What I Need to KNOW

This module contains one(1) lesson:

LESSON 1: QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH.

At the end of this module, the student is expected to:

 describe the characteristics of Quantitative Research;

 identify the strengths and weaknesses of Quantitative Research; and
 differentiate the kinds of Quantitative Research.

General Instructions: Answer all the activities on this module. Use separate sheets of
paper for your answers.

Activity I GUESS THE WORD. Guess the word that best describe each picture
below by supplying the missing letters to the blanks.

WHAT IS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH?

Quantitative Research is the systematic empirical investigation of

social phenomena that is presented through statistical, mathematical or numerical
data or computational techniques.

CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

1. It is objective since it seeks accurate measurement and analysis of target

concepts.
2. It has clearly defined research questions because at the beginning, the
researchers already know what they should look for.
3. It has structured research instruments that guides data collection to ensure
accuracy, reliability and validity of data.
4. The numerical data are presented through figures, tables, and graphs to allow
you to see results easily.
5. Large sample sizes are used to arrive at more reliable data analysis and results.

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Subject: Research in Daily Life II – Module 1
6. Quantitative methods can be repeated to verify findings in another setting and
also to strengthen validity of findings.
7. Since quantitative research puts emphasis on proof rather than discovery,
scenarios that may occur in the future may already have advanced results.

STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

STRENGHTS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

The advantages of quantitative research include the following:

1. It is objective. This research is considered to be the most reliable and valid way
of concluding results since the results are based on facts which have been
analyzed and have undergone systematic procedures.

2. Using statistical techniques help you arrive with sophisticated analyses and
allow you to comprehend huge amount of data that are vital to the study.

3. This type of research is real and unbiased since this is properly designed and
external factors like the researchers’ personal insights about the topic are always
set aside and filtered out.

4. The numerical data can be analyzed quickly and easily and findings can be
generalized to the population where information is necessary by employing statistically
valid random models.

5. Quantitative studies are replicable. These can be a basis for another related topic for
study since standardized approaches can be used or replicated in different areas
with formulation of comparable findings.

6. Quantitative experiments are useful for testing the results gained from series of
qualitative experiments, leading to a final answer, and narrowing down
various directions to be followed.

WEAKNESSES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

The disadvantages of quantitative research are as follows:

1. Quantitative research requires larger number of respondents. In a qualitative

research, it is assumed that the larger the sample is, the more statistically accurate the
findings are.
2. It is costly. Due to the fact that there are more respondents needed, the
expenses allotted for reaching out these people and for reproducing questionnaires or
survey forms will be greater compared to that of qualitative researches.
3. The information that serves as contextual factors to help interpret the results or
explain variations are usually ignored.
4. Limited information can be gathered when using structured research
instruments, specifically on sensitive issues like pre-marital sex, domestic
violence, among others.
5. If not done seriously and correctly, data from questionnaires may be
incomplete and inaccurate since some respondents might not answer truthfully.

KINDS OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS

Research design is about the overall strategy that researchers choose in order to
integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way,
ensuring also that you will effectively address the research problem. Furthermore,

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Subject: Research in Daily Life II – Module 1
a research design constitutes the blueprint for the selection, measurement and analysis
of data. The research problem, on the other hand, determines the research you should
focus on and in the end, give solution to. The kind of research depends on the
aim of the researcher to conduct the study and to the extent to which the findings will
be used. The following are the different kinds of Quantitative Research Design
that a researcher may employ:

1. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN

This allows the researcher to control the situation. In doing so, it allows
the researcher to answer the question, “What causes something to occur?” This
kind of research also allows the researcher to identify the cause and effect
relationships between variables and to distinguish placebo effects from
treatment effects. Furthermore, this research design supports the ability to limit
alternative explanations and to infer direct causal relationships in the study.

A. PRE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

A type of research applies to experimental design that with least internal

validity. One type of pre-experiment is the simple group design or
commonly known as the pretest-post-test design. This measures the group
two times-before and after the intervention. Instead of comparing the pre-test
with the post-test within one group, the post-test of the treated groups is
compared to the untreated group. Thus, measuring the effect as the difference
between groups marks this as between-subjects design. Assuming both
groups experience the same time-related influences, the comparison group
feature should protect this design from the rival explanations that threaten
the within-subject design.

B. QUASI – EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

In this design, the researcher can collect more data, either by scheduling
more observations or finding more existing measures. Quasi-experimental
design involves selecting groups, upon which a variable is tested, without
any random pre-selection processes. For example, to perform an
educational experiment, a class might be arbitrarily divided in an
alphabetical selection or via the seating arrangement. The division is often
convenient and, especially in an educational situation, causes as little disruption
as possible. After this selection, the experiment proceeds in a very similar
way to any other experiment, with a variable being compared between different
groups, or over a period of time.

C. TRUE-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

It controls both time-related and group-related threats. Two features

mark true experiments which means two or more differently groups are
treated or random assignments are given to both groups and from those,
results are obtained. This research design requires the researchers to
have control over the experimental treatment and the power to place subjects
to the groups. True experimental design let both treated and control groups
deal with time-related rival explanations. A control group reflects changes
other than the effects of outside events, maturation by the subjects,
changes in measures and impact of any pre-tests due to the treatment that
occur during the time of the study. True experimental design is considered to
have the highest internal validity of all the designs. Quasi-experimental design
differs from true experimental design because there are no random
assignments given to different conditions. On the other hand, what both

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Subject: Research in Daily Life II – Module 1
 designs have in is that some subjects receive intervention and provide data that
are likely to reflect its impact.

