Why use quantitative approaches?

Quantitative methods of data analysis can be of great value to the

researcher who is attempting to draw meaningful results from a large body
of qualitative data. The main beneficial aspect is that it provides the
means to separate out the large number of confounding factors that often
obscure the main qualitative findings.
Quantitative analytical approaches also allow the reporting of
summary results in numerical terms to be given with a specified degree of
confidence.
When quantitative analysis approaches is useful?
Quantitative analysis approaches are meaningful only when there is
a need for data summary across many repetitions of a participatory
process, e.g. focus group discussions leading to seasonal calendars, venn
diagrams, etc.
Quantitative analysis approaches are particularly helpful when the
qualitative information has been collected in some structured way, even if
the actual information has been elicited through participatory discussions
and approaches.

Selecting your statistical test

When it comes to the selection of the appropriate test for your research in
order to determine the p-value, you need to base the selection of four
major factors, namely:

The level of data (nominal, ordinal, ratio, or interval).

The number of groups/samples in your research study (one, two, or

more).

Were the data collected from independent groups/samples or from

related groups? Remember that independent groups are two or more
separated groups of participants, whilst related groups are often the
same group, but at a different time in the study, e.g. pre- and posttesting, or even a different environment.

The characteristics of the data (i.e. the distribution of the data).

Now all these statistical tests may look very complicated, but if ever you
are involved in quantitative research and have to do statistical analysis,
don't worry because help is at hand.
There is a computer package for statistical analysis known as SPSS

Common statistical test for quantitative analysis

t-test
The t-test

assesses

whether

the

means

of

two

groups

are statisticallydifferent from each other. This analysis is appropriate

whenever you want to compare the means of two groups.
Pearson Correlation
We use the Pearson's correlation in order to find a correlation between at
least two continuous variables. The value for such a correlation lies
between 0.00 (no correlation) and 1.00 (perfect correlation).
ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)
ANOVA is one of a number of tests (ANCOVA - analysis of covariance - and
MANOVA

multivariate

analysis

of

variance)

that

are

used

to

describe/compare the relationship among a number of groups.

Chi-square test
There are two different types of chi-square tests - but both involve
categorical data (Pallant 2001).
One type of chi-square test compares the frequency count of what is
expected in theory against what is actually observed.

The second type of chi-square test is known as a chi-square test with two
variables or the chi-square test for independence.
Wilcoxon signed-rank test
This is the most common nonparametric test for the two-sampled
repeated measures design of research study, and is also known as the
Wilcoxon matched-pairs test.

Advantages and disadvantages of tests

The advantages and disadvantage of tests depend largely on the type of
test being considered and the personal opinion of the stakeholder. However, the
following claims are made by proponents.
Advantages:
Provide objective information on what the test taker knows and can do
Can be constructed to match a given curriculum or set of skills
Can be scored in a straightforward manner
Are accepted by the public as a credible indicator of learning
Disadvantages:
May be oversimplified and superficial
May be very time consuming
May be biased against some groups of test takers
May be subject to corruption via coaching or cheating

Data analysis technique

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Frequency distribution
Descriptive statistics
Comparing means statistical testing
Cross-tabulation (Pivot Table in Excel)
Correlations
Linear regressions
Text analytics