Lesson 2. Importance of Quantitative Research in Different Fields

IMPORTANCE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ACROSS FIELDS
People do research to find solutions, even tentative ones, to problems, in order to improve or
enhance ways of doing things, to disprove or provide a new hypothesis, or simply to find answers to
questions or solutions to problems in daily life. Research findings can affect people’s lives, ways of doing
things, laws, rules and regulations, as well as policies, among others. Widely, quantitative research is
often used because of its emphasis on proof rather than discovery.
In recent times, research studies are gaining an unprecedented focus and attention. Then, only
the faculty in higher education has so much interest in conducting researches, but now even the teachers
in the basic education are engrossed in researches and devote time and effort in conducting researches
to improve educational practices that may lead to more quality learning of the students. Many teachers
do action researches because there is a serious need to identify the problems of the deteriorating quality
of education. By doing so, they can address systematically and make educational decisions regarding the
problems met. Innovative teaching strategies are product of research.
In the natural and social sciences, quantitative research is the systematic, empirical investigation
of observable phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. The objective of
quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses
pertaining to phenomena. The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it
provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of
quantitative relationships.
Health Sciences (Medical Technology, Dentistry, Nursing, Medicine, etc.) use quantitative
research designs like descriptive, pre-experimental, quasi-experimental, true-experiment, case study,
among others.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH & ACCOUNTING, BUSINESS and MANAGEMENT

(ABM)
Researches can help design a new product or service, figuring out what is needed and ensure
the development of product is highly targeted towards demand. Businessmen can also utilize research
results to guarantee sufficient distribution of their products and decide where they need to increase
their product distribution. Conducting researches can also help a business determine whether now is
the proper time to open another branch or whether it needs to apply for a new loan. It may also help
a small business decide if a procedure or strategy should be change to meet the requirements of the
customer base. Research is important for any organization to remain in the market. The primary
function of research in ABM is to correctly determine its customers and their preferences, establish the
enterprise in the most feasible location, deliver quality goods and services, analyze what the competitors
are doing and find ways on how to continuously satisfy the growing and varied needs of the clients.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropology is a research method of combining qualitative and quantitative research data. It

is concerned with exploring connections simultaneously, amidst cultural differences, alternatives and
identity. In the contemporary academic, socio-cultural and political climate these concepts have
immense symbolic overtones.
Quantitative research is use in Anthropology in many aspects. Like, true experiments may use
in studying people provided that you follow certain steps (Bernard, 2004). This is to look into the Effects
of an intervention in ethnic behavior of a group. In here, you need at least two groups, called the
treatment group and the control group. One group gets the intervention and the other group does not.
Next, individuals may be randomly assigned, either to the intervention group or to the control group
to ensure that the groups are equivalent. Then, the groups are measured on one or more dependent
variables; this is called the pre-test. After which, the intervention is introduced. Lastly, the dependent
variables are measured again. This is the post test.
True in experiments with people in laboratory are also common. Laboratory experiments often
produce results that beg to be tested in the natural world by Anthropologists. Aaron and Mills (1959,
as cited by Bernard, 2004) demonstrated in a lab experiment that people who go through severe
initiation to a group tend to be more positive toward the group than those people who go through a
mild initiation. They reasoned that people who go through tough initiation rites put a lot of personal
investments into getting into the group. Later, if people see evidence that the group is not what they
thought it would be, they are reluctant to admit the fact because of the investments.
In Field, Janet Schofield and her colleagues did a 3 year ethnographic study in middle school.
During the first year, they noticed that African-American children seemed to react differently to “mildly
aggressive acts’ – things like bumping in the hallway, poking one another in the classroom, asking for
food, or using another student’s pencil without permission. There appeared to be no event of racial
conflict in the school, but during interviews while students were more likely to report being intimidated
by their African-American peers than vice versa (Sagar & Schofield, 1980, as cited by Bernard, 2004)
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and COMMUNICATION
Researchers are often interested in how an understanding of a particular communication

