What is Quantitative Research?
Quantitative research relies primarily on the collection of quantitative data and has its own, unique set of assumptions and normative practices. Quantitative research usually assumes that human behavior exhibits some lawfulness and predictability that can be documented through empirical research. Goals include to describe, to predict, and to explain human phenomena. Quantitative researchers often try to study behavior under controlled conditions via experiments, in order to isolate the causal effects of independent variables. Popular methods of quantitative research are experimental research, survey research, and structured observational research.
Source: Quantitative research. (2009). In L. E. Sullivan (Ed.), The SAGE glossary of the social and behavioral sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from https://search-credoreference-com.owu.idm.oclc.org/content/topic/quantitative_research
Analyzing Quantitative Data by
A user-friendly, hands-on guide to recognizing and conducting proper research techniques in data collection. Offering a unique approach to numerical research methods, Analyzing Quantitative Data: An Introduction for Social Researchers presents readers with the necessary statistical applications for carrying out the key phases of conducting and evaluating a research project. The book guides readers through the steps of data analysis, from organizing raw data to utilizing descriptive statistics and tests of significance, drawing valid conclusions, and writing research reports. The author successfully provides a presentation that is accessible and hands-on rather than heavily theoretical, outlining the key quantitative processes and the use of software to successfully draw valid conclusions from gathered data. In its discussion of methods for organizing data, the book includes suggestions for coding and entry into spreadsheets or databases while also introducing commonly used descriptive statistics and clarifying their roles in data analysis. Next, inferential statistics is explored in-depth with explanations of and instructions for performing chi-square tests, t-tests, analyses of variance, correlation and regression analyses, and a number of advanced statistical procedures. Each chapter contains explanations of when to use the tests described, relevant formulas, and sample computations. The book concludes with guidance on extracting meaningful conclusions from statistical tests and writing research reports that describe procedures and analyses. Throughout the book, Statistical Resources for SPSS#65533; sections provide fundamental instruction for using SPSS#65533; to obtain the results presented. Where necessary, the author provides basic theoretical explanations for distributions and background information regarding formulas. Each chapter concludes with practice problems, and a related website features derivations of the book's formulas along with additional resources for performing the discussed processes. Analyzing Quantitative Data is an excellent book for social sciences courses on data analysis and research methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as a valuable reference for applied statisticians and practitioners working in the fields of education, medicine, business and public service who analyze, interpret, and evaluate data in their daily work.
Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9780470526835Publication Date: 2011
What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research is an approach to research that is primarily concerned with studying the nature, quality, and meaning of human experience. It asks questions about how people make sense of their experiences, how people talk about what has happened to them and others, and how people experience, manage, and negotiate situations they find themselves in. Qualitative research is interested both in individual experiences and in the ways in which people experience themselves as part of a group. Qualitative data take the form of accounts or observations, and the findings are presented in the form of a discussion of the themes that emerged from the analysis. Numbers are very rarely used in qualitative research.
Source: Willig, C. (2016). Qualitative research. In L. H. Miller (Ed.), The Sage encyclopedia of theory in psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from https://search-credoreference-com.owu.idm.oclc.org/content/topic/qualitative_research
Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods by
An informative real-world guide to studying the "why" of human behavior Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods is a practical, comprehensive guide to the collection and presentation of qualitative data. Unique in the market, this book describes the entire research process -- from design through writing -- illustrated by examples of real, complete qualitative work that clearly demonstrates how methods are used in actual practice. This updated fourth edition includes all new case studies, with additional coverage of mixed methods, non-sociological settings, funding, and a sample interview guide. The studies profiled are accompanied by observation field notes, and the text includes additional readings for both students and instructors. More than just theory, this guide is designed to give you a real-world practitioner′s view of how qualitative research is handled every step of the way. Many different disciplines rely on qualitative research as a method of inquiry, to gain an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the governing forces behind it. Qualitative research asks "why" and "how," and the data is frequently complex and difficult to measure. This book shows you how to effectively handle qualitative work, regardless of where it′s being applied. Understand the strengths and limitations of qualitative data Learn how experts work around common methodological issues Compare actual field notes to the qualitative studies they generated Examine the full range of qualitative methods throughout the research process Whether you′re studying sociology, psychology, marketing, or any number of other fields, especially in the social and behavioral sciences, human behavior is the central concern of your work. So what drives human behavior? That′s what qualitative research helps to explain. Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods gives you the foundation you need to begin seeking answers.
Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9781118767214Publication Date: 2015-10-19
Qualitative Research Practice by
`This comprehensive collection of almost 40 chapters - each written by a leading expert in the field - is the essential reference for anyone undertaking or studying qualitative research. It covers a diversity of methods and a variety of perspectives and is a very practical and informative guide for newcomers and experienced researchers alike′ - John Scott, University of Essex `The best ways in which to understand the issues and processes informing qualitative research is to learn from the accounts of its leading practitioners. Here they come together in what is a distinctive and wide-ranging collection that will appeal to postgraduates and social researchers in general′ - Tim May, University of Salford `This excellent guide engages in a dialogue with a wide range of expert qualitative researchers, each of whom considers their own practice in an illuminating and challenging way. Overall, the book constitutes an authoritative survey of current methods of qualitative research data collection and analysis′ - Nigel Gilbert, University of Surrey Learning to do good qualitative research occurs most fortuitously by seeing what researchers actually do in particular projects and by incorporating their procedures and strategies into one′s own research practice. This is one of the most powerful and pragmatic ways of bringing to bear the range of qualitative methodological perspectives available. The chapters in this important new volume are written by leading, internationally distinguished qualitative researchers who recount and reflect on their own research experiences as well as others, past and present, from whom they have learned. It demonstrates the benefits of using particular methods from the viewpoint of real-life experience. From the outside, good research seems to be produced through practitioners learning and following standard theoretical, empirical and procedural formats. But from the inside we learn that qualitative research (like other forms of scientific endeavour) is also a biographical engagement, rendering its scholarly and practical contributions in its own terms. Standards take on practical meaning as the distinct activities of qualitative research resonate throughout the enterprise, complicating its accountability to itself and to others. In an authoritative yet accessible manner, Qualitative Research Practice reveals the special features of this engagement, teaching us that qualitative research is as much a craft and practice as it is a way of knowing. Presenting a comprehensive examination of contemporary and traditional varieties of qualitative research practice, Qualitative Research Practice will be an invaluable resource for advanced students and researchers in any discipline. It is an essential and definitive guide to the major forms of qualitative methods in use today, written by leaders in the relevant fields of research practice.
Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 0761947760Publication Date: 2004-02-28
Click to chat online now
Chat is offline
