# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Factors and multiples activity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A secondary school revision resource for GCSE Maths about foundation level algebra, quadratic equations and common factors

# data[].attributes.body
https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=ec23368e-4dab-4db1-a232-12df88310baa

# data[].attributes.body
Lots of videos to help students with GCSE, A-level and more basic Maths, all broken down by board, level and topic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The content on our channel is owned by Sparx Limited trading as HegartyMaths. All rights are reserved. Our content is provided free of charge for your personal, non-commercial use. Where any of our content consists of teaching materials, these are provided in good faith to assist with your maths lea…

# data[].attributes.body
Mathsphere - puzzles on different math topics.

# data[].attributes.body
A series of riddles added and rated by users

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.pumpkinpirate.info/ks/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.entities[].name
Break Even Analysis Formulas Chart & Plotting Break

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Subscribe to Channel: http://goo.gl/wN3c3p View the Blog: http://myexcelcharts.blogspot.com This video show how to create a break even chart. Based on fixed and variable costs you can calculate the break even unit totals and dollar amounts with the per unit sales price. P.S. Feel free to provide a comment or share it with a friend!

# data[].attributes.body
What are percentages?  Performing Arts Business

# data[].attributes.body
http://sport.maths.org/content/nutrition-and-cycling

# data[].attributes.body
From Saj and Frances

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Written by Steve Patterson. When changing the size of an image in Photoshop, there's really two ways to go about it. You can either resize the image, or you can resample it. A lot of people use the terms resizing and resampling as if they mean the same thing, but they don't. There's an important difference between the two.

As we'll see in this tutorial, the difference, as important as it is, is controlled by nothing more than a single checkbox option at the bottom of the Image Size dialog box.

As I just mentioned, the choice of resizing or resampling your image is handled by the Image Size dialog box, which can be found under the Image menu at the top of the screen. The difference between resizing and resampling has to do with whether or not you're changing the number of pixels in the image, or as Photoshop calls it, changing the pixel dimensions of the image. If you're keeping the number of pixels in the image the same and simply changing the size at which the image will print, or in Photoshop terminology, changing the document size of the image, that's known as resizing. If, on the other hand, you are physically changing the number of pixels in the image, that's called resampling.
Get all of our tutorials as print-ready PDFs!
Again, just to make sure we're on the same page so far:

Image Resizing: Changing the size the image will print without changing the number of pixels in the image.

Image Resampling: Changing the number of pixels in the image.

See? You already know enough so that the next time someone refers to changing the number of pixels in the image as resizing the image, you can look them proudly in the eyes and say, "I think what you really meant to say there, Bob, is that you're going to be resampling the image, not resizing it." Assuming, of course, that the person's name is Bob. And assuming you don't want Bob to like you much anymore because you think you know it all.

Let's look more closely at the difference between resizing and resampling.

Resizing vs Resizing An Image

First, we need a photo. This one will work nicely:

Let's look at what the Image Size dialog box is telling us about this image. To access it, I'll go up to the Image menu at the top of the screen and choose Image Size:

As mentioned previously in the " Image Resolution" and " Image Resizing" sections, Photoshop's Image Size dialog box is divided up into two main sections - the Pixel Dimensions section on top, and the Document Size section below it. The Pixel Dimensions section tells us the width and height of our image in pixels, and also tells us the file size of our image. The Document Size section tells us how large or small our image is going to print based on the image resolution, which we also set in the Document Size section. You can think of the Pixel Dimensions section as the section you'd want to change if you were working on an image for the web or simply to display on your computer screen, while the Document Size section is used when you need to control how large your image will print.

So, generally speaking:

Pixel Dimensions = web

Document Size = print

Let's take a look at the Pixel Dimensions part of the Image Size dialog box to see exactly how large our image is, in pixels.

We can see here that the photo is quite large, with a width of 3456 pixels and a height of 2304 pixels. That's a combined total of nearly 8 million pixels (the camera used was an 8MP camera, hence the 8 million pixels in the photo), which gives us lots of image information to work with in Photoshop.