phenomenon might generalize to a larger population. For example, researchers can advance questions
like “What Effect do punitive behavioral control statements have on a classroom? What communicative
behaviors are associated with different stages in romantic relationships? What communicative behaviors
are used to respond to co-workers displaying emotional stress? (Allen, Titsworth, Hunt, 2009)
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and SPORTS MEDICINE
Quantitative research is used to analyze how sports may be used as an alternative way of
medicating an illness. An example is the research done by University of Eastern Finland which
investigated the relationship between mushrooming of fast food chains and obesity, as well as the
intervention needed to prevent children’s obesity from reaching serious proportions. The research
focused on the children’s physical activity and physical inactivity and the concomitant impact on the
children’s amount of adipose tissue (fat mass) and the endurance fitness. The study is used to analyze
certain the effect of physical activity in weight control.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and MEDICAL EDUCATION

Quantitative research in medical education tends to be predominantly observational research
based on surveys or correlational studies. The designs test interventions like curriculum, teaching-
learning process, or assessment with an experimental group. Either a comparison or controlled group
learners may allow researchers to overcome validity concerns and infer potential cause-effect
generalizations. Researchers are using to cope with the emerging trends in recent times.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Relationship Questions in today’s quantitative trend tend to explore how one behavior
exhibited by people is related to other types of behavior. Examples are verbally aggressive behaviors
related to physical aggression – that is, when a person has a level of verbally aggressive behavior, does
he or she tend to be physically aggressive? Are certain supervisor communication skills related to the
emotional experiences of employees?
Questions of difference explore how patterns of behavior or perceptions might differ from one
group or type of a person to another: Do people with disabilities experience emotional labor differently
from those without disabilities? Do women perceive talkativeness (or lack of it) differently form men?
Do communication styles differ from one culture to the next? (Alle, Titsworth, Hunt, 2009).
When quantitative researchers explore questions of differences or questions of relationships,
they do so in an attempt to uncover certain patterns of behavior. If the researcher discovers that a
certain relationship exists in sample that she or he has drawn form the population, she/he is then in a
position to draw generalizations about patterns expected of human behavior.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
Quasi Experiments are most often used in evaluating social problems. Suppose a researcher has
invented a technique for improving reading comprehension among third graders. She/he selects two
third grade classes in a school district. One of them gets the intervention and the other doesn’t. Students
are measured before and after the intervention to see whether their reading scores improve. This
design contains many of the elements of true experiment, but the participants are not assigned randomly
to the treatment and control groups.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and PSYCHOLOGY
Mertens (2005) says that the dominant paradigms that guided early psychological research were
positivism and its successor, post positivism. Positivism is based on rationalistic, empiricist philosophy
that originated with Aristotle, Francis Bacon, John Locke, August Comte, and Immanuel Kant. the
underlying assumptions of positivism include the belief that the social world can be studied in the same
way as the natural world, that there is a method for studying the social world that is value-free, and
that explanations of a causal nature can be provided.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH & SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, and

MATHEMATICS
Medical practitioners, for example, conduct researches to obtain significant information about
diseases trends and risk factors, results of various health interventions, patterns of care and health care
cost and use. The different approaches to research provide complementary insights. Researchers help
in determining the effectiveness and even side effect of drugs and therapies in different populations and
various institutions. It is also necessary in evaluating experiences in clinical practice in order to develop
mechanisms for best practices and to ensure high quality patient care. Researchers in these fields
ultimately aim for man’s longevity.
As for engineers, architects, and other builders, research helps in providing designs which are
creatively beautiful and at the same time give more convenience and efficiency as they utilize modern
technology to adapt to the ever changing society. New materials and procedures may be developed so
as to further strengthen the structural materials than can withstand various calamities and disasters.

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IMPORTANCE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ACROSS FIELDS

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH & ACCOUNTING, BUSINESS and MANAGEMENT

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropology is a research method of combining qualitative and quantitative research data. It

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and COMMUNICATION

Researchers are often interested in how an understanding of a particular communication

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and SPORTS MEDICINE

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and MEDICAL EDUCATION

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH and PSYCHOLOGY

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH & SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, and

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