Importance across fields
- 1. IMPORTANCE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ACROSS FIELDS People doresearchtofindsolutions,evententativeones,toproblems,inordertoimprove orenhance waysof doingthings,todisprove orprovide anew hypothesis,orsimplytofindanswerstoquestionsor solutionstoproblemsindailylife.Researchfindingscanaffectpeople’slives,waysof doingthings,laws, rulesandregulations,aswell aspolicies,amongothers.Widely,quantitativeresearchisoftenused because of itsemphasisonproof ratherthan discovery.Inrecenttimes,researchstudiesare gainingan unprecedentedfocusandattention.Then,onlythe facultyinhighereducationhassomuchinterestand conduct researchers,butnoweventhe teachersinthe basiceducationare engrossedinresearchesand devote time andeffortinconductingresearchestoimprove educational practicesthatmayleadtomore qualitylearningof the students.Manyteachersdoactionresearchesbecause there isaseriousneedto identifythe problemsof the deterioratingqualityof education.Bydoingso,theycan address systematicallyandmake educational decisionsregardingthe problemsmet.Innovativeteaching strategiesare productof research.In the natural and social sciences,quantitative researchisthe systematic,empirical investigationof observable phenomenaviastatistical,mathematical or computational techniques.The objective of quantitative researchistodevelopandemploy mathematical models,theoriesand/orhypothesespertainingtophenomena.The processof measurementiscentral toquantitativeresearchbecauseitprovidesthe fundamental connection betweenempirical observationandmathematical expressionof quantitative relationships.Health Sciences(Medical Technology,Dentistry,Nursing,Medicine,etc.) use quantitative researchdesignslike descriptive,pre-experimental,quasi-experimental,true-experiment,case study,amongothers. QUANTITATIVERESEARCH& ACCOUNTING,BUSINESSandMANAGEMENT (ABM) Researchescanhelpdesignanewproductor service,figuringoutwhatisneededandensure the developmentof productishighlytargetedtowardsdemand.Businessmencanalsoutilize research resultstoguarantee sufficientdistributionof theirproductsanddecide where theyneedtoincrease theirproductdistribution.Conductingresearchescanalsohelpa businessdetermine whethernowisthe propertime to openanotherbranchor whetheritneedstoapplyfora new loan.It may alsohelpa small businessdecideif aprocedure orstrategyshouldbe change to meetthe requirementsof the customer base.Researchisimportantforany organizationtoremaininthe market.The primaryfunctionof researchinABM isto correctlydetermine itscustomersandtheirpreferences,establishthe enterprise inthe mostfeasible location,deliverqualitygoodsandservices,analyzewhatthe competitorsare doing and findwaysonhow to continuouslysatisfythe growingandvariedneedsof the clients. QUANTITATIVERESEARCHand ANTHROPOLOGY Anthropologyisaresearchmethodof combiningqualitativeandquantitative researchdata.Itis concernedwithexploringconnectionssimultaneously,amidstcultural differences,alternativesand identity.Inthe contemporaryacademic,socio-cultural andpolitical climate theseconceptshave
- 2. immense symbolicovertones.Quantitativeresearchisuse inAnthropologyinmanyaspects.Like,true experimentsmayuse instudyingpeopleprovidedthatyoufollow certainsteps(Bernard,2004).Thisis to lookintothe Effectsof an interventioninethnicbehaviorof agroup.In here,youneedatleasttwo groups,calledthe treatmentgroupandthe control group.On group getsthe interventionandthe other groupdon’t.Next,individualsmaybe randomlyassigned,eithertothe interventiongrouporto the control group to ensure that the groupsare equivalent.Then,the groupsare measuredonone ormore dependentvariables;thisiscalledthe pre-test.Afterwhich,the interventionisintroduced.Lastly,the dependentvariablesare measuredagain.Thisisthe posttest.True inexperimentswithpeoplein laboratoryare also common.Laboratoryexperimentsoftenproduce resultsthatbegtobe testedinthe natural worldby Anthropologists.AaronandMills(1959, as citedbyBernard,2004) demonstratedina labexperimentthatpeople who gothroughsevere initiationtoagroup tendtobe more positive toward the group thanare people whogothrougha mildinitiation.Theyreasonedthatpeople whogothrough toughinitiationritesputalotof personal investmentsintogettingintothe group.Later,if people see evidence thatthe groupisnot whattheythoughtitwouldbe,theyare reluctantto admitthe fact because of the investments.InField,JanetSchofieldandhercolleaguesdida3 yearethnographicstudy inmiddle school.Duringthe firstyear,theynoticedthatAfrican-Americanandwhilechildrenseemedto react differentlyto“mildlyaggressive acts’ –thingslike bumpinginthe hallway,pokingone anotherin the classroom,askingforfood,or usinganotherstudent’spencil without permission.There appearedto be no eventof racial conflictinthe school,butduringinterviewswhile studentswere more likelyto reportbeingintimidatedbytheirAfrican-Americanpeersthanvice versa(Sagar& Schofield,1980, as citedbyBernard,2004) QUANTITATIVERESEARCHand COMMUNICATION Researchersare ofteninterestedinhow an understandingof aparticularcommunicationphenomenonmightgeneralizetoa largerpopulation.For example,researcherscanadvance questionslike“WhatEffectdo punitive behavioralcontrol statements have on a classroom?What communicative behaviorsare associatedwithdifferentstagesinromantic relationships?Whatcommunicative behaviorsare usedtorespondtoco-workersdisplayingemotional stress?