Now let's look at the Document Size section:

The Document Size section is showing us what the current print resolution of the image is, which in this case is 72 pixels per inch, and it's showing us how large the image will print at that resolution, which at 72 pixels per inch will give us an image that's 48 inches wide by 32 inches high. If you've read the section on how print resolution affects image quality, you'll know that even though we'd be getting a very large image when we print the photo, a resolution of only 72 pixels per inch is simply not high enough to give us anywhere near professional image quality with our prints. For that, we'd have to change the resolution to at least 240 pixels per inch, while 300 pixels per inch is considered the professional print standard.

Before we go any further, there's three more options in the Image Size dialog box below the Document Size section:

Scale Styles

Constrain Proportions

Resample Image

The first one, Scale Styles, has to do with Layer Styles and how they're affected by resizing or resampling the image. We'll ignore that option since it has nothing to do with this topic. The second option, Constrain Proportions, which is enabled by default, links the width and height of the image together so that if you make a change to the width of the image, for example, Photoshop will automatically change the height, and vice versa, so that the proportions of the image remain the same and don't get distorted. This is normally what you want, but if for some reason you want to be able to change the width and height independently of each other, simply uncheck the Constrain Proportions checkbox.

The All-Important 'Resample Image' Option

Finally, we come to one of the most important options in the Image Size dialog box, Resample Image. Remember at the beginning of this tutorial when I said that the difference between resizing and resampling an image is controlled by nothing more than a single checkbox option? This is it! This is the option that determines whether we're resizing our image or resampling it. Again, resizing keeps the pixel dimensions (the number of pixels in the image) the same and simply changes the size at which the image will print, while resampling physically changes the number of pixels in the image. By default, the Resample Image option is checked, which means that the Image Size dialog box is now essentially the Image Resample dialog box, even though it still just says "Image Size" at the top.

To better understand the difference between what we'll call the "Image Resize" version and the "Image Resample" version of the Image Size dialog box, here's a screenshot of what the Image Size dialog box looks like with the "Resample Image" option checked, and below it is an screenshot of what Image Size looks like with "Resample Image" unchecked:

First, with the "Resample Image" option checked, as it is by default:

And here it is with "Resample Image" unchecked:

Can you spot the difference? With "Resample Image" unchecked, if you look up at the Pixel Dimensions section of the dialog box, you'll see that while Photoshop is still telling us how many pixels are in the image for the width and height, we're no longer able to change those numbers. They're listed for information only, and all we can do at this point is change how large our image will print using the Document Size section. With "Resample Image" checked though, the pixel dimensions are shown inside white input boxes which we can click inside of and type in new values, effectively changing how many pixels are in our image.

Also notice that the Scale Styles and Constrain Proportions options at the bottom of the Image Size dialog box are grayed out when Resample Image is not checked:

Scale Styles is grayed out because it's only a concern when the number of pixels in an image is being changed. Since we don't have the ability to change the number of pixels in the image with Resample Image unchecked, the Scale Styles option is of no concern to us or to Photoshop.

Constrain Proportions is grayed out when Resample Image is unchecked because we can no longer physically change the number of pixels in the image, therefore the proportions of the image are fixed. If the image is 20 pixels wide and 10 pixels tall, then no matter how large or small we print it, the width will always be twice the size of the height. If you change the width value in the Document Size section, both the height and the resolution values will also change. Change the height value and the width and resolution values will change. Change the resolution value, and you guessed it, the width and height values will change. All we can do now is change how large or small the image will print, either by entering new values for the document size or by changing the resolution. Again, just as with the Scale Styles option, the Constrain Proportions option is of no concern to us or to Photoshop when all we're doing is resizing the print size of the image.

