QUANTITATIVE

RESEARCH
 The research design of a study spells out the basic strategies that
researchers adopt to developevidence that is accurate and
interpretable.
 The research design incorporates some of the mostimportant
methodologic decisions that researchers make, particularly in
quantitative studies. Thus, it is important to understand design
options when embarking on a research project.
 It is easier to understand the different types of quantitative
research designs if you consider how the researcher designs for
control of the variables in the investigation.
 If the researcher views quantitative design as a continuum, one
end of the range represents a design where the variables are not
controlled at all and only observed.
 Connections amongst variable are only described. At the other
end of the spectrum, however, are designs which include a very
close control of variables, and relationships amongst those
variables are clearly established. In the middle, with experiment
design moving from one type to the other, is a range which blends
those two extremes together.
 Descriptive Correlational

Types of
Quantitative
Research Experimental
Quasi-
Research.
Experimental,
Descriptive  A descriptive study is one that is designed to describe the
distribution of one or more variables, without regard to any causal
Study or other hypothesis.
 case reports,
Descriptive
Study case series,

cross-sectional studies
  Case report refers to the description of a patient with an unusual
disease or with simultaneous occurrence of more than one
condition.
 A case series is similar, except that it is an aggregation of multiple
(often only a few) similar cases. Many case reports and case series
Case reports are anecdotal and of limited value.
and case series  However, some of these bring to the fore a hitherto unrecognized
disease and play an important role in advancing medical science.
For instance, HIV/AIDS was first recognized through a case report
of disseminated Kaposi's sarcoma in a young homosexual man,[2]
and a case series of such men with Pneumocystis carinii
pneumonia
  Studies with a cross-sectional study design involve the collection
Cross- of information on the presence or level of one or more variables of
interest (health-related characteristic), whether exposure (e.g., a
sectional study risk factor) or outcome (e.g., a disease) as they exist in a defined
population at one particular time.
 If these data are analyzed only to determine the distribution of
one or more variables, these are “descriptive.” However, often, in
a cross-sectional study, the investigator also assesses the
relationship between the presence of an exposure and that of an
outcome
 Let us look at a study that was aimed to assess the prevalence of
myopia among Indian children.[7] In this study, trained health
workers visited schools in Delhi and tested visual acuity in all
children studying in classes 1–9. Of the 9884 children screened,
1297 (13.1%) had myopia (defined as spherical refractive error of
−0.50 diopters (D) or worse in either or both eyes), and the mean
myopic error was −1.86 ± 1.4 D. Furthermore, overall, 322 (3.3%),
247 (2.5%) and 3 children had mild, moderate, and severe visual
impairment, respectively. These parts of the study looked at the
prevalence and degree of myopia or of visual impairment, and did
not assess the relationship of one variable with another or test a
causative hypothesis – these qualify as a descriptive cross-
sectional study.
  It attempts to determine the extent of a relationship between two
Correlational or more variables using statistical data. In this type of design,
relationships between and among a number of facts are sought
Study and interpreted.
Correlational  The data, relationships, and distributions of variablesare studied
only. Variables are not manipulated; they are only identified and
Study are studied as they occur in a natural setting.
  Examples;
 The relationship between intelligence and self-esteem
Correlational
 • The relationship between diet and anxiety
Study  • The relationship between an aptitude test and success in an
algebra course
  It attempts to establish cause-effect relationships among the
variables. These types of design are very similar to true
quasi- experiments, but with some key differences.There are some
circumstances in experimental research:control,randomisation
experimental and intervention.If something is missing among these
circumstances,this study is called as an quasi experimental
research research.


  The effect of preschool attendance on social maturity at the end
of the first grade

 The effect of taking multivitamins on a students’ school


  It is often called true experimentation, uses the scientific method
to establish the cause-effect relationship among a group of
Experimental variables that make up a study. The true experiment is often
thought of as a laboratory study, but this is not always the case; a
research laboratory setting has nothing to do with it. A true experiment is
any study where an effort is made to identify and impose control
over all other variables.
  There are some circumstances ;
Experimental  Randomisation

Research  Control
 Intervention/Manipulation
  Manipulation involves doing something to study
 participants. The introduction of that “something”
Manipulation  (i.e., the experimental treatment or intervention)
 constitutes the independent variable.
  For example, suppose we hypothesized that gentle massage is
effective as a pain relief measure for elderly nursing home
residents. The independent variable (the presumed cause) in this
example is receipt of gentle massage, which could be manipulated
Example by giving some patients the massage intervention and
withholding it from others. We would then compare patients’ pain
level (the dependent variable) in the two groups to see if
differences in receipt of the intervention resulted in differences in
average pain levels.
  Control is achieved in an experimental study by manipulating, by
randomizing, by carefully preparing the experimental protocols,
Control and by using a control group. This section focuses on the function
of the control group in experiments.
  In experimental studies,there are intervention group and control
Control group.
 In control group there is no intervention group.
  Randomization (also called random assignment) involves placing
subjects in groups at random.

Randomization  Random essentially means that every subject has an equal chance
of being assigned to any group. If subjects are placed in groups
randomly, there is no systematic bias in the groups with respect
to attributes that could affect the dependent variable.
  Let us consider the purpose of random assignment. Suppose we
wanted to study the effectiveness of a contraceptive counseling
program formultiparous women who have just given birth. Two
groups of subjects are included—one will be counseled and the
other will not. The women in the sample are likely to differ from
one another in many ways, such as age, marital status, financial
Randomization situation, attitudes toward child-rearing, and the like.
 Any of these characteristics could affect a woman’s diligence in
practicing contraception, independent of whether she receives
counseling. We need to have the “counsel” and “no counsel”
groups equal with respect to these extraneous characteristics to
assess the impact of the experimental counseling program on
subsequent pregnancies.
Types of
Evidence
(Level)
Solomon four
group
experimental
design
Retrospective  Studies with a retrospective design are ones in which a
phenomenon existing in the present is linked to phenomena that
Design occurred in the past, before the study was initiated.
  Example;
 Heitkemper, Jarrett, Taylor, Walker, Landenburger, and Bond
Retrospective (2001) used a retrospective design in their study of factors
contributing to the onset of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). They
Design compared samples of women with and without IBS in terms of
their history of sexual and physical abuse, and found that abusive
experiences were more prevalent among women with IBS.
Prospective  nonexperimental study with a prospective design (sometimes
called a prospective cohort design) starts with a presumed cause
Design and then goes forward in time to the presumed effect
  Example;
 For example, we might want to test the hypothesis that the
Prospective  incidence of rubella during pregnancy (the independent variable)
Design is related to infant abnormalities (the dependent variable). To test
this hypothesis prospectively, we would begin with a sample of
pregnant women, including some who contracted rubella during
their pregnancy and others who did not.