Quantitative Research

Quantitative

• Methods based in the collection and analysis of numerical data, usually obtained from questionnaires, tests, checklists, and other formal paper and pencil instruments.

• But entails more than just the use of numerical data.

Quantitative

• It also involves– stating the hypothesis studied, and the research

procedures implemented prior to conducting the study,

– maintaining control over contextual factors that might interfere with the data collected,

– using large enough samples of participants to provide statistically meaningful data.

Quantitative

– Employing data analyses that rely on statistical procedures.

– Usually little personal interaction between the researcher and the people they study.

Quantitative

• Uses underlying belief that we inhabit a stable, and measurable world.

Quantitative

• Positivist Perspective- hold that the world and the laws that govern it are stable and can be understood by scientific observation.– Claims about the world are not meaningful

unless they can be verified through direct observation.

– This approach continues to be the dominant one in education.

Types of Quantitative research

• Review-Intended to describe current conditions, investigate relationships, and study cause-effect phenomena.

Descriptive Research

• Also called survey research, collects numerical data to answer questions about the current status of the subject of study.

• Most obtain information about the preferences, attitudes, practices, concerns, or interests of some group.

• Data are collected by self administered instruments or telephone polls.

Descriptive Research

• Important to construct clear and consistent descriptive instruments.

• Major problem- failure of participants to return questionaires or cooperate in telephone interviews.

Descriptive Research

• Examples:• How do second-grade teachers spend their

teaching time?• How will the citizens if Yourtown vote in

the next presidential election?• How do parents feel about a twelvemonth

school year.

Correlational Research

• Examines the degree of relationship between two or more variables.

• A correlation is a quantitative measure (of the degree of correspondence between two or more variables).– E.g. SAT scores and freshman college grades.

Correlational Research

• Degree of relationship is measured by correlation coefficient.– Plus/minus 1.00 indicating highly related– .00 indicating no relationship between the

variables.

Correlational Research

• If two variable are highly related, it does not mean that one is the cause of the other; there may be a third factor that “causes” both the related variables

Correlational Research

• Examples:• The correlation between intelligence and

self-esteem.• The relationship between anxiety and

achievement.• Use of aptitude test to predict success in an

algebra course.

Causal-Comparative Research

• Seeks to investigate cause and effect relationships.

• Activity thought to make a difference is called the causal factor, treatment or independent variable.

• The effect is called the dependent variable.

Causal-Comparative Research

• In most studies the researcher does not have control over the causal factor because it has already occurred or cannot be manipulated.

• Useful when it is impossible or unethical to manipulate the causal factor.

Causal-Comparative Research

• The effect of preschool attendance on social maturity at the end of the first grade.

• The effect of having a working mother on school absenteeism.

• The effect of gender on algebra achievement.

Experimental Research

• Also seeks to investigate cause-effect relationships.

• Experimental researcher controls the selection of participants by choosing them from a single pool and assigning them at random to different causal treatments.

Experimental Research

• Research also controls the contextual variables that might interfere with the study.

• Because it randomly selects and assigns participants into different treatments, experimental research permits true cause-effect statements to be made.

Experimental Research

• The comparative effectiveness of personalized instruction from a teacher versus computer instruction on computational skills.

• The effect of self-paced instruction on self-concept.

• The effect of positive reinforcement on attitude toward school.