Chapter 1 - Introduction To Quantitative Methods

Introduction to
Quantitative Methods
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Urdaneta City Campus
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lecture, you will:

 Explain the process/steps in a scientific method;
 Identify the differences between Quantitative and Qualitative;
 Explain the purpose of statistics in decision making;
 Identify different data types and sources;
 Explore different statistical software for analysis.

The Scientific Method
❖ We usually define Science as a body of knowledge.

❖ Science is a search for understanding.
❖ In every Science class there will always be methods or procedures and we
call it scientific method.
❖ In general scientific method includes a review of facts, theories, and
proposals.
❖ Formulation of a logical hypothesis that can be evaluated by experimental
methods and objective evaluation of the hypothesis on the basis of
experimental results.
Steps in Scientific Method Generate a
Conclusion /
Prediction
Test the
Hypothesis
Formulate a
Hypothesis
Ask a
Question
Make
Observations

1. Make Observation
 Great observations led to great inventions.

 It all begins with it. In this part we use our God-given physical senses in
order to make observations.
 Our eyes to see the situation of our surroundings, our nose to smell
everything in nature, our ears to hear the latest stories and current
events, etc.
 Based on what we see and feel, sometimes we complain and starts to
ask questions which will eventually turn into a question that we want to
look for answers.
2. Ask a Question
Asking a lot of questions creates problem.

In this part, our minds begin to formulate different
problems and drives us to solve it.

3.Formulate a Hypothesis
When we had a problem in mind we usually

thought of answers that are possible but sometimes
we are not really sure about it, which is why they
tend to have plan A or plan B.
This will lead us to a hypothesis or an educated
guess. A hypothesis which requires testing.
4. Test the Hypothesis
In this part we gather information or data for

us to test whether our claim is true or not.
These data will undergo the testing
procedure/experiment and the result will serve
as an evidence to support our hypothesis.
5. Generate Conclusion/Prediction
The result of the experiment will eventually

give us a generalization about the problem.
In this part, we can conclude whether we
accept our hypothesis or not and sometimes
make predictions.
Example: Illustration of Scientific Method
using flashlight
 Observation: Nothing happens when I try to turn on my flashlight.

 Question: Why didn’t the light come on? Are the batteries dead?
 Hypothesis: Maybe the batteries are dead.
 Test the hypothesis with an experiment: Put in new batteries and try to turn on the flashlight.
 Result: Flashlight still does not work.
 New hypothesis: Maybe the bulb is burned out.
 Experiment: Put in a new bulb.
 Result: Flashlight works.
 Conclusion: New hypothesis is verified.
Quantitative vs Qualitative
❖ The use of statistical methods in manufacturing, development of food

products, computer software, energy sources, pharmaceuticals, and
many other areas involves the gathering of information or scientific
data.
❖ Data are any information which is of interest to a person or group. In
Statistics a variable may also be called a data item.
❖ A variable is any characteristics, number, or quantity that can be
measured or counted. The value of the variable can “vary” from one
entity to another.
Quantitative vs Qualitative
❖ Qualitative variables take on values that are names or labels. One in which
numerical measurement is not possible.
o The color of a ball (e.g., red, green, blue) or the breed of a dog (e.g., poodle,
bulldog) would be examples of qualitative or categorical variables.
❖ Quantitative variables are numeric. They represent a measurable quantity.
One in which observations have a natural order of ranking.
o For example, height and weight or when we speak of the population of a city,
we are talking about the number of people in the city - a measurable attribute
of the city.
What is Statistics?
❖Statistics is a branch of mathematics that examines

and investigates ways to process and analyze the
data gathered. Statistics provides procedure in
data collection, presentation, summary and
interpretation to have a meaningful idea that is
useful to decision-makers.

The Purpose of Statistics
Statistics enables a researcher to draw meaningful

conclusions from the masses of data.
Statistics is a tool applicable in scientific measurement.
Statistics changes numbers into information.
Statistics is the art and science of deciding what
appropriate data to collect, how to collect data efficiently
and use it to give information.
The Purpose of Statistics
Statistics helps in decision making when there is

uncertainty.
Statistics gives effective decisions based on proper data
analysis.
Statistics allows us to identify risks and opportunities.
Statistics is the science of learning from data.
Data Types and Sources
Stevens (1966) developed a commonly accepted method of

classifying variables.
1. Nominal variable:
Each observation belongs to one of several distinct categories.
The categories don’t have to be numerical.
These are information that has no hierarchy of values.
Examples are sex, hair color, race, etc.
2. Ordinal variable:
Observations can be placed into categories that can be ranked.
These are data that have ranks but the interval between each
value in the scale is not certain.
An example would be rating for disease resistance using a 1-10
scale, where 1=very resistant and 10=very susceptible.

3. Interval variables:
Interval data can be categorized, ranked, and
evenly spaced but do not have a natural zero / true
zero point that indicates the absence of the
variable.
 Examples would be temperature in 𝐶 and F.
4. Ratio variables:
Ratio data have all the properties of interval data,
plus a natural zero / true zero point that indicates
the absence of the variable.
Examples would be height , weight and income.

Generally speaking, data can

be classified as primary or
secondary, and sources of data
depend on it.
Primary Data
 Data may be collected for the purpose required, such data are known as
primary data.
 Primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the first time and
thus happen to be original in character.
Common Sources of primary data:
 Survey questionnaire
 Observation
 Interview
 Secondary Data
 Often data is picked from reports of other institutions and organizations, such
data is referred to as secondary.
 Secondary data are those which have been collected by someone else, it
can be either be published or unpublished.
Common Sources of secondary data:
 Books Websites
 Publications Government Records
 Journal
Victor Ajayi
Basic
Comparison of
Primary and
Secondary Data
Overview of Statistical Analysis
Statistical Data Analysis is a process of performing

numerous statistical functions involving collection of data,
interpretation of data and lastly, validation of the data.
Numerous statistical tools such as Mega Stat, SPSS,SAS,
STATA, etc., are available nowadays to analyze the
statistical data from simple to complex problems based
on the nature of the study.
MegaStat
MegaStat for Excel is a full-featured Excel add-in that
performs statistical analyses with an Excel workbook.
 It performs basic functions, such as descriptive statistics,
frequency distributions, and probability calculations as
well as hypothesis testing, ANOVA, regression, and more.



SPSS
 SPSS means “Statistical Package for the Social Sciences” and was
first launched in 1968. Since SPSS was acquired by IBM in 2009, it's
officially known as IBM SPSS Statistics but most users still just refer to
it as “SPSS”.
 SPSS is software for editing and analyzing all sorts of data. These
data may come from basically any source: scientific research, a
customer database, Google Analytics or even the server log files of
a website.
SPSS Data View
SPSS Variable View

SPSS Analysis

SPSS Output Window

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!


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Introduction to

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

At the end of this lecture, you will:

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

❖ We usually define Science as a body of knowledge.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

 Great observations led to great inventions.

Asking a lot of questions creates problem.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

When we had a problem in mind we usually

In this part we gather information or data for

The result of the experiment will eventually

 Observation: Nothing happens when I try to turn on my flashlight.

❖ The use of statistical methods in manufacturing, development of food

❖Statistics is a branch of mathematics that examines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Statistics enables a researcher to draw meaningful

Statistics helps in decision making when there is

Stevens (1966) developed a commonly accepted method of

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Generally speaking, data can

Statistical Data Analysis is a process of performing

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

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