Quantitative Research

Chapter 3: Methods and Procedures

Begin the chapter with a brief explanation of what the chapter is all about. The common Introductory explanation is as
follows:

The Introductory Paragraph

This chapter presents the discussion of the research methodology of the study, the subjects, sampling technique,
research instruments, procedure of data gathering, and statistical treatment that will be used for accurate data analysis
and interpretation.

Methods of Research

This section specifies what method of research will be used: descriptive, correlational, experimental, historical, or
documentary analysis.

Subject/Respondents of the Study

A distinction should be made between subjects and respondents of the study.

Subjects are persons or animals investigated in the study. They are samples being observed in the experiment or
laboratory. When learning abilities of preschoolers are being assessed in the study, the preschool pupils are the subjects.
The preschool teachers and mothers who will be interviewed and asked to fill out questionnaire are the respondents of
the study. Respondents therefore are providers of information needed in the study, elicited orally or in writing

IT is important to state the number of your subjects or respondents and who they are. Also explain how the number will
be decided upon.

Sampling Technique

Explain what sampling technique will be used in the study, why you will use it and what procedure will be followed to
carry out the technique. Sampling technique may be random, purposive, cluster, convenience, quota, stratified,
population, etc.

When the whole population (such as the population of the Philippines) is not possible to get as subjects or as
respondents for your study, compute an appropriate sample size using Slovens Formula. In this case, a smaller sample
size is computed using this formula:

n=N/(1+Ne2)

this allows you researcher to study the population with the desired degree of accuracy. Statistically, the representative
sample is reasonable enough to gather accurate result. If the sampling is done appropriately, you can assume that what
is true for the whole population.

Research Instrument

A research instrument is survey, questionnaire, test, scale, rating or any tool designed to measure the variable(s),
characteristic(s), or information of interest, often a behavioral or psychological characteristics.

“Data Collection Instrument, such as surveys, physiologic measures (blood pressure temperature), or interview guides
must be identified and described. Using previously validated collection instrument s can save time and increase the
study’s credibility.”
Validation of Instruments

Your Questionnaire should be both valid and reliable.

Validity means that it should measure your intended variable based on your goals or what it is supposed to measure.
Reliability means that the instrument yields consistent result.

A test can be reliable without being valid. However, a test cannot be valid unless it is reliable. Validation may be done
through the suggestions of experts in the field and through a dry run to target samples, whose responses will be counted
in the final tally. The experts in the field will validate the questionnaire and give their corrections to be incorporated in
the draft. Ten to fifteen samples will not be included as the final respondents could be asked to answer the
questionnaires. Their responses will be tested for reliability (consult your statistician for the computation).

Procedure of Data Gathering

Identify your sources of data. If a questionnaire will be used, explain what kind and how it will be constructed. If its
original, how its pretested, distributed, retrieved, collated, etc. Thus, your procedures may include: Construction of the
Questionnaire, validation, distribution, retrieval, collation, presentation of data, presentation of data.

Statistical Treatment

Specify the statistical treatment/s you will use for interpreting your data, and why they are necessary. Also include the
scale, or verbal interpretation for the statistical processing of your data, mention the name of the office or agency or the
person taking charge of it.

Second Notes:

Research Methodology

A Description of how the research is exactly conducted

Allows other researchers to replicate the study
Presents detailed information on the Research Design, Participants, Materials or Instruments and Data Procedures. (this
could be written partly or as a whole, compressed in a paragraph)

Research Design
Population and Sampling
Research Instrument
Statistical Treatment of Data

Research Design

-Presents the general and over-view process if the study

-Answers whether the Research is Quantitative or Qualitative, its structure: Descriptive, Correlational or Experimental,
etc

Qualitative researches expects an open ended and general answers from interviews and observations, etc
Quantitative assumes objective and close-ended answers to quantify and interpret easier like scaling questionnaire and
numerical scored test

Population and Sampling

Population- the entire number of the people, objects, activities, or events under the study
Sample- a subject of the population chosen to represent the population from where they are selected
Sampling- the act, process, technique of selecting to suitable sample

a. Simple Random Sampling- Every element has a chance to get chosen. Used when there is no prior information
about the target population
b. Systematic Sampling- There is a system of randomly selecting from the population. For example: every third
person in the line will be chosen.
c. Stratified Sampling- the population is divided into subgroups(strata) based on similarties.
d. Clustered Sampling- the population is divided into clusters are randomly selected either as a whole or some
elements of a cluster only.

Statistical Treatment

Presents how the data will be measured and interpreted in the study
Depends on the problem. The answers needed and over-all quantitative design of the study
Aligned to the selected research instrument

Selecting Appropriate Treatment of Data

Descriptive survey research questionnaire should refer to Likert Scale.

Likert Scale is a rating scale that measures people’s perspective.

Correlational Researches with two different entities to be compared should refer to Pearson R.
Pearson R uses standardized metric system to determine the relationship of the two variables. It measures the degree of
the linear relationship between two variables. By Linear Relationship we mean that the relationship can be well-
characterized by a straight line.

Three Types of Relationship:

Positive: higher scores on X are associated with higher scores on Y

Negative: higher scores on x are associated with lower scores on Y
No Relationship: there is predictable relationship between X and Y