Overview of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a structured way of gathering and analyzing data obtained from different sources. Computational, statistical, and mathematical tools are used in this kind of research to acquire results.  The purpose of the quantitative research is to quantify the problems and understand how prevalent they are by looking for generalizable results to a larger population [1].

 Types of quantitative research designs:

There are four main types of quantitative research designs as listed below:

• Descriptive Design: In this kind of research design, the researcher seeking to describe the present status of a variable or phenomenon, does not begin with a hypothesis, but typically develops one after the data is gathered.
• Correlational Design: Using this type of design, the researcher explores the relationship between variables applying statistical analyses. The cause and effect relation is not sought in this kind of design; therefore, it is mostly observational in terms of data collection.
• Quasi-Experimental Design (often referred to as Causal-Comparative): The aim in this type of design is establishing or finding a cause-effect relationship between two or more variables. The researcher does not assign groups and does not manipulate the independent variable. Control groups are recognized and exposed to the variables. The obtained results are compared with results from groups not exposed to the variables.
• Experimental Designs, which are often called true experimentations, use the scientific methods to establish a cause-effect relationship among a group of variables in a research study. Researchers make an effort to control for all variables except the one being manipulated (the independent variable). The effects of the independent variable on the dependent variables are collected and analyzed for a relationship [2].

Generally, the differences between these four types primarily depend on the degree the researcher designs for control of the variables in the experiment.

Data Collection Methods:

There are many different types of data collection methods that can be used in quantitative research. Typical quantitative data gathering strategies include:  applying surveys with closed‐ended questions (e.g., face-to-face and telephone interviews, mail questionnaires, etc.); observing and recording well‐defined events (e.g., counting the number of patients waiting in emergency at specified times of the day); and obtaining relevant data from management information systems [4]. 

The next step to be taken after data collection is analyzing the collected data. Independent sample t-tests, correlated t-tests, variance calculations, and regression analysis are some examples of analytical tools which are used to analyze the collected data.

Overall, quantitative research deals with numerical data and statistics. Because of being simple and straightforward, it is preferable among many groups of people. How many and How much types of questions are the questions which are answered in this kind of study. Considering these characteristics, like other kinds of research, this type of study has its own pros and cons. One of the outstanding advantages of quantitative research is that it is very objective, and the bias of the researcher has no contribution in the study and he or she just measures the amount of the occurrence of variables. Besides, this advantage, a prominent weak point of this type of research is that it cannot provide a deep understanding of the analyzed items because, in this kind of research, the context of the study or experiment is ignored.

1. https://www.sisinternational.com/what-is-quantitative-research/
2. https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/quantresearch/approaches
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0898589817300943
4. http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/researchmethods/data%20collection%20methods/data%20c ollection%20methods.htm