RESEARCH 200 REVIEWER 1ST EXAM
What is research?
 “a studious inquiry or examination;
especially investigation or experimentation
aimed at the discovery and interpretation of
facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in
the light of new facts, or practical application
of such new or revised theories or laws” –
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
 “a process of steps used to collect and
analyze information to increase our
understading of a topic or issue” – John W.
Cresswell, 2008
 Asking a question that nobody has asked
before
 Creation of new knowledge, concepts,
methodologies, and understandings
 Examination of a subject from different points
of view
 Hunt for truth
CHACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH
 According to LEADY (1974)
Research:
 begins with a question in the mind of
the researcher
 requires a plan
 demands a clear statement of the
problem
 deals with the main problem through
sub-problems
 seeks direction through appropriate
hypotheses
 deals with facts and their meaning
 is circular
 SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Empirical – based on
observations/experimentation on theories
2. Systematic – orderly and sequential
3. Controlled – all variables (except those
that are tested) are kept constant
4. Employs hypothesis – guides the
investigation process
5. Analytical – critical analysis is utilized
for no error in interpretation
6. Objective, Unbiased & Logical -
logically based on empirical data
7. Employs quantitative or statistical
methods – data are in numerical
measures/treated statistically
WHAT IS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH?
• Explaining phenomena by collective
numerical data that are analyzed using
mathematically based methods
• Used to quantify the problem by way of
generating numerical data that can be
transformed into useable statistics (attitudes,
opinions, behaviors, and other defined
variables) and generalize results from a larger
sample population
• Uncovers patterns using measurable data
• Collects data through various forms of
survey (online surveys, paper surveys, mobile
and kiosk surveys, face-to-face or telephone
interviews, longitudinal studies, website
interceptors, online polls, and systematic
observations)
• Focuses on verifiable observation
HOW QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH WORKS
Observing Collection of Using
and quantitative mathematics
explaining to analyze
occurrences
information data
CHARACTERISTICS OF QUANTI RESEARCH
1. Formal, objective, and a systematic process for
obtaining quantifiable information about the
world
2. Presented in numerical forms, and analyzed
through the use of statistics
3. Used to describe and to test relationships
4. Used to examine the cause-and-effect of
relationships
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IN SIMPLE TERMS, QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH IS CONCERNED WITH NUMBERS,
STATISTICS, AND THE RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN EVENTS/NUMBERS
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TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH:
1. SURVEY/DESCRIPTIVE
 Uses interviews, questionnaires, and
sampling polls to get a sense of
behavior with intense precision
 Usually expressed in a percentage
 People questioned are sampled at
random
 Can be done in person, over the phone,
though mail or e-mail (self-
administered), or on a single group
survey research
 Extremely common for its many
practical applications
 Seeks to describe the current status of
an identified variable or phenomenon
 Does not usually begin with a
hypothesis but is likely to develop one
after collecting data
 Analysis and synthesis of the data
provide the test of the hypothesis
 Systematic collection of information
requires careful selection of the units
studied and measurement of each
variable in order to demonstrate
validity
2. CORRELATIONAL
 Tests for the relationships between two
variables
 Establishes what is the effect of one on
the other might be and how that affects
the relationship
 Conducted in order to explain a notice
occurrence
RESEARCH 200 REVIEWER 1ST EXAM
 Does not always mean causation
 Attempts to determine the extent of a
relationship between two or more
variables using statistical data
 Recognizes trends and patterns in data
but doesn’t establish cause and effect
 Variables are not manipulated and are
studied in a natural setting
 Sometimes considered a type of
descriptive research as no variables are
manipulated
3. CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE/QUASI-
EXPERIMENTAL
 Looks to uncover a cause and effect
relationship between variables
 Not conducted between the two groups
on each other
 Tries to identify, specifically, how the
different groups are affected by the
same circumstance
 Very similar to true experiments but
with some key differences
 An independent variable is identified
but not manipulated by the
experimenter and its effects on the
dependent variable are measured
 Does not randomly assign groups and
must use ones that are naturally formed
or pre-existing groups
 Identified control groups are studies
and compared to groups who are not
exposed to the treatment variable
4. EXPERIMENTAL
 Guided specifically by a hypothesis or
several hypotheses
 This type is the bedrock of most
sciences
 Can be used to explain all sorts of
phenomena
 Also called true experimentation which
uses scientific method to establish the
cause-effect relationship among a
group of variables that make up a study
 A true experiment is any study where
an effort is made to identify and
impose control over all other variables
except one
 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
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES OF
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
STRENGTH
 Study findings can be generalized to the
population about which information is required
 Samples individuals, communities, or
organizations can be selected to ensure that the
results will be representative of the population
studied
 Structural factors that determine how
inequalities (such as gender inequalities) are
produced can be analyzed
 It is possible to control for the effects of
extraneous variables that might result in
misleading interpretations of causality
(although this can be challenging in the natural
settings of evaluations)
 Estimates can be obtained of the costs and
benefits of interventions
 Clear documentation can be provided regarding
the content and application of the survey
instruments so that other researchers can assess
the validity of the findings
 Standardized approaches permit the study to be
replicated in different areas or overtime with
the production of comparable findings
 Estimates can be obtained of the magnitude
and distribution of impacts.
WEAKNESSES
 Many kinds of information are difficult to
obtain through structured data collection
