Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research

There are many elements to quantitative research, quantitative research is very important when we are trying to study society as a whole and turn it into a numerical equation. It sounds like a hard task but through quantitative research we can make sense out of the many different people in this world and all of their behaviors. I think that this type of research is important in a country such as the United States, since we have cultures from all over the world mixed into our American society it is important that we understand ourselves more. If we are to improve as a nation we need to study ourselves and what we can do better so that we can have a country where the majority of people can feel proud of it. Quantitative research can do all of that for us, it can be a lot of work but the results can seriously change many things for the better.

            One of the first things we must do when starting quantitative research is to plan the research which we want to study. Selection of the theme and topic are very important factors, we want to research things that have our personal interest. Having a personal interest in the topic at hand will motivate most researchers and create a stronger bond with the task at hand. Many researchers find that the research they are completing has a social significance, this is also important because many times people are able to help their society with their work and at the same time might be able to find others who are willing to help fund the project. When you are planning your research it is important to reflect on what past work has been done so that you might save yourself some time. Pre-existing data will help you see what others have done in the past and help you see where you want to take your work, you can determine from pre-existing data what you would like to add to the research of the topic at hand.

            So now that we have a plan of the type of research which we want to do we need to have an idea of the research design. This is important so that we can have a logical structure of the research data. It is vital to the research that we can answer the initial question which we are researching and present it as best as possible to get the point across. Doing the research is useless if we cannot get our point across in a clear way. Clearness is one of the standards of critical thinking, if your audience can not see things clearly than no change will come from the research. When working on your research design there are many different methods of data collection. You can collect data though questionnaires, structured interviews, unstructured interview, observation, participation observation, document analysis and obstructive measures. These are all vital components to quantitative research, without these methods of research our design might become too random and will not portray the most accurate information possible.

            Sampling is another element of quantitative research, sampling is when you take a small amount of people who represent a larger population. Sampling is used because when you are studying a larger group of people it is usually not possible to keep track of everyone’s behaviors. With sampling there is a margin of error in place to weed out the discrepancies which might come to be with sampling. This is all taken into account and can be statistically estimated. Usually sampling does work great because in society many different groups of people and cultures have similar behaviors. The similar behavior found amongst different groups or categories of people is what makes sampling an accurate way to conduct quantitative research. When sampling we must take into account representativeness, equivalence of population and sample. If the sampling is done correctly, population and sample should be accurate with the margin error. Also the bigger the sample group the more likely that the sampling portion of the research will be accurate. Accuracy and precision are also a part of critical thinking standards and to achieve the most understanding for our public through quantitative research the data must be as accurate as possible.

            Last but not least, if the quantitative research which has been conducted is to be well respected, an important element is that our ethical principles have not been compromised. When dealing with the people that you conducted your research with there has to be a bond and confidence that you will use the data in the best way possible. No harm can come to the participants, a lot of times people are letting you into their lives when performing research such as quantitative research. There needs to be anonymity so that your participants are protected against future scrutiny, if we are to continue to conduct projects such as this participation will be vital. For these types of studies although at times it is important that you are observing without the knowledge of the participants, we must still remember to get the participants consent. There is a lot that goes into quantitative research but I think that the most important element to this research is that we hold our ethical principles to a higher standard.