2. NON-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

In this kind of design, the researcher observes the phenomena by the

way it occurs naturally, and also, this kind of research does not introduce external
variables. Furthermore, variables are not manipulated nor the setting is controlled.
Meaning, the data is observed and gathered the way it is.

The Types of Descriptive Design are as follow:

A. SURVEY

It is used to gather information from groups of people by selecting and studying

samples chosen from a population.

B. CORRELATIONAL

It is conducted by researchers whose aim is to find out the direction, associations

and/or relationship between different variables or groups of respondents under study.

C. EX-POST FACTO or CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE

This kind of research derives conclusion from observations and

manifestations that already occurred in the past and now compared to some
dependent variables. It discusses why and how a phenomenon occurs.

Example 1:
A researcher is interested in how weight influences stress-coping level of adults. Here
the subjects would be separated into different groups (underweight, normal, overweight)
and their stress-coping levels measured. This is an ex post facto design because a pre-
existing characteristic (weight) was used to form the groups.

Example 2:
What is the Effect of Home Schooling on the Social Skills of Adolescents?

D. COMPARATIVE

It involves comparing and contrasting two or more samples of study subjects on

one or more variables, often at a single point of time. Specifically, this design is used to
compare two distinct groups on the basis of selected attributes such as
knowledge level, perceptions, and attitudes, physical or psychological symptoms.

Example: A comparative Study on the Health Problems among Rural and Urban People in
Ilocos Region, Philippines.

E. NORMATIVE

It describes the norm level of characteristics for a given behavior.

Example: If you are conducting a research on the study habits of the high school
students, you are to use the range of score to describe the level of their study habits. The same
true is when you would want to describe their academic performance.

F. EVALUATIVE

It is a process used to determine what has happened during a given activity or in

an institution. The purpose of evaluation is to see if a given program is working,

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Subject: Research in Daily Life II – Module 1
an institution is successful according to the goals set for it, or the original intent
was successfully attained. In other words, in evaluation judgments can be in the
forms of social utility, desirability, or effectiveness of a process. For example, In
evaluation study, it will not just be considering the performance of the students
who were taught under modular instruction; instead, it is the rate of progress that
happened among the students who were exposed to modular instruction.

Example: A test of children in school is used to assess the effectiveness of teaching or the
deployment of a curriculum.

G. METHODOLOGICAL

In this approach, the implementation of a variety of methodologies forms a critical

part of achieving the goal of developing a scale matched approach, where data from
different disciplines can be integrated.

Example: Assessing of confidential information of respondents about the performance in their

workplace.

Activity II
A. TRUE OR FALSE. Identify whether the statement is true or false. Write TRUE if the
statement is correct; write FALSE otherwise, then double-underline the word that
makes the statement incorrect.

1. Quantitative research has clearly defined research questions because at the

beginning, the researchers already know what they should look for.
2. Using statistical techniques help you arrive with sophisticated analyses and allow
you to comprehend small amount of data that are vital to the study.
3. The numerical data can be analyzed quickly and easily.
4. In a qualitative research, it is assumed that the larger the sample is, the more
statistically accurate the findings are.
5. Research design is about the overall strategy that researchers choose in order to
integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way.
6. Quasi-experimental design involves selecting groups, upon which a variable is tested,
without any random pre-selection processes.
7. In a true-experimental design, the researcher observes the phenomena by the way it
occurs naturally.
8. Normative research design describes the norm level of characteristics for a given
behavior.
9. Methodological design involves comparing and contrasting two or more samples of
study subjects on one or more variables.
10. True-experimental design controls both time-related and group-related-threats.

B. WHAT AM I. Identify what word is described in each sentence.

1. This is a work of art or an artistic technique that is based on untested ideas

which are also yet to be established or finalized.
2. This refers to describing or classifying something either in an objective or
subjective way.
3. This refers to the specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select,
process and analyze information about a topic.
4. This refers to the way of gathering and recording information needed about a certain
topic.
5. This shows comparison between two or more subjects.

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Subject: Research in Daily Life II – Module 1
Activity III FILL ME IN. Fill in each box with the correct information needed.

Activity IV
A. COMPLETION. Complete the topic outline below by filling in the information needed.

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Subject: Research in Daily Life II – Module 1
B. IDENTIFICATION. Identify what is discussed / asked in each statement below.

1. It refers to the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomena that is

presented through statistical, mathematical or numerical data or computational
techniques.
2. This determines the research you should focus on and in the end give solution to.
3. This is a type of experimental design that has the least internal validity.
4. This type of experimental design involves selecting groups, upon which a variable is
tested, without any random pre-selection processes.
5. This type of experimental design controls both time-related and group-related threats.
6. This kind of design allows the researcher to observe the phenomena by the way it
occurs naturally.
7. This type of non-experimental design is used to gather information from groups of
people by selecting and studying samples chosen from a population.
8. This type of non-experimental design derives conclusion from observations
and manifestations that already occurred in the past and now compared to some
dependent variables.
9. This type of non-experimental design involves comparison and contrast between two
or more samples of studied subjects.
10. The purpose of this type of non-experimental design is to see if a given program is
working or an institution is successful according to the goals set for it.

C. RESEARCH. Search for ten (10) research works available. State the title of the
research work and identify the kind of research design that was used in the study. (You
may proceed to Abstract part or Chapter 3 of the research paper to easily
identify the research design.) Write your answer on clean long bond paper.

Example:

1. Blended Learning Approach as an Effective Strategy in Enhancing Reading

Comprehension of Secondary Students (Quasi-Experimental Design)

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Subject: Research in Daily Life II – Module 1