Quantitative Analysis in Research - Term Paper Example

Quantitative analysis in Research – A Review Table of Contents 2. Introduction 3. Analysis of research Overview Usage of quantitative analysis Suggestions for improvement 4. Analysis of research 2 Overview Usage of quantitative analysis Suggestions for improvement 5. Conclusion Abstract Quantitative analysis helps us gather and analyze measurable data. Analyzing the data collected from a particular focus group or subgroup with strong numerical evidence helps us apply the results to the large scale population using probability theories. This paper critiques two researches using quantitative data collection and analysis in an effective way. The first research reviewed is the famous "Studies in Social Psychology in World War II: The American Soldier" done by Samuel A. Stouffer. The second Research is done by Antony Fielding and Rebecca Pillinger. They analyze the 2002 European social surveys to find out the prevalence of racial discrimination in the UK law field. The essay lists the important aspects of research criticism, review and rates both the works according to the parameters described. Introduction Reviewing a research helps us to understand it better. The key steps involved in the process are the elements influencing the believability and robustness of the research (Ryan et. al, 2007). The main factor which makes a person read a research paper is its writing style. Intriguing writing from a reputable author, an attractive title and an engaging abstract which gives us a clear outline of the research are important elements in defining the believability of the research. Every other aspect of the research from problem statement to literature review and methodology plus analysis gives additional details about the project. This essay will concentrate on the quantitative analysis part of both the researches and analyze how it was instrumental in determining the end results. The essay gives an overview of both the researches, explains how the usage of quantitative analysis matches the logical consistency of the research and suggests some valuable points of improvement. Quantitative analysis is used most frequently in researches than qualitative analysis because providing a numerical data becomes an empirical proof for the research rather than theories collected through the later method. Though mixed method of research analysis is common, quantitative research analysis is more common than the other method because of its simplicity. While taking quantitative data into consideration, the units of analysis, variables, their description, the classification scheme and the errors in the measurement are considered as the key points. Analysis of Research 1 Samuel A. Stouffer (1949) did his historical research on World War II under the title "The American Soldier". The US which portrayed itself as a highly indiscriminating nation which gives equal rights to all classes was shocked to see, severe disparities and racial prejudices prevailed even in the army. The soldiers who fought side by side in the World War II were treated differently based on their color rather than their rank or talent. While this was the condition in the northern states which pretty much accepted everybody, the position of the blacks employed in the southern states which were quite conservative was considered to be much worse. But, the results of the survey showed black soldiers working in the southern parts were much more satisfied and content than their northern counterparts. It does not mean they like oppression. But, it explores the simple psychology of comparing oneself with people living in worse conditions - the concept of relative deprivation. The survey showed the attitude of the black and the white soldiers working in the field were relatively the same. But, there were key differences in the job assigned to them. While the northern black people considered they were not given brain based work and were usually assigned physical work or combat oriented duties alone, preventing them from becoming leaders, the southerners had no such complaint. This was mainly because the blacks deployed in the Northern provinces compared themselves to the financially stable and well educated whites while the southerners compared themselves only with the fellow black men who were not in army. Usage of quantitative analysis Samuel A. Stouffer interviewed half a million American soldiers. He mainly used questionnaires. The key variables were the soldier’s attitude towards job assignments, quality of the medical care and food given, leisure time activities, treatment of women in the military and fair chances to get promotions. The surveys collected data including the age, rank, education, race, type of work and the rank of the soldiers. These were the primary variables upon which the secondary data collected regarding the attitude of the white and the black soldiers were segregated. This psychological research aimed in proving continuous deprivation of rights will make humans get satisfied with what little they receive. On the other hand they will not be satisfied when they are given everything from the beginning and strive to get more and more. Results similar to this have been found in researches conducted upon women’s status in the Middle East and the West as well as the child education reforms. Upper class high school educated women in the Middle East felt much more happy and lucky than the independent business women of the West. They never aspired to get the rights of their male counterparts. Instead they only compared themselves with the other illiterate girls around them. Marjorie Seigel’s (2006) “Re-Reading the Signs” also suggested the same. Children taught combining multimodal transformation like images and animation from an early age aspire for more while those introduced to the concept for the first time feel absolutely elated to learn ahead of others. The Stouffer research was the first one to give empirical proof for this concept known as the “relative deprivation” using the percentage calculation among the North and the South soldiers. While nearly 40% of the north soldiers stated they were extremely unhappy with the way they are treated, only a handful of them reported the same in the South though both the parties agreed they experienced similar type of indiscrimination. Suggestions Referred to as the “the first quantitative studies of the . . . mental and emotional life of the soldier” this research aimed in gathering psychological evidences regarding a person’s attitude towards the society and indiscrimination. Stouffer took a concept which would have gained much more insight if the research would have used