(Allen,Titsworth,Hunt,2009) QUANTITATIVERESEARCHand SPORTSMEDICINE Quantitative researchisusedtoanalyze how sportsmaybe usedas an alternative wayof medicatingan illness.Anexampleisthe researchdone byUniversityof EasternFinlandwhichinvestigatedthe relationshipbetweenmushroomingof fastfoodchainsandobesity,aswell asthe interventionneeded to preventchildren’sobesityfromreachingseriousproportions.The researchfocusedonthe children’s physical activityandphysical inactivityandthe concomitantimpactonthe children’samountof adipose tissue (fatmass) andthe endurance fitness.The studyisusedtoanalyze certainthe effectof physical activityinweightcontrol. QUANTITATIVERESEARCHand MEDICAL EDUCATION Quantitative researchinmedical education tendsto be predominantlyobservational researchbasedonsurveysorcorrelational studies.The designs
- 3. testinterventionslike curriculum,teaching-learningprocess,orassessmentwithanexperimental group. Eithera comparisonor controlledgrouplearnersmayallow researcherstoovercome validityconcerns and inferpotentialcause-effectgeneralizations.Researchersare usingtocope withthe emergingtrends inrecenttimes. QUANTITATIVERESEARCHand BEHAVIORALSCIENCES RelationshipQuestionsintoday’squantitative trendtendtoexplore how one behaviorexhibitedby people isrelatedtoothertypesof behavior.Examplesare verballyaggressive behaviorsrelatedto physical aggression –thatis, whenapersonhas a level of verballyaggressive behavior,doeshe orshe tendto be physicallyaggressive?Are certainsupervisorcommunicationskillsrelatedtothe emotional experiencesof employees?Questionsof differenceexplore how patternsof behaviororperceptions mightdifferfromone groupor type of a persontoanother:Do people withdisabilitiesexperience emotional labordifferentlyfromthose withoutdisabilities?Dowomenperceivetalkativeness(orlackof it) differentlyformmen?Docommunicationstylesdifferfromone culture tothe next?(Alle,Titsworth, Hunt,2009). Whenquantitative researchersexplore questionsof differencesorquestionsof relationships,theydosoinan attempttouncovercertainpatternsof behavior.If the researcher discoversthata certainrelationshipexistsinsample thatshe orhe has drawnform the population, she/he isthenina positiontodrawgeneralizationsaboutpatternsexpectedof humanbehavior. QUANTITATIVERESEARCHIN EDUCATION Quasi Experimentsare mostoftenusedinevaluatingsocial problems.Supposearesearcherhas inventedatechnique forimprovingreadingcomprehensionamongthirdgraders.She/he selectstwo thirdgrade classesina school district.One of themgetsthe interventionandthe otherdoesn’t. Studentsare measuredbefore andafterthe interventiontosee whethertheirreadingscoresimprove. Thisdesigncontainsmanyof the elementsof true experiment,butthe participantsare notassigned randomlytothe treatmentandcontrol groups. QUANTITATIVERESEARCHand PSYCHOLOGY Mertens(2005) saysthat the dominantparadigmsthatguidedearlypsychological researchwere positivismanditssuccessor,postpositivism.Positivismisbasedonrationalistic,empiricistphilosophy that originatedwithAristotle,FrancisBacon,JohnLocke,AugustComte,andImmanuel Kant.the underlyingassumptionsof positivismincludethe belief thatthe social worldcanbe studiedinthe same wayas the natural world,thatthere isa methodforstudyingthe social worldthatisvalue-free,andthat explanationsof acausal nature can be provided. QUANTITATIVERESEARCH& SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY,ENGINEERING,and MATHEMATICS Medical practitioners,forexample,conductresearchestoobtainsignificantinformationaboutdiseases trendsand riskfactors,resultsof varioushealthinterventions,patternsof care andhealthcare costand
- 4. use.The differentapproachestoresearchprovide complementaryinsights.Researchershelpin determiningthe effectivenessandevenside effectof drugsand therapiesindifferentpopulationsand variousinstitutions.Itisalsonecessaryinevaluatingexperiencesinclinical practice inordertodevelop mechanismsforbestpracticesandto ensure highqualitypatientcare.Researchersin these fields ultimatelyaimforman’slongevity.Asforengineers,architects,andotherbuilders,researchhelpsin providingdesignswhichare creativelybeautiful andatthe same time give more convenience and efficiencyastheyutilizemoderntechnologytoadapttothe everchangingsociety.New materialsand proceduresmaybe developedsoasto furtherstrengthenthe structural materialsthancanwithstand variouscalamitiesanddisasters. POST_TEST. Thisservesasyour summative test.Answerthe questionsbelow followingthe instruction givenineachtest. I. ESSAY.Brieflyexplainwhatisaskedbelow.A.How importantquantitative researchacrossfields?Cite at leastfive fieldsandexplainhowquantitativeresearchisinterconnectedwithit. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
- 5. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ UNIT 1: NATURE OF INQUIRY and RESEARCH JAY-ARMARIOV.MARIANO ________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________. II.CONCEPT MAP. Complete the conceptmappresentedbelow.Youaddfiguressolongasyou will use your creativityusingthe figuresgiven.Presentthe importance of quantitativeresearchtodifferentfields. Maximize the space below.