Quantitative Research: Statistics, Planning, Ethics, Normal Distributions, Correlation and Regression

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Week 5
Statistics can be defined as the science of data manipulation by collecting and analyzing
the data, then interpreting the analysis results (Barbara & Susan, 2014). Biostatistics on the other
hand is a discipline that applies the concepts of statistics to biological events and data. There are
two forms of statistics: descriptive statistics, that generally describes the observations in the data,
and inferential statistics that draws conclusions or inferences from the data.
A variable is a given property in the selected population while the measurements of this
variables that are collected in statistics are called data. Data can either be discrete (in cases where
the measurements take finite integer values) or continuous (for cases where the measurements
are in the form of intervals on the real line). Data is usually measured in four different scales:
Nominal, Ordinal, Interval and Ratio (Norman, 2010).
Data is displayed by either using tables or graphs in what is referred to as exploratory
data analysis (Martinez, Martinez, & Solka, 2010). The graphs include bar graphs, histograms,
pie charts, boxplots, scatterplots and line graphs. There are three measures of tendency in
statistics. These are Mean (the average value), Median (the most centered value) and Mode (the
most frequent value).
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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Week 6
The general basic steps in planning for a research include: Problem definition, review of
literature, preparation of proposal, collection of data and, coding and preparation of analysis of
the data.
Problem definition is a description of what the research entails, what the research is about
and what goals the research aims at achieving (Babbie, 2010). Review of literature concerns the
familiarizing of similar research on the problem of interest. This review also provides the
researcher with information on the challenges faced in previous research works on a similar
topic.
The proposal preparation stage involves the writing down of the plan for conducting the
research. The proposal usually contains the full features of a report and is expected to clearly
outline the research process. Data collection stage deals with the actual gathering of information
on the variables through methods including laboratory tests, observation and interviews. The
final stage is the coding and preparation of analysis of the data collected.
For every research, aspects such as accuracy, reliability and validity should be checked to
gauge how fit the research design is for the analysis (Abramson & Abramson, 2008). The
parameters of accuracy that can be measured for a research are sensitivity, specificity and
predictive value.
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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Week 7
Any researcher conducting a study is expected to ensure that the study they are carrying
out is done in a manner that can be considered as responsible and ethical (O'Neil, 2011). This
would go a long way in presenting the research as reliable and accurate, hence it can be referred
to in future.
The experimental study, which involves an intervention by the researcher on the subject,
is expected to observe two main ethical consideration. These are exposer of the subject to harm
and informed consent from the subject (especially in the cases of human subjects). The research
has to be conducted in a way that will not bring any harm to the research subject. It is also
expected that for human subjects, they are given adequate information about the research and
their consent sort for their participation in the study (Pierre, 2011). The risks are less likely in the
non-experimental studies, however the participant(s) informed consent is a vital ethical
consideration.
The integrity of a study is also fundamental in giving it acceptability. The researcher
should provide full disclosure on all the steps involved in the study, acknowledge all involved
parties and outline the strengths and weaknesses of the study.
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