6 Quantitative Research Examples (Explained)

One of the most recurrent classical models for carrying out certain types of research is the quantitative one.

Below we will take a tour of this concept, first to learn about its main qualities and uses, and then to delve into a list with different quantitative research examples that will complement this previous theoretical introduction.

• Related article: "The 15 types of research (and characteristics)"

Understanding quantitative research

Although the main objective of this article is to be able to review a list of research examples quantitative, it is necessary to have a theoretical basis that allows us to delve into that land. Therefore, we will dedicate this first part to reviewing the most important data in this regard.

Quantitative research is a way of doing science through empirical studies whose data is collected using numerical tools. That is, the phenomena observed by the researcher can be quantified and recorded, either in a statistical, computational or general mathematical way.

The fundamental difference with qualitative investigations, as we will discover later when reviewing the list of examples of quantitative investigation, is that in the latter can be assigned a number, a value, to the condition studied, and discover if it increases or decreases when the subject is exposed to a stimulus certain.

With the data collected from the selected population sample, the researcher will be able to extrapolate the conclusions to the whole of the total population, provided that a sufficiently representative sample has been selected and all the variables of the study have been controlled. study. This type of research is objective and has the purpose of verifying the validity of previous hypotheses..

Types of quantitative research

Likewise, before moving on to the examples of quantitative research, we must know the typologies of this type of work. We will review them below.

1. descriptive research

We can find several ways to do quantitative research. The first one is descriptive, the simplest but also the most essential, since refers to the previous observation of the phenomenon that the researcher has made and about which he has already established the first hypotheses to try to explain what he has recorded.

2. analytical research

A more elaborate form is the one we find with analytical research. In this case, an element that is key to the study is introduced: the comparison between the study group and the control group, that is, between a group that is subjected to a certain stimulus, and a group that is not subjected to it, in order to verify what changes are due to said element.

3. experimental research

In the previous case, it is important to take into account that the researcher does not apply any stimulus, he simply limits himself to observing the group that is receiving it. If, deliberately, the researcher applied certain conditions to a group of people and compared it with another group, the control, we would be talking about experimental research.. We will see some cases in the list of quantitative research examples.

4. quasi-experimental research

The last type is quasi-experimental research, and it is halfway between analytical and experimental. In this case, the selection of participants in the groups is not random, but individuals are deliberately selected to try to balance the conditions of both groups.

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Different examples of quantitative research

After establishing a knowledge base on this subject, it is time to delve into the examples of quantitative research, with which we will acquire a complete perspective of this type of studies. Below we will see some of the most representative.

1. pharmacological tests

One of the easiest ways to visualize the concept at hand is to think about the studies to verify the efficacy of a certain drug, something that is done continuously but perhaps it is more visible in recent times due to the information bombardment related to the pandemic of COVID-19. The tests that are done to test possible vaccines are one of the examples of quantitative research.

In this case, Two groups are created, one experimental, to which the potential vaccine is applied, and another control, which only receives a placebo.. After some time, the infection rates experienced by both groups are compared and it is concluded that the difference in favor of the experimental group is the effectiveness rate of the vaccine in question. Within the types that we saw before, this would be an example of experimental research.

• Maybe you are interested: "What is the placebo effect and how does it work?"

2. Species characteristics

If, on the contrary, we want to visualize a case of descriptive research, we could think about the work that zoologists do when they find a new species. They record all the measurements of the individual found to establish what the average characteristics of that animal are. The difference with the previous example is that in this case, the researcher limits himself to describing what he is seeing, without influencing the subject at all.

This would be another of the examples of quantitative research that help us better understand what types of study we can find.

3. Satisfaction surveys

Another of the typical cases in which anyone may have participated at some time are the well-known satisfaction surveys. Many companies and organizations contact the users of their products or services after consumption of these, to propose a few brief questions intended to give a numerical value to your satisfaction. It can be through a phone call, automated or not, through an email or through other methods.

It is a constantly used method, as it allows companies to obtain highly valuable statistical information at a reduced cost, which helps them improve the quality of their services. For this reason, it is one of the clearest and most abundant examples of quantitative research that we find in our day to day.

4. Audience measurement

Also in the commercial field, another of the most common techniques is the measurement of the audiences of the audiovisual content published, or what is the same, the impact of these. These studies can be adapted to the medium in which the campaign in question was launched. For example, in the more traditional ones, such as television or radio, audience measurements are carried out.

In the most modern platforms, such as publications on social networks, the impact is measured through different factors, such as the views received, the number of interactions (“likes” or equivalent, comments, shares, etc.) or the number of clicks on the hyperlink.

All these data are mathematically quantified and allow the researcher to carry out a detailed analysis of the level of success of the campaign.. Therefore, it would be one of the examples of quantitative research that we should take into account the most due to its usefulness and frequency of use.

5. psychological experiments

Of course, we cannot forget about psychological experiments as another example of quantitative research. We find an infinite number of them, and of many different categories. Most of these studies are experimental, that is, with a group that will be affected by a variable introduced by the researcher, and in comparison with a control group, which will not be subjected to said change.

Thanks to these works, experimental psychology has managed to accumulate a great deal of knowledge about the functioning of the human mind., establishing associations about the responses that individuals tend to emit before a specific stimulus and under certain conditions.

6. General statistics

National organizations, such as the National Institute of Statistics, in the case of Spain, are dedicated to doing an enormous amount of quantitative research. Thanks to these registries, other researchers can take advantage of the enormous collection of data and analyze it based on the studies they are conducting.. This type of database offers information about a multitude of variables that affect the population of a territory.

We can segment this population based on variables such as sex, age, the region in which they live, the degree of training achieved, the labor sector in which they are included, and many others. You can also consult statistics about the birth rate, mortality, crime, and other different issues. These data are public, so anyone can take advantage of them to carry out studies and generate new knowledge.

This would be the last of the different examples of quantitative research that we have been able to review, which have helped us to complement that first theoretical introduction with which the article began, so that we can now have the full perspective of the implications of this way of doing science.

Bibliographic references:

• Holton, E.F., Burnett, M.F. (2005). The basics of quantitative research. Research in organizations: Foundations and Methods of Inquiry.
• Howe, K., Eisenhart, M. (1990). Standards for qualitative (and quantitative) research: A prolegomenon. Educational researcher.
• Lazarathon, A. (2005). Quantitative research methods. Handbook of research in second language teaching Teaching and Learning.
• Sukamolson, S. (2007). Fundamentals of quantitative research. Language Institute Chulalongkorn University.