instruments, particularly on sensitive topics
such as domestic violence or income
 Many groups such as sex workers, drug users,
illegal immigrants, squatters, and ethnic
minorities are always difficult to reach, but the
problems are often greater for quantitative data
collection methods
 Self-reported information obtained from
questionnaires may be inaccurate or incomplete
 There is often no information on contextual
factors to help interpret the results or to explain
variations in behavior between households
with similar economic and demographic
characteristics
 The administration of a structure questionnaire
creates an unnatural situation that may alienate
respondents
 Studies are expensive and time-consuming and
even the preliminary results are usually not
available for a long period of time
 Research methods are inflexible because the
instruments cannot be modified once the study
begins
 Reduction of data to numbers results in lost
information
 The correlations produces (e.g. between costs
and benefits, gender, and access to services or
benefits) may mask or ignore underlying
causes or realities.
 Untested variables may account for program
impacts
 Errors in the hypotheses tested may yield
misimpressions of program quality or
influential factors
 Errors in the selection of procedures for
determining statistical significance can result
in erroneous findings regarding impact
FIELDS THAT USE QUANTITIVE RESEARCH
1. NATURAL SCIENCES
 Description, prediction and
understanding of natural
phenomena, based on
observational and empirical
evidence
RESEARCH 200 REVIEWER 1ST EXAM
2. MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
 include mathematics as a main
field or sub-field like statistics,
some areas of physics, biometrics,
computer science, computational
science, population genetics,
operations research, cryptology,
econometrics, theoretical physics,
actuarial science, and many more
3. SOCIAL SCIENCES
 psychology, economics
demography, sociology, marketing,
community health, health &
human development, gender, and
political science, widely use
quantitative research.
These fields use quantitative research for many reasons
which may be a combination of any of the following
reasons:
1. It is more reliable and objective;
2. It can use statistics to generalize a
finding;
3. It often reduces and restructures a
complex problem to a limited number
of variables;
4. It looks at relationships between
variables and can establish cause and
effect in highly controlled
circumstances.
5. It tests theories or hypotheses;
6. It assumes sample is representative of
the population;
7. Subjectivity of researcher in
methodology is recognized less; and,
8. It is less detailed than qualitative data.
THE NATURE OF VARIABLES
Variables – Measurable characteristic that varies.
- root word “vary” meaning changing in
amount, volume, number, form, nature, or type.
- factors that can be manipulated or measured.
EXAMPLES:
1. Gender; Values: Male or Female
2. Marital status; Values: Never married,
Single, Married, Divorced, or
Widowed
3. Family income; Values: zero to
billions of pesos
4. Person’s attitude toward women
empowerment; Values: Highly
favorable to Highly unfavourable
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KINDS OF VARIABLES
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INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
 Also the cause
variable/experimental/predictor variable
 Identifies the forces or conditions that act on
something else.
 May influence or affect another variable.
 The variable the researcher controls
 In any case, the researchers expects the IV will
have some effect (or relationship with) the
dependent variable.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
 Also the outcome/effect variable
 Effect or result of another variable
 Depends on the cause (IV)
EXAMPLES:
 Climate change: temperature (IV) may
influence sea level (DV)
 Crime and violence: number of law enforcers
(IV) may influence the number of robberies
(DV).
In the research vocabulary, different labels have been
associated with the independent and dependent
variables like:
INDEPENDENT
 Presumed cause
 Stimulus
 Predicted from
 Antecedent
 Manipulated
 Predictor
DEPENDENT
 Presumed effect
 Response
 Predicted to
 Consequence
 Measured outcome
 Criterion
In experimental research, the aim is to manipulate
an IV(s) and then examine the effect that a specific
change has on a DV(s). In a true experiment, a
treatment, procedure, or program is intentionally
introduced and a result or outcome is observed.
True experiments have four elements:
manipulation, control, random assignment, and
random selection. Of these four, manipulation and
control are the most important.
Manipulation means that something is purposefully
changed by the researcher in the environment.
Control is used to prevent outside factors from
influencing the study outcome. Control makes a
researcher more confident that the manipulation
“caused” the outcome.
Random assignment means that if there are groups
or treatments in the experiment, participants are
assigned to these groups or treatments, or randomly
(like a coin flip).
Random selection means that no matter who the
participant is, he/she has an equal chance of getting
into the groups or treatments in an experiment.
This helps to ensure that the groups of treatments
are similar at the beginning of the study to ensure
there is more confidence that the manipulation
“cause” the outcome.
In contrast, researchers do not manipulate the
independent variable(s) in non-experimental
research. The reason for this is that it will either be
impractical or unethical to manipulate the IV(s).
Non-experimental research involves observing and
measuring things as they are. Variables are studied
as they exist.
Naturalistic observation, interview, survey, case
history, and psychometric scales are some of the
RESEARCH 200 REVIEWER 1ST EXAM
methods used when manipulation is not possible or HOW ARE VARIABLES RELATED AMONG THEMSELVES?
unethical. Once variables are identified by the researcher,
One reason for using non-experimental research is he/she is interested in the relationship among them. A
that many variables of interest in social science statement containing the variable is called a
cannot be manipulated because they are attribute proposition. A proposition with one variable in it may
variables, such as gender, socioeconomic status, be called as univariate proposition, those with two
learning style, or any other personal characteristic variables as bivariate proposition, and then those with
or trait. more that two as multivariate.
For example, a researcher may be interested in the
effect of illegal, recreational drug use (IV) on
certain types of behavior (DV). However, while
possible, it would be unethical to ask individuals to
take illegal drugs in order to study what effect this
had on certain behaviors.

