STRATEGIES FOR ANALYZING QUANTITATIVE DATA IN RESEARCH

Abstract

Numbers are meaningless unless we analyze and interpret them in order to reveal the truth that lies beneath them. With statistics, we can summarize large numerical data sets, make predictions about future trends, and determine when different experimental treatments have led to significantly different outcomes. Thus, statistical procedures are among the most powerful tools in the researcher’s toolbox. Quantitative study designs are specific, well structured, have been tested for their validity and reliability and can be explicitly defined and recognized. Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. In quantitative research, the measurement and classification requirements of the information that is gathered demand that study designs are more structured, rigid fixed and predetermined in their use to ensure accuracy in measurement and classification.