We use cookies and other tracking technology to improve your browsing experience on our website, to show you personalized content, to analyze our website traffic, and to understand where our visitors are coming from. By browsing our website or clicking Accept Cookies, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Read our Privacy Policy
Guides
6 min

An overview of quantitative research: some tips and examples

A post explaining quantitative research along with some tips and examples

GrapeData
Mar 10, 2023
B2B market research
B2C market research

Introduction

Quantitative research is a type of data collection that researchers use in business and social sciences alike. Quantitative research allows you to collect numerical data, which can then be analysed using statistical methods. 

In this blog post, we'll explain what quantitative research is and how it can help you answer your questions more clearly and effectively. We'll also share what some common types of quantitative studies look like. In this way, you'll know what they entail before getting started on your own project!

An overview of quantitative research

Quantitative research uses statistical methods to analyse data and draw conclusions. Researchers typically use this study if they have a large sample size. They can also make use of it if their variables are quantitative (e.g., a person's height or weight). For example, let's say that you want to understand how many people in the US have diabetes. You could conduct an online survey asking people if they have diabetes or not. Your next step would be to count up all those who said yes and compare it against census data on how many people live in America at any given time.

Different types of quantitative research include surveys, experiments, and observation studies. Quantitative research is any type of investigation that involves collecting data and analysing it to reach conclusions. Researchers use statistical methods to interpret their data, which can be in the form of surveys, experiments, and observation studies.

The goal of quantitative research is to use scientific methods to answer questions about a specific topic. Quantitative researchers use numbers and statistics to find the answers they're looking for.

Methods of quantitative research

Quantitative research methods are quantitative in nature, meaning that they use numbers and statistics to answer questions. These methods include:

  • Surveys - A survey is a questionnaire that asks people to respond to a series of questions about something. You can often use it to gather information about the attitudes or behaviours of a population (such as all college students). You can administer surveys face-to-face, over the phone, or online using an email address list or social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
  • Interviews - An interview is more like an informal conversation between two people. Interviews tend to be more flexible than surveys since there isn't always one right answer for every question that you ask. Instead, they allow participants' thoughts and feelings at any given moment during their interaction with each other (and sometimes even after!).

Quantitative research designs are often used to answer questions that can be answered with numbers. For example, say that you wanted to know how many people were using your product, how much money they were spending on it each month, and why they were doing so (or not). In this case, a quantitative research design would be appropriate.

A variety of fields can use quantitative data including business, education, and medicine. You can also refer to it as hard data because it's not subjective or open-ended like qualitative data. Instead, it uses objective measurements such as the number of customers or dollar amounts spent on products or services during a given time period.

Qualitative vs quantitative research

Businesses can use qualitative research to understand why people have certain beliefs or behaviours. On the other hand, companies also use quantitative data to show how many people hold those beliefs or behaviours.

In some cases, you may want to use both methods of collecting data in order to get a more complete picture of your audience's preferences. For example, if you're researching whether men prefer sweaters made out of wool or cashmere fabrics, it would be helpful if you did some interviews where you asked men directly about their preferences (qualitative). At the same time, it would also help if you could get some numbers from an online survey asking people which type of sweater they think is warmer (quantitative). Thus, qualitative and quantitative research methods can be used together in order to get a more complete picture of your audience's preferences. 

How is quantitative research used?

Researchers might use quantitative research to understand what has happened or predict what might happen in the future. Quantitative researchers often use surveys to gather data from large groups of people.

It is often contrasted with qualitative methods, which focus more on interpreting data rather than measuring it numerically. However, quantitative researchers can also use qualitative methods such as interviews or focus groups and vice versa! Quantitative research is the process of collecting data, analysing it, and producing findings.

Quantitative research uses statistical methods to describe patterns, analyse data, and find relationships between variables. The goal of quantitative research is to provide a numerical answer to a question that other researchers can test. Researchers also use it as a more qualitative form of inquiry because it's more objective and easier to replicate.

Here are some examples of how you might use quantitative methods:

  • You want to know whether people prefer one brand of coffee over another. Additionally, you could survey customers at your local Starbucks and ask them if they like the taste better than their usual brand (or maybe even give them samples).
  • You want to know how much money people spend on movies every year. Then, you could collect data from movie theatres across several cities using surveys or receipts from ticket sales and other sources such as box office numbers.