qualitative analysis and used it brilliantly to get numerical proof using quantitative data. Determining the relationship between the key variables helped the researcher use mathematical modeling to get statistical inference. Stouffer collected very large quantity of data with his team who helped in validating the reliable information. The relationship between the key variables was studied first and the responses for people showing contrasting answers for various questions were eliminated. Steps were taken to control the flow of the elements which might actually affect the flow of the survey. For example, some people in the south felt they were not qualified enough to judge their situation as their knowledge about the outer world is limited. Correlation analysis done at the end determined the final outcome. There is very little or no room for improvement suggestion when it comes to quantitative analysis in this research as it is already perfect. The essay did not concentrate much on the people who had the influence to discriminate. It focused mainly on the victims rather than the people who actually had the power to stop such acts. Concentrating on their mindset would have given a better picture of human psychology considering the huge volume of data collected. This research could be rated 7 out of 10. Analysis of Research 2 The second research is pretty much based on the first one. It is like a continuation of the first one done in a different platform many decades after the first research. Antony Fielding and Rebecca Pillinger (2008) took the same concept of racism and carried out a quantitative research to determine the level of discrimination prevalent in the UK law firms. They used the 2002 European social surveys as their main database and continued to interview various people working the law firms. The researchers took pains to gather data from both the victim groups as well as those they considered are powerful enough to stop such acts. For example, interviewing a young intern who feels he is constantly bullied by his peers regarding his talent and the bully group who does it. They recorded the mindset of both groups to study the human attitude in a better prospective. Their research indicates insecurities caused by the sudden importance given to one group which was oppressed so long can affect the dominating group in various ways. Also a misconception about normal acts being discriminatory is common among the black people because they are so used to such kind of treatment. It is hard for them to accept even their white peers will be bullied, scolded and marked down for low performance. They often feel it is their group that feels targeted rather than their white counterparts. Usage of Quantitative analysis The research uses huge set of data similar to the previous work. The research primarily chose quantitative analysis because they can collect huge volumes of data in this method and correlate results easily from them using advanced software. Their key variables were the scale of discrimination shown, the type of discrimination shown and how it differs with firms and designation of the employees. The data collected in the quantitative method from the sample group can be used to apply the same to the wide population of lawyers spread across the industry. Quantitative analysis is used to determine the link between the various key variables and gathering numerical evidence to support the same. To put in the researchers own words, smokers get lung cancer. But, smoking is not the only reason for getting lung cancer. Discrimination might hinder the status of the black workers in the legal profession. But, it is not the only reason for their lack of success. There might be other factors like lack of getting proper training in top ranking schools, lack of proper communication skills etc. This research uses quantitative data to determine such relations effectively. It also uses the traditional statistical significance and the predictive mode to eliminate random errors. Suggestions Similar survey results can be observed in the 2010 General Social Survey (GSS) on voting. The parameters considered like family income, education, age, gender and marital status play an important role in determining a person’s social status which is the main influential factor of making him vote. Personal influential factors like interpersonal trust and political views only play a secondary role in making a person’s voting choice. Inferential statistics method is used in both the surveys. The suggestions for improvement are limited as the survey covers mostly all areas necessary and gives empirical data regarding the discrimination acts. Their data is backed by the cases registered by the UK Human Rights organization. However, the researchers would have considered using a larger sample group to give more evidence for the required data. Their results suggest, discrimination prevails because the normal whites consider giving too many opportunities to black is unjust as it hinders the normal growth of the common white man. This makes them behave with hostility towards the black lawyers who often benefit from the quota systems. On the other hand, the discriminatory problem is not as severe as they consider it to be as every new lawyer goes through a rough time for a few years in their life in the initial days of their practice. This quantitative analysis research could be easily rated 8 out of 10. Conclusion Quantitative analysis helps us validate whether the data collected is reliable, eliminate the certain elements which are unnecessary for the project and give a solid proof backing the research question. Analyzing both the research works we could see the former one is an ingenious work first of its kind, while the later is a more technical improvised version of the same done in with limited resources in a short time. Both are distinctive, but the second one is more engaging to read with several examples rather than the first one. It pertains more towards the research question and is much easier to understand as it explains all the core concepts in a simple format. References 1. Coughlan, M, Cronin, P & Ryan, F. (2007) "Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1: Quantitative Research", University of Dublin 2. Fielding, A & Pillinger, R.(2008) "Module 1: Using Quantitative Data in Research: Concepts and Definitions", Centre of Multilevel Modeling 3. Siegel, M (2006) "Rereading the signs: Multimodal Transformations in the field of literacy education", National Council ofthe Teachers of English 4. Stouffer, S. A., Suchman, E. A., DeVinney, L. C., Starr, S.A. and Williams, R.M. (1949),“The American Soldier”, Princeton University Press Read More