Quantitative research was the dominant research paradigm in education until the 1980s when debates increased between quantitative and qualitative approaches. Some researchers argued their approach was superior, with some purists arguing the approaches could not be combined due to differing worldviews. A research paradigm encompasses ontology, epistemology, and methodology. Quantitative research aims to quantify data, test theories through hypotheses, and use statistics to support or refute hypotheses. It emphasizes objectivity, generalizability, and identifying causal relationships through controlled experiments and standardized procedures.

1. Quantitative paradigm

2. Paradigm wars
Quantitative research was the generally accepted research paradigm in educational
research until the early 1980s, when the “paradigm wars” between advocates of
quantitative and qualitative research reached a new peak.
During the 1980s, many quantitative and qualitative researchers argued that their
approach was superior. Some of these researchers were “purists,” in the sense that
they argued that the two approaches could not be used together because of
differences in the world views associated with the two approaches. (Guba, 1990;
Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998)

4. What is paradigm?
According to Kuhn "the term paradigm refers to a research culture with a set
Of beliefs, values, and assumptions that a community of researchers has in
common regarding the nature and conduct of research. A paradigm is a
“worldview” or a set of assumptions about how things work."(Kuhn, 1977)

6. Guba and Lincoln (1998), definition of research paradigm
"A research paradigm is intrinsically associated with the concepts of
ontology (i.e., the way the investigator defines the truth and reality),
epistemology(i.e., the process in which the investigator comes to know the
truth and reality) and
methodology(i.e., the method used in conducting the investigation."

7. Quantitative research:
According to Creswell (2013), "Quantitative research attempts to quantify,
collect and analyze numerical data, and focus on the links among a smaller
number of attributes across many cases. Post positivist worldview, experimental
design, and pretest and posttest measures of attitudes In this scenario, the
researcher tests a theory by specifying narrow hypotheses and the collection of
data to support or refute the hypotheses.

9. Zoltan Dornyei view point:
As Dornyei mentioned in his book "Quantitative social research was
originally inspired by the spectacular progress of the natural sciences in the
nineteenth century and therefore early social researchers set out to adopt
what was called the 'scientific method' in their investigations.“(2005, p.17)

10. According to Dörnyei (2007), the main characteristic
of quantitative researches are:
Using numbers: The single most important feature of quantitative
research is, naturally, that it is centered around numbers.
A priori categorization Because the use of numbers already dominates
the data collection phase, the work required to specify the categories and
values needs to be done prior to the actual study.

11. Variables rather than cases: quantitative researchers are less interested
in individuals than in the common features of groups of people. QUAN
research is centered around the study of variables that capture common
features and which are quantified by counting, scaling, or by assigning
values to categorical data.
Statistics and the language of statistics This is undoubtedly the most
salient QUAN feature. statistical analyses can range from calculating the
average (or as it is referred to in statistics, the 'mean') of several figures on a
pocket calculator to running complex multivariate analyses on a computer.

12. Standardized procedures to assess objective reality :Quantitative
methodology due to its objective reality, has indeed gone a long way towards
standardizing research procedures to ensure that they remain stable across
investigators and subjects.
Quest for generalizability and universal laws Numbers, variables,
standardized procedures, statistics, and scientific reasoning are all part of the
ultimate QUAN quest for facts that are generalizable beyond the particular
and add up to wide-ranging, ideally universal, laws.

13. Features of Quantitative Research:
It involves experiments, surveys, testing,
and structured content analysis, interviews.
Pre-determined
Instrument based questions
Objective

14. Performance data, attitude data, observational ad census data
Statistical analysis
Statistical interpretation
Deductive
High degree of structure
Some manipulation of subjects
May take little time to conduct
Much social distance between researcher and subject

15. According to Bryman (1988), QUAN proponents usually
emphasize that at its best the quantitative inquiry is systematic,
rigorous, focused, and tightly controlled, involving precise
measurement and producing reliable and replicable data that is
generalizable to other contexts:
· Precision - through quantitative and reliable measurement
· Control - through sampling and design

16. Advantages:
Provides estimates of populations at large.
 Indicates the extensiveness of attitudes held by people.
 Provides results which can be condensed to statistics.
 Allows for statistical comparison between various groups.
 Has precision, is definitive and standardized.
 Measures level of occurrence, actions, trends, etc.
 Can answer such questions as "How many?" and "How often?"

17. Disadvantages:
o They average out responses across the whole observed group of
participants
o Similar scores can result from quite different underlying processes
o Quantitative methods are generally- not very sensitive in uncovering the
reasons for particular observations
o Reductionist view: the general exploratory capacity of quantitative
research is rather limited.

18. Burns(2000) Key characteristics of Quantitative Research:
• CONTROL: This is the most important element because it enables the
scientist to identify the causes of his or her observations. Experiments are
conducted in an attempt to answer certain questions. Control is necessary in
order to provide unambiguous answers to such questions.
• OPERATIONAL DEFINITION: This means that terms must be defined
by the steps or operations used to measure them. Such a procedure is
necessary to eliminate any confusion in meaning and communication.

19. • REPLICATION: To be replicable, the data obtained in an experiment
must be reliable; that is, the same result must be found if the study is
repeated. If observations are not repeatable, our descriptions and
explanations are thought to be unreliable.
• HYPOTHESIS TESTING: The systematic creation of a hypothesis and
subjecting it to an empirical test.(p.p6-7)

20. conclusion:
Quantitative research is often placed in opposition to qualitative research.
This is often turned into a `paradigm war' which is seen to result from
apparently incompatible worldviews underlying the methods. When you
look closely at researchers' actual beliefs, it appears that the so-called
subjectivist (qualitative) versus realist (quantitative) divide is not that
Clear-cut.

21. • References:
Bryman, A (1988) Quantity and Quality in Social Research, London, Routledge
Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, L. (2000), “Research Methods in Education”.
(5thed.). London: Routledge Falmer.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dörnyei, Z. 2007. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. New York: OUP.
Guba, E. & Lincoln, Y. (1985), “Naturalistic Inquiry”. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Kumar, R., Research Methodology, London: SAGE Publications, 1996. Quantitative
Research. Retrieved from http://www.activelivingbydesign.org/index.pdf
Quantitative Research. Retrieved from http://dstraub.cis.gsu.edu:88/quant/

22. Leedy, P. & Ormrod, J. (2001). Practical research: Planning and design (7th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Lincoln, Y.S. & Guba, E.G. (2000), “Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and
emerging influences”. In N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln (eds.), Handbook of Qualitative
Research (2nd ed., pp. 163-188). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rossman, G., & Rallis, S. (2003). Learning in the field: An introduction to qualitative
research (2nd ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

23. Cr by: Zahra Bayani