Introduction to quantitative research.

Introduction to quantitative research.

1. When do we use quantitative methods?

   • -To find out what kinds of questions are best answered using quantitative methods.
   • -There are four main types of research questions: 1) Quantitative answers. 2) Precise numerical change. 3) Explanation of the phenomena. 4) Hypothesis test.
   • -When we collect data in quantitative educational research, we have to collect it from someone or something.
   • -Collected data called variables.

2. Foundations of quantitative research methods.

   • Realism, subjectivism and the ‘paradigm wars’
   • -An umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of methods, such as interviews, case studies, ethnographic research, and discourse analysis.
   • -The quantitative view is described as "realistic" or sometimes "positivistic".
   • -Quantitative and qualitative research methods are remove incompatibilities.

3. What is quantitative research?

   • -To find out what kinds of questions are best answered using quantitative methods.
   • -There are four main types of research questions: 1) Quantitative answers. 2) Precise numerical change. 3) Explanation of the phenomena. 4) Hypothesis test.
   • -When we collect data in quantitative educational research, we have to collect it from someone or something.
   • -Collected data called variables.

4. Units and variables.

   • -The collection data are known as variables.
   • -When we collect data in quantitative educational research, we have to collect it from someone or something.
   • -Variables are any characteristic that we are interested in and want to collect.

5. What is a hypothesis?

   • -A hypothesis is a tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts and can be tested by further investigation.
   • -Quantitative researchers will design studies that allow us to test.
   • -The acceptance of a hypothesis is always provisional, since new data may arise that cause its subsequent rejection.

6. Common misconceptions.

   • I have to have an epistemology to do research, don’t I? No, not necessarily.
   • Data has to be in a quantitative format to do quantitative research, doesn’t it? Not necessarily.
   • Qualitative and quantitative research are incompatible, aren’t they? Not necessarily.
   • Qualitative research is purely subjective, isn’t it? Not necessarily. While some qualitative researchers might take a strong subjectivist stance, there is a wide variety of qualitative methods that can accommodate a variety of viewpoints.