The goal of quantitative research is to draw inferences about how one thing relates to another thing

In order to do this, you need two things:

  • A sample of people who represent the population you're interested in (e.g., all teenagers in the United States). This is called "statistically representative" in the world of statistics. It means that all other things being equal, if your results hold true for a given population (like all teenagers), then they will also hold true for everyone else who falls into that same category.
  • A way of measuring those variables (like age or gender) so that they can be compared between groups over time.

In quantitative research, researchers usually want to know which of two things happens more often than not. Or, they may want to know how strongly one thing relates to another thing.

An example of a quantitative research project could be:

  • How many people have a specific disease?
  • Are there any differences between men and women in terms of their experience with this disease?
  • Does a person's lifestyle affect their likelihood of developing this condition?

A brief summary of the main advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research

The main advantages are:

  • It focuses on the statistical analysis of data.
  • You can use quantitative methods to investigate almost any topic.
  • It is highly precise and reliable. You can collect quantitative data in a very precise manner. This makes it possible to draw exact conclusions about the relationship between variables. For example, if we want to know whether there is a relationship between age and intelligence (or any other variable), we can use statistical tests. These will allow us to determine whether or not there is an association between these two variables. The results from this kind of analysis will give us an accurate estimate of how strong this relationship is between age and intelligence.
  • It allows for objective conclusions because it does not rely on people's opinions or perceptions but rather on hard facts.

Some disadvantages are:

  • Quantitative research is limited to only measuring and analysing the responses to a questionnaire. This can be useful in some situations. However, it is not always effective when trying to understand how people feel or how they make decisions.
  • It can also be very expensive and time-consuming. It usually involves the preparation of surveys, which you need to distribute in order for the data to be analysed.
  • In quantitative studies, researchers collect data using questionnaires and other tools to gather information about the participants' attitudes, opinions, and behaviours. The goal is to reach a large number of people and gain insights into their experiences with products or services. This type of research often involves large-scale projects that require extensive planning. You can do this in order to ensure high levels of validity when collecting data from consumers across various demographic groups (such as gender). Because these types of studies require so much effort on behalf of both researchers and participants alike, they tend to be expensive.

Using a quantitative approach will help you answer your questions clearly and effectively

Quantitative research is a great way to answer your questions more clearly and effectively. It's important to keep in mind that you can use quantitative studies for different purposes than qualitative studies. However, it can still be helpful to understand how each approach works.

In a quantitative study, you will be collecting data from one or more groups of people using different methods (like surveys or experiments). By analysing these numbers, you can draw conclusions about what happens in real-life situations, which factors cause something else to happen; etcetera!

Some examples of quantitative and qualitative research

 This is called qualitative research. You can use qualitative research in many situations where there isn't a clear answer or when it's necessary to understand why people do what they do (and not just what they do). For example, you might want to find out why your customers are unhappy with one of your products before making changes to that product or service. Qualitative research can help you get those answers.

Quantitative market research projects are often conducted to collect data on the behaviour of a population. You can use the data collected to determine if a certain product, service, or process is effective and efficient by comparing it to other similar products, services, or processes.

For example, let's say you're an entrepreneur who has developed a new type of chocolate bar that you think will be popular with children. You might conduct a quantitative market research project. One reason would be to determine how many children would be interested in buying your chocolate bar compared to other similar products on the market.

The results of this project could be used to determine if there is any potential demand for your product. It could also help guide future decisions about production and marketing strategy.

Conclusion

Quantitative research is the process of gathering, analysing, and interpreting data in order to assess a phenomenon or problem. It involves collecting numerical data through surveys, questionnaires, and experiments. Learn more about quantitative research here.

You can use quantitative studies when you want to understand something in an objective way (e.g., what percentage of people think something). They are often used when there is no theory behind your research topic or question; for example: "What percentage of people think that eating more vegetables will make them healthier?"

In this article, we've outlined some of the most common types of quantitative research methods. We've also given you some tips on how to choose which one is best for your project. Additionally, have a look at some examples to help you get started on your own research project. If you want to learn more, check out: Why you should hire a market research firm for B2B quantitative research.

Seamlessly submit surveys on the go.

Bring your experience to your mobile via our app.