Module 1: Using Quantitative Data in Research

In Module 1 we will look at quantitative research and how we collect data, in order
to provide a firm foundation for the analyses covered in later modules (ultimately,
of course, for multilevel modelling, introduced in Modules 4 & 5). In more detail,
the aims of Module 1 are:
• To give a broad overview of how research questions might be answered
through quantitative analysis. Such questions as the following are explored:
How does quantitative analysis relate to other methods of inquiry? Why is it
required and what sorts of evidence can it supply?
• To introduce the vocabulary of quantitative analysis and specify the
common terminology to be used in later modules. Of particular importance
is the operational definition of research concepts (how we get from real
world characteristics to numbers in our data set) and how this leads to observable variables at different levels of measurement.
• To introduce sources of data and concepts relating to how it may be
possible to generalise results from samples of various kinds to the
populations they are drawn from.
• To discuss how variables are defined, what different types there are, and
how this may influence how they are analysed.
• To give some emphasis to certain ideas such as the nature of variability or
the recognition of hierarchical units of analysis that are central to
multilevel modelling.