CATEGORICAL VARIABLES - Also known as

discrete/qualitative variables.

THREE TYPES:
1. NOMINAL
 Variables that have two or more
categories but DOES NOT have an
intrinsic order
 Latin nomalis “pertaining to names”
 CATEGORY
2. ORDINAL
 Variables that have two or more
categories but CAN BE ORDERED
OR RANKED
3. DICHOTOMOUS
 Nominal variables that only have two
categories or levels.

CONTINUOUS VARIABLES – also known as

quantitative variables.

TWO TYPES:
1. INTERVAL
 Can be measured along a continuum
and that have a numerical value.
2. RATIO
 Interval variables but with the added
condition that 0 (zero) of the
measurement indicated that there is
none of that variable.
 HAS A TRUE ZERO.

MODERATING VARIABLE – has a strong

contingent effect on the IV-DV relationship. That is,
the presence of an MV modifies the original
relationship between the IV and DV.

INTERVENING VARIABLE - appears in more

complex causal relationships. It comes between the IV
and DV and shows the link or mechanism between
them. In a sense, the IVV acts as a DV with respect to
the IV and acts as an IV toward the DV.

EXTRANEOUS VARIABLE - might conceivably

affect a given relationship. Some can be treated as IV
or MV, but most either be assumed or excluded from
the study. In order to identify the true relationship
between the IV and DV, the effect of the EV may have
to be controlled. This is necessary if we are conducting
an experiment where the effect of the confounding
factors has to be controlled. Confounding factors is
another name used for extraneous variables.