KINDS OF QUANTITATIVE

RESEARCH
* DESCRIPTIVE- counts and describes characteristics
using numbers.

* The researcher does not usually begin with a hypothesis,

but is likely to develop one after collecting data. The
analysis and synthesis of the data provide the test of the
hypothesis.

* Systematic collection of information requires careful

selection of the units studied and careful measurement of
each variable.
Examples of Descriptive Research:
• A description of how second-grade students spend their time
during summer vacation
• A description of thetobacco use habits of teenagers
• A description of how parents feel about the twelve-month school
year
• A description of the attitudes of scientists regarding global
warming
• A description of the kinds of physical activities that typically occur
in nursing homes,
and how frequently each occurs
• A description of the extent to which elementary teachers use math
manipulatives
* - looks at how two things are related without
changing them.
* In this type of design, relationships between and among a
number of facts are sought and interpreted.
* This type of research will recognize trends and patterns in
data, but it does not go so far in its analysis to prove causes
for these observed patterns.
*Cause and effect is not the basis of this type of
observational research. The data, relationships, and
distributions of variables are studied only. Variables
are not manipulated; they are only identified and are
studied as they occur in a natural setting.
-- Sometimes correlational research is considered a
type of descriptive research, and not as its own type
of research, as no variables are manipulated in the
study.
Examples of Correlational Research:
• The relationship between intelligence and self-
esteem
• The relationship between diet and anxiety
• The relationships between the types of activities
used in math classrooms and student achievement
* compares two or more
groups or variables to find similarities
and differences

EXAMPLE:
-- Comparing Algebra Scores Between
Public and Private High School Students”
* studies effects after something has
already happened.

EXAMPLE:
-- The Impact of Social Media Use on Adolescent
Self-Esteem: An Ex Post Facto Study
-- Urbanization and Its Relation to the Increase in
Asthma Cases: Retrospective Analysis
* tests effects of a treatment
without random assignment.
-- not true experiment, since it does not have
randomly assigned groups.
-- TRUE EXPERIMENT- is randomly assigned groups

EXAMPLE: QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL
-- The Effect of Gender on Algebra Achievement in
High School Students of XYZ country- A Quasi-
Experimental Study”
* tests how changing one thing affects
another,
--often called true experimentation, uses the
scientific method to establish the cause-effect
relationship among a group of variables that make up
a study.
--The true experiment is often thought of as a
laboratory study, but this is not always the case; a
laboratory setting has nothing to do with it.
--An independent variable is manipulated to
determine the effects on the dependent variables.
Subjects are randomly assigned to experimental
treatments rather than identified in naturally
occurring groups.

EXAMPLE:
-- Impact of Light on the Plant Growth
* explores and examines
a specific problem or question to gather
detailed information and understand it
better.
EXAMPLE:
-- Investigating the Effect of Interactive
Simulations on High School Students’
Understanding of Physics Concepts
Variables in
Quantitative
Research
- can be measured numerically

-- CAN BE CLASSIFIED UNDER TWO

TYPES:
* DISCRETE and CONTINUOUS
- can be COUNTED
-- Can be denoted by positive whole
numbers and are not described in
ranges.
EXAMPLE:
-- The number of students in a class.
- also referred as INTERVAL VARIABLE
-- are measured in ranges and can be
denoted by non-whole numbers.
-- can have positive or negative values;
expressed in fractions
EXAMPLE:
-- Time, temperature
- special type of continuous variable
-- cannot have a negative value
-- When the value of a ratio variable is zero,
it means that there is none of that variable.
EXAMPLE:
-- age, height, weight, distance, and test
scores
- also known as CATEGORICAL VARIABLE
-- Despite lacking numerical value, these
variables can be used in quantitative
research.
-- They involve assigning values to specific
categories or groups (blood type, color)
- are those that have only two
distict categories or values
EXAMPLE:
-- yes/no questions
- have more than two categories or
values
EXAMPLE:
-- hair color, marital status, blood
type, etc.
- variables that exhibit the
characteristics of both quantitative and
qualittaive types.
-- have values that can be ranked or
ordered
-- can be numerical like quantitative
variables
- Variables that can take on more than
two values or categories.
-- multiple variables
EXAMPLE:
-- A variable like “preffered mode of
transportation”
- car, bike, bus, train, and walking
- is what you change or control in an
experiment to see how it affects
something else.
 Types of

ØDEPENDENT VARIABLE
ØINDEPENDENT VARIABLE
ØEXTRANEOUS VARIABLE
- is the variable examined for changes
- also considered to be the presumed effect
in experimental research
EXAMPLE:
Examining the Effect of Study Time on Test
Scores- it is the outcome being measured
and is influenced by the amount of study
time.
- is the variable considered to affect the
dependent variable
- also considered to be the presumed cause
in experimental research
-- It means that it is the variable that the
researcher manipulates to see whether it
causes changes on the dependent variable.
 EXAMPLE:
Investigating the Impact of Study Time on
Test Scores

-- it is the factor being manipulated to

observe the effect on the test scores
- any variable not categorized as a
dependent or independent variable in a
study
- factor that can affect the outcome of
an experiment but is not the variable
being studied.
EXAMPLE:
Investigating the Effect of Light Intensity
on Plant Growth While Controlling for
Temperature
-- If you are studying how light affects plant
growth, temperature might be an
extraneous variable because it can also
influence plant growth, even though it’s not
the main focus of your study.
- is a study where researchers observe
and measure variables without
changing or controlling them.
- can be used to analyze events that
have happened in the past.
- are factors or conditions that are used
to forecast or estimate the outcome of
another variable.
- They help in predicting what might
happen based on their influence.
EXAMPLE:
If you’re trying to predict students’
academic performance, predictor
variables could include study time,
attendance, and previous grades.
- is the outcome or result that
researchers are trying to predict or
explain based on other variables.
- It’s the main variable of interest that is
influenced by predictor variables.
EXAMPLE:
-- In a study to see how study habits
and attendance affect academic success,
academic performance is the criterion
variable.
- focuses on analyzing one single
variable to understand its distribution
and characteristics.
EXAMPLE:
A study that looks only at students’ test
scores to find the average score and
range of scores.
- examines the relationship between
two variables to understand how they
are related
EXAMPLE:
A study that investigates how students’
study hours affect their test scores
-- looks at the relationship between
study hours and test scores
- examines the relationships between
three or more variables to understand
how they interact and influence each
other.
EXAMPLE:
A study analyzing how study hours,
attendance, and previous grades
together affect students’ test scores