THE QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH APPROACH
Chapter 2
RESEARCH STEPS WITHIN THE
QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
• Step 1: Identify a Problem Area
• Step 2 & 3: Review & Evaluate Literature
• Step 4 & 5: Be aware of ethical & cultural
issues
• Step 6: State Research Question or
hypothesis
• Step 7 & 8: Select research approach &
decide measures
• Step 9 & 10: Select a Sample & Data
Collection Method
THE QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
(Continued)
• Step 11: Collect and Code the Data
• Step 12: Data Analysis
• Step 13 & 14: Write & Disseminate the
report
DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH
QUESTION
– Developing Concepts
– Identifying Variables within Concepts
– Putting Value Labels on Variables
– Defining Independent and Dependent
Variables
– Constructing Hypotheses
Developing Concepts
• Giving a name to an idea that you want to
study (e.g., ethnicity)
Identifying Variables Within
Concepts
• Consider all the dimensions that make up
the concept (e.g., race, culture, identity,
societal grouping)
• Selecting a dimension of the concept to be
measured (e.g., ethnic group)
• Operationalization: the process of naming
and defining variables for your study
Putting Labels on Variables
• Labeling the “units” to be measured for the
selected dimension (e.g., Ethnic groups
may include: Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic,
African American, Native American)
Defining Independent and
Dependent Variables
• Bivariate Relationship: a research question that
includes only two variables
• a one-variable question is univariate, and a question with
three or more variables is multivariate
• Dependent and Independent Variables
– Names used to specify the direction of a relationship
in a research question with two or more variables
– Independent (X)  Dependent (Y)
• Studying (X)  High grades (Y)
• Aging (X)  Vision Loss (Y)
Constructing Hypotheses
• Formulating research questions into
statements – educated guesses
• Non-directional hypothesis
– Claims a relationship between two variables
but does not specify the direction of this
relationship
• Directional hypothesis
– specifically indicates the “predicted” direction
of the relationship between two or more
variables
Hypothesis Examples
• Non-directional hypothesis: AfricanAmerican and Hispanic patients see
hospital social workers at differential rates.
– Note the direction of the relationship is not
specified.
• Directional hypothesis: AfricanAmerican patients see hospital social
workers less often than Hispanic patients.
– Note: the direction of the relationship is
specified.
Criteria for Constructing
Hypotheses (Box 3.3)
• Features of a Good Quality Hypothesis
– Relevance
– Completeness
– Specificity
– Potential for testing
DESIGNING THE RESEARCH
STUDY
• The “blueprint” for your study
– Determining your sample
– Deciding how, where, and when data are to
be collected
COLLECTING THE DATA
•
Three features that are key to
quantitative studies
1. All variables must be measurable
2. All data collection procedures must be
objective
3. All data collection procedures must be able
to be duplicated (replicable)
ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING
THE DATA
• Two major types of analysis in quantitative
research studies
– Descriptive statistics
– Inferential statistics
Descriptive Statistics
• Statistics used to describe a study’s
sample or population
• Common descriptive statistics
– % percentages (e.g., 52% female, 48% male)
– Average (e.g., mean age of BSW students is
24.2 years, median income is $24,000)
Inferential Statistics
• Used to determine the probability that a
relationship (between, say, two variables)
found in the study sample also exists
within the population from which the
sample was drawn.
• Common inferential statistics
– Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), t-test,
regression
PRESENTATION AND
DISSEMINATION OF FINDINGS
• Quantitative
research
findings are
often presented
using tables,
figures, and
graphs
Ethnic
Minority
Difficulty Accessing
Service
Yes
No
Yes
70%
30%
No
20%
80%
80
Minority
Non-Minority
60
40
20
0
Yes
No
AN EXPANDED EXAMPLE OF
THE QUANITATIVE METHOD
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Step 1: What’s the problem?
Step 2: Formulating initial impressions
Step 3: What others have found
Step 4: Refining the general problem area
Step 5: Measuring the variables
Step 6: Deciding the sample
Step 7: Obeying ethical principles
Steps 8, 9 & 10: Collecting, Analyzing & Interpreting data
Step 11 & 12: Comparing results & study limitations
Step 13: Writing and disseminating study results
SUMMARY
• Quantitative research is based on the
scientific method
• It is a systematic process of inquiry
that is used to investigate many social
problems addressed by social
workers