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5-Quantitative Research

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Abdul Basit
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65 views16 pages

5-Quantitative Research

Uploaded by

Abdul Basit
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Quantitative

Research
Contents
Quantitative research
Questionnaire survey – steps
Questionnaire – advantages/disadvantages
Type of questions
Scaling responses
Question placement
Quantitative Research
Typically involves counting or measuring
Often statistical tests are applied to detect or
confirm trends
Purpose is to get clear-cut, precise and accurate
results, factually reflecting the situation under study
Questionnaire is one of the popular tools for the
quantitative research
Questionnaire Survey - Steps
1. Define the problem/ survey topic
2. Use previous studies & expert advice
3. Define research questions/ objectives
4. Define study population and sample size
5. Develop a preliminary questionnaire
6. Pretest the questionnaire (similar subjects)
7. Cover letter (Introducing the study, deadline for return,
guarantees for data anonymity)
8. Stamped & self-addressed envelop
9. Follow-up letter for non-respondents
Questionnaire Survey

Mail
Web-based
Questionnaires Group
E-mail
Interview
Questionnaire - Advantages
Broad coverage (local, national, international)
Frank and anonymous answers
Economical for large population
Less Time consuming
Quantitative data (easy to analyze)
Filling at a convenient time
Easy to respond (fixed responses)
Good for sensitive & ego-related Qs.
Original hard-to-obtain data
Questionnaire - Disadvantages

No clarification for ambiguous questions


Inadequate motivation to respond
Poorly worded or direct questions
Unattractive style and format
Low response rate
Inaccurate responses – no verification
Limited fixed responses
Cannot uncover causes or relationships for
attitudes, beliefs, actions
Type of Questions

Factual: Age, gender, education, experience (often used to


investigate relationship)
Informative: What respondents know about a given
topic (How do you come to know about the availability of e-
journals?)
Attitudinal/Opinion: To obtain info about
respondents’ beliefs, feelings, values (Do to agree that
current copyright law is fair?)
Self-perception: Allows subjects to compare their
ideas or actions with others (How active are you in the
community work? How will you describe your computing
skills?)
Type of Questions

Standard of Action: How respondents will act in a


situation (For which party you will vote in the next election? Will
you join the organ donation society? )
Projective Questions: Allow respondents to answer in
an indirect manner by imposing their feelings, attitudes
or beliefs on others (Are most of the Singaporeans quitters or
stayers? Are students happy with the grading scheme?)
Structured/Unstructured Qs
Another possible categorization of questions:

Unstructured Questions: Allow respondents to reply freely


without having to select one of several provided responses
(also called open-ended questions)
Useful for exploratory studies in which various
dimensions and facets of a problem are examined
Usually difficult to analyze responses
◦ What steps are required to improve the quality of National
Service?
Usually low response rate
Structured Questions
Provide a group of fixed responses

Dichotomous: yes/no, true/false, agree/disagree


Multiple Choice: What sources do you use for writing term reports? (check
all that apply)
◦ How many hours do you exercise per week (check only one response)
◦ How satisfied are you with the quality of canteen ‘A’ food?

Contingency: Determine if the respondent is qualified to answer a


subsequent question)
◦ Do you use databases available through iGems? (If no, please move to
question 15) *
◦ Have you participated in DIS orientation? (Yes/No)
If yes, how effective was this briefing? (Very effective, effective, ineffective
…)
Scaling Responses

Likert-type Scale: Each response is assigned a numeric


ranking based on a continuum that contains
predetermined units of measurement
Designed to show a differentiation among respondents
opinions
◦ How important is …. (very important, important ….)
◦ How adequate are …. (v. adequate ……..inadequate)
◦ How frequently do you ... (frequently … infrequently)
Scaling Responses

Semantic Differential Scale: Provides a set of bipolar


adjective pairs
Q. How would you rate performance of the Income Tax
staff?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bad … ……… … … … Good
Unfair … ……… … … … Fair
Harsh … ……… … … … Gentle
Scaling Responses
Rank-order or Comparative Ranking Scale
Respondents are expected to rank responses according to their
importance/ preference
Should be used carefully as many respondents face difficulty in
understanding/responding
Only use a short list of responses
Q. What sources do you prefer for writing term reports? Please rank them
according to …… (1= most preferred; 7= least preferred)
--- Books
--- Encyclopaedia
--- Friends
--- Internet
--- Journals
--- Lecture notes
--- Personal collection
Question Placement
Opening questions - start with easy non threatening
questions
Sequence - according to the research topic, logical flow
Sensitive questions - should be asked only after trust is
developed
Difficult questions - more difficult questions should be
asked at the end
Personal Data – age, gender, qualification, experience
Mapping Survey Questions

Question

Res. Objective 1 Question

Question

Question
Res. Objective 2
Question

Question

Res. Objective 3 Question

Question

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