Quantitative psychological research
Encyclopedia
Quantitative psychological research is defined as psychological
research which performs mathematical modeling and statistical estimation or statistical inference
. This definition distinguishes it from so-called qualitative psychological research
; however, many psychologists do not acknowledge any real difference between quantitative and qualitative research. The validity of the distinction is discussed in the article about qualitative psychological research.
Statistics
is widely used in quantitative psychological research. Typically a project begins with the collection of data based on a theory or hypothesis, followed by the application of descriptive or inferential statistical methods. Often it is necessary to collect a very large volume of data, which require validating, verifying and recoding. Software packages such as PSPP
and R
are typically used for this purpose, and for subsequent analysis. Causal relationships are studied by manipulating factors thought to influence the phenomena of interest while controlling other variables relevant to the experimental outcomes. Researchers might measure and study the relationship between education and measurable psychological effects, whilst controlling for other key variables. Quantitatively based surveys are widely used by psychologists, and statistics such as the proportion of respondents who display one or more psychological traits reported. In such surveys, respondents are asked a set of structured questions and their responses are tabulated. The software can then perform correlation analysis or other procedures on the data.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
research which performs mathematical modeling and statistical estimation or statistical inference
Statistical inference
In statistics, statistical inference is the process of drawing conclusions from data that are subject to random variation, for example, observational errors or sampling variation...
. This definition distinguishes it from so-called qualitative psychological research
Qualitative psychological research
In psychology, qualitative research has come to be defined as research whose findings are not arrived at by statistical or other quantitative procedures. Qualitative research is often said to be naturalistic. That is, its goal is to understand behaviour in a natural setting...
; however, many psychologists do not acknowledge any real difference between quantitative and qualitative research. The validity of the distinction is discussed in the article about qualitative psychological research.
Statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
is widely used in quantitative psychological research. Typically a project begins with the collection of data based on a theory or hypothesis, followed by the application of descriptive or inferential statistical methods. Often it is necessary to collect a very large volume of data, which require validating, verifying and recoding. Software packages such as PSPP
PSPP
PSPP is a free software application for analysis of sampled data. It has a graphical user interface and conventional command line interface. It is written in C, uses GNU Scientific Library for its mathematical routines, and plotutils for generating graphs....
and R
R (programming language)
R is a programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics. The R language is widely used among statisticians for developing statistical software, and R is widely used for statistical software development and data analysis....
are typically used for this purpose, and for subsequent analysis. Causal relationships are studied by manipulating factors thought to influence the phenomena of interest while controlling other variables relevant to the experimental outcomes. Researchers might measure and study the relationship between education and measurable psychological effects, whilst controlling for other key variables. Quantitatively based surveys are widely used by psychologists, and statistics such as the proportion of respondents who display one or more psychological traits reported. In such surveys, respondents are asked a set of structured questions and their responses are tabulated. The software can then perform correlation analysis or other procedures on the data.