Nature of Inquiry and Research
There are many things you want to know in this world.
Living and nonliving things including the events – their nature
or qualities make you wonder continuously, frequently or
quickly.
Marveling at them, you put to continue yourself in a course
of situation where you seem to be grappling with different
problems.
Questions after questions on the different aspects of the
things of your curiosity prod you to move, act, or do
something to find answers to your questions or to
discover truths about your inferences or
speculations on such thing. Behaving like an investigator,
asking and seeking answers, to some questions
about the thing you find puzzling indicates the true nature of
inquiry research.
Learning Objectives
•Discuss the characteristics, strengths,
weaknesses and kinds of quantitative
research;
•Discuss the importance of quantitative
research across the field; and
•Discuss the nature of variables.
Based on your knowledge and understanding,
define the following words below:
Probe
Ponder
Random
Inquiry
Research
The Characteristics, Strengths, Weaknesses
and Kinds of Quantitative Research
Quantitative research makes you focus your mind
on specific things by means of statistics that
involve collection and study of
numerical data.
Thus, to give the basic meaning of quantitative research is
to say that research is a way of making any
phenomenon or any sensory experience
clearer or more meaningful by gathering and examining
facts and information about such person, thing, place, or
event appealing to your senses.
Since quantitative research uses numbers and figures
to denote a particular thing, this kind of research requires
you to focus your full attention on the object of your
study.
This is why quantitative research is described as objective
research in contrast to qualitative research that is subjective.
The importance of quantitative research lies really in the
production of results that should reflect precise
measurement and an in-depth analysis of data.
It is also useful in obtaining an objective understanding of
people, things, places, and events in this world; meaning,
attaching accurate or exact meanings to
objects or subjects, rather than inflated meanings resulting
from the researcher’s bias or personal attachment to things
related to the research.
Quantitative research is of two kinds:
1. EXPERIMENTAL – under this kind of research are true experimental,
quasi-experimental, and single subject, and pre-experimental.
2. NON-EXPERIMENTAL – these are sub type survey, historical, observational,
correlational, descriptive, and comparative research
The Importance of Quantitative Research across the Field
1. More reliable and objective
2. Can use statistics to generalize a finding
3. Often reduces and restructures a complex problem to a limited number of
variables
4. Looks at relationships between variables and can establish cause and effect in
highly controlled circumstances
5. Tests theories or hypotheses
6. Assumes sample is representative of the population
7. Subjectivity of researcher in methodology is recognized less
8. Less detailed than qualitative data and may miss a desired response from the
participant.
THE NATURE OF VARIABLES
Variables are “changing or characteristics” of persons or things like age, gender,
intelligence, ideas, achievements, confidence, and so on that are involved in your research study.
Made up of the root or base word “vary” which means undergo changes or to differ
from, variables have different or varying values in relation to time and situation.
For instance, as years go by, your age or intelligence increases. But placed in a situation where
you are afflicted with a disease or have no means of reading or no access to any sources of
knowledge, your intelligence tend to decrease.
