Quantitative Research
What is quantitative research?
Quantitative research uses numerical data (from surveys, administrative data, etc.) that can be analyzed using statistics. Findings can be generalized to the population that is being examined. Most outcome evaluations use quantitative data (and may use qualitative data as well).
How are quantitative data collected?
Quantitative data can come from a variety of different sources, including surveys, data from tests (e.g., tests of knowledge, Body Mass Index), and internal documents (including client databases, financial records, administrative records, medical records). Sometimes, qualitative data is described in a quantitative way (for example, counting the number of times that individuals mentioned in interviews that health care cost is a barrier to care). Once the qualitative data is converted into numbers, it can be analyzed numerically.
How are quantitative data analyzed?
The goal of analyzing quantitative data is to summarize and distill the data into something comprehensible. Analysis of quantitative data can be simple (e.g., averages, totals), or it can involve complicated statistics. How the data are analyzed will depend on the program’s evaluation goals.
There are entire books written on carrying out quantitative analyses. Most organizations can carry out a simple quantitative research project without outside help. If a more complex project is planned, it can be a good idea to engage the expertise of an evaluator, statistician, or other professional (see Internal Versus External Evaluator).