Image Interpolation Options When Resampling Images

Finally, there's one more option that's grayed out with Resample Image unchecked, and that's the drop-down box to the right of the Resample Image option:

This drop down box is where you can select from Photoshop's "interpolation algorithms". That's a fancy phrase for what essentially means how Photoshop handles throwing away pixels when you resample the image to a smaller size, and how it handles adding pixels when you resample the image to a larger size. As of Photoshop CS2, there's three main options to choose from - Bicubic, Bicubic Sharper and Bicubic Smoother, and knowing when to use which option can make a big difference with image quality. We'll look at the differences between them in detail in another tutorial, but for now, here's the general rule:

Bicubic Sharper: Use this option when resampling your image smaller for best image quality

Bicubic Smoother: Use this option when resampling your image larger for best image quality

Bicubic: Not really used much now that Bicubic Sharper and Bicubic Smoother are available

Again, these options are grayed out here because they only apply to images that are being resampled. If all you're doing is changing how large or small the image will print on paper, these options don't apply.

Summary

Image resizing keeps the number of pixels in your image the same and affects only how large your image will print (the Document Size).

Image resampling physically changes the number of pixels in your image (the Pixel Dimensions).

The Resample Image option at the bottom of the Image Size dialog box controls whether you're resizing or resampling an image.

With Resample Image checked, you're resampling the image. With it unchecked, you're simply resizing the image.

Resampling images by changing the width and height values in the Pixel Dimensions section of the Image Size dialog box is primarily used when optimizing images for the web.

Resizing images by changing the width, height and/or resolution values in the Document Size section of the Image Size dialog box is used for print.

And there we have it!

Subscribe to our newsletter

Be the first the know when we add new tutorials!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Image Resizing vs Resampling In Photoshop Explained

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Written by Steve Patterson. When changing the size of an image in Photoshop, there's really two ways to go about it. You can either resize the image, or you can resample it. A lot of people use the terms resizing and resampling as if they mean the same thing, but they don't.

# data[].attributes.body
Variance Analysis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Much cheaper & more effective than TES or the Guardian. Reach the audience you really want to apply for your teaching vacancy by posting directly to our website and related social media audiences.
Find our more ›

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Business Maths - Calculating Budget Variances | Business | tutor2u

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Much cheaper & more effective than TES or the Guardian. Reach the audience you really want to apply for your teaching vacancy by posting directly to our website and related social media audiences. Find our more ›

# data[].attributes.body
From Saj and Frances

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I found myself wrapping my brain around how to mix darkroom chemicals and then telling someone how to do it. Take whichever chemical, let's say you want to mix the developer. Your bottle is 354ml and the developer says mix 1 part to 9.

# data[].attributes.body
From Saj and Frances

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Use of Geometry in Video Game Design

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A reference identifies a cell or a range of cells on a worksheet, and tells Excel where to look for the values or data you want to use in a formula. You can use references to use data contained in different parts of a worksheet in one formula or use the value from one cell in several formulas. You can also refer to cells on other sheets in the same workbook, and to other workbooks. References to cells in other workbooks are called links or external references.

The A1 reference style

By default, Excel uses the A1 reference style, which refers to columns with letters (A through XFD, for a total of 16,384 columns) and refers to rows with numbers (1 through 1,048,576). These letters and numbers are called row and column headings. To refer to a cell, enter the column letter followed by the row number. For example, B2 refers to the cell at the intersection of column B and row 2.

Making a reference to a cell or a range of cells on another worksheet in the same workbook

In the following example, the AVERAGE function calculates the average value for the range B1:B10 on the worksheet named Marketing in the same workbook.

1. Refers to the worksheet named Marketing

2. Refers to the range of cells from B1 to B10

3. The exclamation point (!) Separates the worksheet reference from the cell range reference

Note: If the referenced worksheet has spaces or numbers in it, then you need to add apostrophes (') before and after the worksheet name, like ='123'!A1 or ='January Revenue'!A1.

The difference between absolute, relative and mixed references

1. Relative references A relative cell reference in a formula, such as A1, is based on the relative position of the cell that contains the formula and the cell the reference refers to. If the position of the cell that contains the formula changes, the reference is changed. If you copy or fill the formula across rows or down columns, the reference automatically adjusts. By default, new formulas use relative references. For example, if you copy or fill a relative reference in cell B2 to cell B3, it automatically adjusts from =A1 to =A2.

