Quantitative Research Design and Statistical Analysis

Overview Quantitative research is rooted in the positivistic approach to scientific inquiry –each part of a quantitative design is important –if any part is is deficient, the entire design is weakened The notion of causality is examined –one of the main purposes of quantitative study is to detect casual relationships between variables.

Objectives Describe how descriptive, casual-comparative, correctional, and experimental designs differ in their power to reveal casual relationships Compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of the mean and the median Interpret the meaning of the standard deviation in relation to the normal curve Describe how a test of statistical significance is used to decide whether to reject or accept the null hypothesis

Statistical techniques Describe educational phenomena Make inferences from samples to populations Identify psychometric properties of tests Exploring data, handling data, and deciding whether to analyze data at the individual or group level

Quantitative Measurement and Design Research design reflects to all the procedures selected by a researcher for studying a particular set of questions or hypotheses –Caused relationships between variables or phenomena are to be explained

Nature of quantitative research design The purpose of educational research is to –Develop new knowledge about educational phenomena –develop confidence particular knowledge claims about educational phenomena are true –Collect evidence that supports or refutes the knowledge claim –This evidence is in the form of objective observations of relevant phenomena

Nature of quantitative research design Research design –A process of creating an empirical test to support or refute a knowledge claim –Each step in the process of testing a knowledge claim is dependent on the soundness of the preceding step

Nature of quantitative research design Any test of a knowledge claim has two parts –Test whether the knowledge claim is true of the particular situation that the researcher has chosen to observe –Test whether the knowledge claim is likely to hold true in other situations--generalize ability

Types of research design Descriptive studies Causal-competitive method Correlational studies Experimental research