Lesson 1

Quantitative Research Design

1, Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and
analysis of data it is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on testing of
theory shaped by empiricist and positivist philosophies

2, A formal objective systematic process in which numerical data are utilized to obtain
information about the world (Bums and Grove as Cited by Cormack 1991.P.140)

*an inquiry of social or human problem based on testing a theory composed of variables
measured with numbers and analyzed with statistical procedures in order determine whether
the predictive generalizations of the theory hold true (Creswell, 1914)

4.

Survey Research

Survey research quantitative method for which a researcher poses the same set of questions
typically in a written format to a sample of individuals is a quantitative method where a
researcher poses some set of predetermined questions to an entire group or sample of
individual

Correlational Research

A correlational research design measures a relationship between two variables without the

researcher controlling either of them It aims to find out whether there is either
Positive correlation. Both variables change in the same direction.

Casual- Research

Causal research also called explanatory research is the investigation of research into cause and
effect relationships. To determine causality it is important to observe variation in the variable
assumed to cause the change in the other variable and then measure the changes in the other
variable

Experimental Research

Experimental research is research conducted with a scientific approach using two sets of

variables. The first set acts as a constant which you use to measure the differences of the
second set Quantitative research methods for example are experimental The research should
establish a notable cause and effect.

5. Quantitative research designs are either descriptive subjects usually measured once

or experimental subjects measured before and after a treatment The researcher has a clearly
defined research question to which objective answers are sought. All aspects of the study are
carefully designed before data is collected.

Lesson 2
Sampling procedure and sample
1.Sampling Procedure Definition Sample a portion of the entire group called a
population Sampling procedure choosing part of a population to use to test hypotheses about
the entire population Used to choose the number of participants interviews or work samples to
use in the assessment process

2.

Populations

In statistics the term population has a slightly different meaning from the one given to it in
ordinary speech It need not refer only to people or to animate creatures – the population of
Britain for instance or the dog population of London Statisticians also speak of a population of
objects or events or procedures or observations including such things as the quantity of lead in
urine visits to the doctor or surgical operations A population is thus an aggregate of creatures
things cases and so on.

Although a statistician should clearly define the population he or she is dealing with they may
not be able to enumerate it exactly For instance in ordinary usage the population of England
denotes the number of people within England’s boundaries perhaps as enumerated at a census.
But a physician might embark on a study to try to answer the question “What is the average
systolic blood pressure of Englishmen aged 40-59” But who are the Englishmen referred to
here? Not all Englishmen live in England and the social and genetic background of those that do
may vary A surgeon may study the effects of two alternative operations for gastric ulcer. But
how old are the patients? What sex are they? How severe is their disease? Where do they live?
And so on. The reader needs precise information on such matters to draw valid inferences from
the sample that was studied to the population being considered Statistics such as averages and
standard deviations when taken from populations are referred to as population parameters.
Samples

A population commonly contains too many individuals to study conveniently, so an

investigation is often restricted to one or more samples drawn from it A well chosen sample will
contain most of the information about a particular population parameter but the relation
between the sample and the population must be such as to allow true inferences to be made
about a population from that sample

Consequently the first important attribute of a sample is that every individual in the population
from which it is drawn must have a known non-zero chance of being included in it a natural
suggestion is that these chances should be equal We would like the choices to be made
independently in other words the choice of one subject will not affect the chance of other
subjects being chosen. To ensure this we make the choice by means of a process in which
chance alone operates such as spinning a coin or more usually the use of a table of random
numbers A limited table is given in the Table F Appendix and more extensive ones have been
published 1-4 A sample so chosen is called a random sample The word random does not
describe the sample as such but the way in which it is selected.

To draw a satisfactory sample sometimes presents greater problems than to analyse statistically
the observations made on it A full discussion of the topic is beyond the scope of this book but
guidance is readily available 1 2 In this book only an introduction is offered.

Before drawing a sample the investigator should define the population from which it is to come
Sometimes he or she can completely enumerate its members before beginning analysis for
example all the livers studied at necropsy over the previous year all the patients aged 20-44
admitted to hospital with perforated peptic ulcer in the previous 20 months. In retrospective
studies of this kind numbers can be allotted serially from any point in the table to each patient
or specimen Suppose we have a population of size 150 and we wish to take a sample of size five
contains a set of computer generated random digits arranged in groups of five Choose any row
and column say the last column of five digits Read only the first three digits and go down the
column starting with the first row Thus we have 265, 881, 722, etc If a number appears
between 001 and 150 then we include it in our sample Thus in order in the sample will be
subjects numbered 24, 59, 107, 73, and 65. If necessary we can carry on down the next column
to the left until the full sample is chosen.

