Lesson: Characteristics of Quantitative Research 

Learning the characteristics of quantitative research according to Barrot (2017) will guide you as a researcher the standards you need to consider upon conducting your study. Your goal of conducting the study is to collect and analyze numerical data that will produce an unbiased result, represent a larger population and explain a particular observation.

Quantitative research is a popular choice of research, especially in industries. As companies want to know about the demand for the product in the market and preference of customers before making huge investments. With the help of quantitative research, one can learn about the wishes and needs of target groups (Creswell, 2002).

Quantitative research as emphasized by Vanderstoep and Johnston (2009) is used to get answers in numerical form. The output of quantitative research is usually in the form of graphs, statistical data, tables, and percentages, etc. The purpose of using quantitative research is to make the use of mathematical and statistical models to establish an understanding of the problem of research. The outcome of quantitative research is analyzed with the help of statistics to get unbiased results. The results of quantitative research can be generalized because it is conducted on a large population population size.

The following are different characteristics of quantitative research (Babbie, 2010):

1. Large Sample Size. Quantitative research is done on a large number of audiences to ensure reliability. The sample size used in quantitative research represents the whole target market or population. Because of this characteristic of quantitative research, most organizations prefer to invest in quantitative research rather than investing in qualitative research.

2. Structured Research Methods. Structural research methods like survey questionnaires are used to conduct quantitative research. In-depth information about the preferences of the respondents can be drawn using these structured research methods. These survey questionnaires are easy to conduct through offline means. The respondent is only required to fill out the questionnaire and is not required to be part of the research process for a long time.

3. Highly Reliable Outcome. The outcome of quantitative research methods is quite reliable, as respondents of the research face close-ended questions. Therefore, there are fewer chances of getting unclear information or wrong information from the respondents.

Quantitative research methods are used for industrial research purposes because of its reliability. Moreover, the Outcome of quantitative research is easy to understand and explain, the researchers present the outcome of the research to get the approval of the management, and management can understand this information quickly because it is represented in the form of tables and graphs.

4. Close-ended Questions. Another characteristic of quantitative research is close-ended questions. Close-ended question's answers are more specific and right to the question than the open-ended questions. Responses to open-ended questions are more detailed and scattered, and it requires real skills to pick out the answers that you need.

Moreover, responses to Close-ended questions are more reliable than the answers to questions of open-ended questions. In addition to this, people also prefer to answer close-ended questions than open-ended questions for various reasons. The followings are a few examples of close-ended questions. Example:

How often do you shop online?

How often do you pay for the subscription of a mobile app?

How much are you ready to pay to buy a women's health magazine?

The answer to the above questions would be in numerical form, which can be used to derive meaningful conclusions.

5. Numerical Outcome. The outcome of quantitative research is always in numerical form. For example, the result of research can be represented in percentage, range of numbers.

A numerical output is easy to read and understand, and it is easy to deduce a conclusion from the numerical outcome than a detailed result.

6. Generalization of Outcome. The outcome of quantitative research can be generalized easily for the whole population. The reason behind this is that quantitative research is conducted on a large sample of the population. A decision can be taken for the entire population based sample population.

7. Clearly Defined Research Questions. This characteristic simply requires objective answer and helps the researcher to accepting or rejecting a specific hypothesis

Let's Do This

Exercise No. 1

Instruction: Write S on the blank if a quantitative research is suitable for the given questions and N if it is not.

1. What is your perception about the K to 12 curriculum implementation?

2. What is the total population of students in Senior High School?

3. What is the rank of our candidate during the Miss Universe 2018 competition?

4. How do the people in Marawi cope up their stress during the war?

5. What is the average score of Grade 11 students in the National Achievement Test?

6. Why are many students come to school very late?

7. What are the factors that determine the motivation of teachers in remote areas?

8. What is the currency rate of peso-dollar?

9. What are the challenges of teachers teaching in the conflict areas in Mindanao?

10. How many percent of students were promoted last SY 2016-2017?

Let's Test Ourselves

Multiple Choice

Instruction. Write the letter of the correct answer on the space before each item.


1. A quantitative research has numerical outcome when

a. The result represents the characteristics of the whole population.

b. The reason why the findings in quantitative research can generalize population. 

C. The researcher allows the respondents to just pick or select their answer from the listed options.

d. The researcher is allowed to present the findings of the percentage, frequency distribution and range of numbers. study through

2. The goals of quantitative research can be described as EXCEPT one:

a. Make prediction

b. Test of hypotheses

c. Explore experiences

d. Predict future outcomes

3. A quantitative research follows closed ended questions when

a. The result represents the characteristics of the whole population.

b. The reason why the findings in quantitative research can generalize the whole population.

c. The researcher allows the respondents to just pick or select their answer from the listed options.

d. The researcher is allowed to present the findings of the study through percentage, frequency distribution and range of numbers.

4. A quantitative study is generalizable when

a. The result represents the characteristics of the whole population.

b. The reason why the findings in quantitative research can generalize the whole population.

c. The researcher allows the respondents to just pick or select their answer from the listed options.

d. The researcher is allowed to present the findings of the study through percentage, frequency distribution and range of numbers.

5. What is the reason why the findings in quantitative whole population? can generalize the

a. Because the questions are close-ended form

b. Because it has a large sample size

c. Because it has a structured research method

d. Because it can generate a numerical outcome