Copied formula with relative reference

2. Absolute references An absolute cell reference in a formula, such as $A$1, always refer to a cell in a specific location. If the position of the cell that contains the formula changes, the absolute reference remains the same. If you copy or fill the formula across rows or down columns, the absolute reference does not adjust. By default, new formulas use relative references, so you may need to switch them to absolute references. For example, if you copy or fill an absolute reference in cell B2 to cell B3, it stays the same in both cells: =$A$1.

Copied formula with absolute reference

3. Mixed references A mixed reference has either an absolute column and relative row, or absolute row and relative column. An absolute column reference takes the form $A1, $B1, and so on. An absolute row reference takes the form A$1, B$1, and so on. If the position of the cell that contains the formula changes, the relative reference is changed, and the absolute reference does not change. If you copy or fill the formula across rows or down columns, the relative reference automatically adjusts, and the absolute reference does not adjust. For example, if you copy or fill a mixed reference from cell A2 to B3, it adjusts from =A$1 to =B$1.

Copied formula with mixed reference

The 3-D reference style

Conveniently referencing multiple worksheets If you want to analyze data in the same cell or range of cells on multiple worksheets within a workbook, use a 3-D reference. A 3-D reference includes the cell or range reference, preceded by a range of worksheet names. Excel uses any worksheets stored between the starting and ending names of the reference. For example, =SUM(Sheet2:Sheet13!B5) adds all the values contained in cell B5 on all the worksheets between and including Sheet 2 and Sheet 13.

You can use 3-D references to refer to cells on other sheets, to define names, and to create formulas by using the following functions: SUM, AVERAGE, AVERAGEA, COUNT, COUNTA, MAX, MAXA, MIN, MINA, PRODUCT, STDEV.P, STDEV.S, STDEVA, STDEVPA, VAR.P, VAR.S, VARA, and VARPA.

3-D references cannot be used in array formulas.

3-D references cannot be used with the intersection operator (a single space) or in formulas that use implicit intersection.

What occurs when you move, copy, insert, or delete worksheets The following examples explain what happens when you move, copy, insert, or delete worksheets that are included in a 3-D reference. The examples use the formula =SUM(Sheet2:Sheet6!A2:A5) to add cells A2 through A5 on worksheets 2 through 6.

Insert or copy If you insert or copy sheets between Sheet2 and Sheet6 (the endpoints in this example), Excel includes all values in cells A2 through A5 from the added sheets in the calculations.

Delete If you delete sheets between Sheet2 and Sheet6, Excel removes their values from the calculation.

Move If you move sheets from between Sheet2 and Sheet6 to a location outside the referenced sheet range, Excel removes their values from the calculation.

Move an endpoint If you move Sheet2 or Sheet6 to another location in the same workbook, Excel adjusts the calculation to accommodate the new range of sheets between them.

Delete an endpoint If you delete Sheet2 or Sheet6, Excel adjusts the calculation to accommodate the range of sheets between them.

The R1C1 reference style

You can also use a reference style where both the rows and the columns on the worksheet are numbered. The R1C1 reference style is useful for computing row and column positions in macros. In the R1C1 style, Excel indicates the location of a cell with an "R" followed by a row number and a "C" followed by a column number.

When you record a macro, Excel records some commands by using the R1C1 reference style. For example, if you record a command, such as clicking the AutoSum button to insert a formula that adds a range of cells, Excel records the formula by using R1C1 style, not A1 style, references.

You can turn the R1C1 reference style on or off by setting or clearing the R1C1 reference style check box under the Working with formulas section in the Formulas category of the Options dialog box. To display this dialog box, click the File tab.

Top of Page

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A reference identifies a cell or a range of cells on a worksheet, and tells Excel where to look for the values or data you want to use in a formula. You can use references to use data contained in different parts of a worksheet in one formula or use the value from one cell in several formulas.

# data[].attributes.body
From Saj and Frances

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC

# data[].attributes.body
Using statistics

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/maths/number/percentagesact.shtml

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Design of Experiments > Research Methods

Quantitative Research vs. Qualitative.

Quantitative research is statistical: it has numbers attached to it, like averages, percentages or quotas. Qualitative research uses non-statistical methods. For example, you might perform a study and find that 50% of a district's students dislike their teachers. The quantity (50%) makes it quantitative research. A follow up qualitative study could interview a small percentage of those students to find out why. The answers are free-form and don't have numbers associated with them, so that makes them qualitative.