The use of random numbers in this way is generally preferable to taking every alternate patient
or every fifth specimen or acting on some other such regular plan The regularity of the plan can
occasionally coincide by chance with some unforeseen regularity in the presentation of the
material for study for example by hospital appointments being made from patients from certain
practices on certain days of the week or specimens being prepared in batches in accordance
with some schedule.

As susceptibility to disease generally varies in relation to age, sex, occupation, family history,
exposure to risk, inoculation state, country lived in or visited, and many other genetic or
environmental factors it is advisable to examine samples when drawn to see whether they are
on average comparable in these respects. The random process of selection is intended to make
them so but sometimes it can by chance lead to disparities. To guard against this possibility the
sampling may be stratified This means that a framework is laid down initially and the patients
or objects of the study in a random sample are then allotted to the compartments of the
framework For instance the framework might have a primary division into males and females
and then a secondary division of each of those categories into five age groups the result being a
framework with ten compartments. It is then important to bear in mind that the distributions of
the categories on two samples made up on such a framework may be truly comparable but
they will not reflect the distribution of these categories in the population from which the
sample is drawn unless the compartments in the framework have been designed with that in
mind. For instance equal numbers might be admitted to the male and female categories but
males and females are not equally numerous in the general population and their relative
proportions vary with age This is known as stratified random sampling For taking a sample from
a long list a compromise between strict theory and practicalities is known as a systematic
random sample In this case we choose subjects a fixed interval apart on the list say every tenth
subject but we choose the starting point within the first interval at random

3.There are two approaches to sample size calculation the precision based approach and the

power based approach The precision based approach estimates an unkown parameter with a
certain precision This approach limits the confidence interval of the parameter to a
certain width.

4.Probability sampling methods Probability sampling means that every member of the

population has a chance of being selected It is mainly used in quantitative research If you want
to produce results that are representative of the whole population you need to use
a probability sampling technique

5.

*Assessment of the quality of herbal drugs as directly dependent on the selection of sample for
examination these samples must be truly representative of the material undergoing analysis.
The reliability of any analysis will depend upon how truly that sample represents the whole
batch.

*In case of a small consignment, all parts should be examined and where this is impractical,
portions for analysis should be taken from several different parts of the consignment to ensure
that the material that has been supplied is homogeneous the united states pharmacopoeia(USP
1994) has prescribed very definite sampling procedure

6. A sample design is the framework or road map that serves as the basis for the selection of a
survey sample and affects many other important aspects of a survey as well One must define
a sampling frame that represents the population of interest from which a sample is to be drawn
7. Sampling procedure choosing part of a population to use to test hypotheses about the entire
population Used to choose the number of participants interviews or work samples to use in the
assessment process.

9.what I learned in the sampling procedure is Sampling means selecting the group that you will
actually collect data from in your research. For example if you are researching the opinions of
students in your university you could survey a sample of 100 students. In
statistics, sampling allows you to test a hypothesis about the characteristics of a population

Lesson 3
1.The two most commonly used research instruments in quantitative research studies include
questionnaire and test

2.

*the instrument must be valid and reliable

*it must be based upon the conceptual framework

*it must gather data suitable for and relevant to the research topic

*it must gather data would test the hypotheses or answer the questions under investigation

3.the four steps involved in instrument development are concept identification item
construction validity testing and reliability testing the clinician who has begun to identify
characteristics associated with a patient group has in reality begun the process of instrument
development

4. These measurement scales are four in number namely nominal scale ordinal scale

interval scale and ratio scale The measurement scales are used to
measure qualitative and quantitative data

5.

Construct validity: Does the test measure the concept that it’s intended to measure?

Content validity: Is the test fully representative of what it aims to measure?

Face validity: Does the content of the test appear to be suitable to its aims?

Criterion validity: Do the results correspond to a different test of the same thing?
6. However an instrument cannot be valid if it is not reliable There are three major categories of
reliability for most instruments test-retest equivalent form and internal consistency Each
measures consistency a bit differently and a given instrument need not meet the requirements
of each

Lesson 4
3.