Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research

Students Name

University Name

Date

Quantitative Research

A description of what the each of the variables measure.

Variable name measures the individuals’ actual names in the population it identifies the individuals and is measured as nominal data since ranking of such data is not possible. Students ID number is a ratio measure since the numbers can be ranked and this ranking has a meaning.

A description of the unit of analysis.

In analysis of a research the findings need to be placed in different units of analysis. For a researcher to be able to work with the collected data he or she needs first to transform the data into a dataset. This data set contains the variables i.e. different forms of measurement which are inform of cases. This data set formed is described by use of variables and units of analysis.

The analysis carried out in the research determines the unit study. This units could be individuals, groups, artefacts, geographical units or social interaction. When a research is interested in studying about the difference in response from one person to another, the unit of analysis is an individual. If the researcher decides to compare the different individuals placed together and compared with others, the unit of study becomes groups.

A description and explanation of the levels of measurement for each variable

To understand which type of data you are using, a researcher uses the level of measurement technique in gaining knowledge on the type of data being used. When dealing with variables they can fall into any of the following measurement levels i.e. nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio.

When describing a fixed unit of measurement with neutral zero point, the level of measurement in here is a ratio measurement. When representing units in this category, we always use fixed unit of measurement. This type of measurement is also characterized by having neutral zero point i.e. zero means nothing e.g. 14 kilograms = 14.0 kilograms.

Interval measurement has a fixed unit of measurement but with no neutral zero point. Here when using units, each of the units represent the same amount referred to as intervals. In this type of measurement, zero has a meaning with regards to variables that fall in this category of measurement. Also it does not make sense when multiplying data in this category.

By definition ordinal measurement implies that there is no definite unit of measurement and variables in this category cannot be ranked. E.g. of variables that fall in this category of measurement includes bad, neutral and good. Therefore ordinal measurements does not have a fixed mode of measurement.

When there is no undisputable order in variables used, this form of measurement can be described as nominal measurement. In this category what matters is the form in which the data is represented in real world but not what is being represented e.g. a county can be ranked in different forms say by use of names or sizes, here any order makes an equal sense.

Explain how you might conceive these variables to be used to answer a social change question. What might be the implications for social change?

A research is developed to answer a question of which it has been transformed from its natural form to scientific representation. After data has been clean up and formulated as data set in which the sets contains relations of meaningful information from the data. To get this information the data is analysed by applying relevant and precise statistical tools which helps to evaluate and get information from the data. The analysis presents a summary of the collected data from the field. Interpretation of this data is then done by the researcher. Here hypothesis that have been formed from the research questions are evaluated and relevant conclusions are deducted. This information is used to answer social questions arising from the society

Reference

Dietz, T., & Kalof, L. (2009). Introduction to social statistics: The logic of statistical reasoning. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Muijs, D. (2004). Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. London:SAGE

Neuman, W. L. (1997). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Boston: allyn and Bacon.

Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Leon-Guerrero, A. (2015). Social statistics for a diverse society (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications