Strengths and Weaknesses of Quantitative Research PDF
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Asian Institute of Computer Studies - Commonwealth
David Hulme and Choy
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Summary
This document outlines the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative research, highlighting its applications in various fields like anthropology, communication, and medicine. It emphasizes the advantages of generalizability and comparability of results, but also notes potential drawbacks such as information loss through aggregation and neglecting intra-household processes. The document concludes with examples of the use of quantitative methods in diverse fields and the importance of the research.
Full Transcript
**STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH** David Hulme (2007) and Choy (2014) identified the areas of strengths and weaknesses of this research type. +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | **QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH** |...
**STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH** David Hulme (2007) and Choy (2014) identified the areas of strengths and weaknesses of this research type. +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | **QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH** | | +===================================+===================================+ | [STRENGTHS]\ | [WEAKNESSES]\ | | \ | \ | | Results from sample surveys can | Sacrifices potentially useful | | be generalized for entire | information through process of | | populations. | aggregation | | | | | Results can be aggregated and | Sacrifices potentially useful | | are comparable across population | data by placing households or | | groups | events in discrete categories | | | | | Results can be broken down by | Neglects intra-household | | socio- economic group for | processes and outcomes | | comparisons | | | | Commonly under-reports on | | Reliability of data and | difficult issues, e.g. domestic | | findings provides powerful | violence | | indicators to guide policy\ | | | \ | Commonly under-reports on | | Transferability of dataset to | marginal/difficult to access | | other analysts means that | individuals and households | | analysis is not dependent on | | | availability of an individual | Often wasteful in that large | | | amounts of the dataset are never | | Precise professional or | used | | disciplinary minimum standards | | | exist for much survey work. | Relatively expensive in terms | | | of money. | | Reliability by critical analysis | | | | Poorly trained enumerators can | | Short time framed for | make mistakes and inadvertently | | administered Survey | influence responses. | | | | | Facilitated numerical data for | Enumerators may falsify/ invent | | groups and extents of agree and | data | | disagree from respondents | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ **Importance of Quantitative Research** Since quantitative research is about numeric data and statistics, it is very beneficial in various aspects of life cited by Lobetos (2018). **1. Quantitative Research and Anthropology\ \ ** Many discoveries in this field like human behavior in the society, racial conflicts and human evolution have given enormous contributions to the improvement of human life. **2. Quantitative Research and Communication\ \ ** Researchers are often interested in how an understanding of a particular communication phenomena might be generalized to a larger population. Example: What communicative behaviors are used to respond to co-workers displaying emotional stress? **3. Quantitative Research and Medicine** This tends to be predominantly observational research based on surveys or correlational studies. Experimental research designs may enhance the quality of medical education. **4. Quantitative Research and Behavioral Science** The output of this research focuses on how human behavior relates with another people and also the individual differences that may affect human relations.\ \ **5. Quantitative Research in Educational and Psychology** Many educational principles in understanding human behavior are the offshoot of this research. **6. Quantitative Research and Social Science** The method employed in this type of quantitative social research are mostly typically the survey and the experiment. Example: the study of DSWD regarding 4P's
