What is quantitative
research?
According to Mertler (2009), quantitative
research methodologies “require the collection
and analysis of numerical data (e.g. test
scores, opinion ratings, attitude scales)…and
utilize a “deductive approach (moving from a
general to a more specific manner) to
reasoning when attempting to answer research
questions” (p. 7)
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
Review of Terminology
Hypotheses—Predicted outcome of a study
Median—The specific score in the set of data that separates the entire distribution in equal
halves.
Range—The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution of scores.
Standard Deviation—A measure of how much the scores vary from the mean.
Research Design
Descriptive
Single Quantitativ
Subject e Research Correlational
Designs
Designs
Group
Comparison
Descriptive Research
Surveys, questionnaires,
Checklistsrating scales
Tests and Other Formal Instruments
Surveys
Example
B) Mystery
D) Non-fiction
E) Fiction
F) Other:
Surveys con’t
A couple of guiding principles…
http://www.mad.state.mn.us/survey-guide
Likert and Likert-Type
Scales
Example of a likert scale response
1=strongly disagree
2= disagree
3 = no opinion
4 = agree
5= strongly agree
Kaplan, D. (2004). The sage handbook of quantitative methodology for the social sciences.
Analyzing Quantitative Data
Descriptive Statistics vs.
Inferential Statistics
According to Mertler (2009),
“Descriptive statistics are simple
mathematical procedures that serve to
simplify, summarize, and organize
relatively large amounts of numerical
data (p. 146).”
The purpose of inferential statistics is to
“determine how likely a given statistical
result is for an entire population based
on a smaller subset, or sample, of that
population” (p. 150).
Methods of Reporting
Descriptive Statistics
Taylor-Powell (1996) states that there are
several methods that help you to report raw
data to the reader:
Percentages
Examples:
A total of 12 managers in 3 business units were
given the software training.
Two out of 12 participants elected not to answer
the last survey question.
The participants ranged in yrs. experience from
3-20 years.
Two of the participants spoke Mandarin, and
remaining 10 spoke Spanish.
Percentages
Examples:
Sixty percent of the participants reported that they
understood the business
Eighty percent of the participants indicated that their
managers gave them feedback
Only twenty percent of the participants reported that
they had support materials in their departments.
Only thirty percent of the western business unit
participants reported having access to the software,
whereas, seventy-five percent of the eastern business
units reported having access.
Forty percent of the Supply chain mgrs. felt comfortable
explaining the strategy; whereas sixty percent of the
marketing manager reported that they felt comfortable
explaining it.
Percentages con’t
You can use percentages to show frequency of
responses.
http://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/statisti
cs/mean-median-mode.php
Measures of Variability-Range
Sometimes, looking at just the mean, median, or
mode will not give you a complete picture of the
“variability expressed the responses” (Taylor
Powell, 1996, p. 6).