Contents (Click to skip to that section):

1. What is Qualitative Research?

2. Characteristics of Qualitative Research Methods.

3. Types of Qualitative Research.

4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Qualitative Research Method.s

5. Multi-Qualitative Research Methods Approach.

6. Quantitative Research Methods.

7. Basic Research Methods.

Qualitative research(QR) is way to gain a deeper understanding of an event, organization or culture. Depending on what type of phenomenon you are studying, QR can give you a broad understanding of events, data about human groups, and broad patterns behind events and people. While traditional lab-based research looks for a specific "something" in the testing environment, qualitative research allows the meaning, themes, or data to emerge from the study.

Qualitative research uses non-statistical methods to gain understanding about a population. In other words, you're not dealing with the numbers you'd find in quantitative research. For example, let's say your research project was to answer the question "Why do people buy fast food?". Instead of a survey (which can usually be analyzed with math), you might use in-depth interviews to gain a deeper understanding of people's motives. Another major difference between qualitative and quantitative research is that QR is usually performed in a natural setting (As opposed to a lab).

All of the different qualitative research methods have several characteristics (Merriam):

Findings are judged by whether they make sense and are consistent with the collected data.

Results are validated externally by how well they might be applicable to other situations. This is tough to do; rich, detailed descriptions can help to bolster external validity.

Data is usually collected from small, specific and non-random samples.

Although qualitative research doesn't have the same structure as a formal lab-testing environment, there are certain requirements you must meet in order for your qualitative study to be called "research." Your study must:

Have a formulated research purpose. For example "...examine the liftestyles of Chinese immigrants."

Be related to existing theories, published or unpublished. You can't just make up an idea that has no basic in current thinking. For example, a study to see how immigrants cope in the workplace would build on previous, similar studies. However, there would be no previous theories for something out-of-left field like "Why do Italian immigrants prefer Pepsi?"

Be well-planned. You can't go into the jungle with no plan and no idea of how you're going accomplish your goals.

Be recorded carefully with notes and other media like film or voice recordings. If you don't take careful notes, you could miss something of vital importance.

Other rules you must follow include selecting the people or events you want to observe, having a plan on how you're going to get into the "world" you want to observe, and deciding ahead of time what types of data you're going to gather.

Anthropological

Anthropological researchers study people in their natural environment, sometimes immersing themselves in foreign cultures for years. The focus is on meaning, transmitted through language and action. For example, a raised finger might mean something trivial in one society while in another it's a gross insult. This type of research is invaluable when it would be inappropriate or impossible to put people in a laboratory setting or even conduct a simple interview. For example, members of a street gang would likely refuse interviews, and it's both highly expensive and inappropriate to place people from non-Western cultures (i.e. pygmies) in a lab. People from different cultures might react in ways that aren't expected. For example, they might be fearful of a laboratory setting. Or they might react in ways that you don't understand. For example, it might be culturally acceptable to lie when being interviewed by a "reporter." Observing people in their natural setting helps to eliminate these factors.

Autoethnography.

In this research method, you use your own experiences to address a cultural, political, or social issue. It is considered by many to be a non-traditional ethnographic method. This type of research can involve several people. For example, a group of immigrant women researchers conducted a study on how they navigated the US academy as immigrant women faculty (Ngunjiri et. al 2010).

Critical Social Research.

Critical social research studies specific oppressive social structures (Harvey, 1990). This type of research attempts to expose problems, evaluate the problems and find their root causes. For example, critical social research could attempt to uncover cases of juvenile crime, racism, or suicide. The main difference between this type of research and other qualitative types is that there is always "a problem" that needs "fixing" going into the study. The research question revolves around an existing, known, problem. Traditional research uncovers problems or issues with interviews, data collection and other QR methods.

Ethical Inquiry.

Ethical inquiry is a research method used in philosophy to answer ethical questions such as Is it ethical to eat animals? or The Ethics of HIV Criminalization.

Ethnographic Research.

Ethnography is the study of people in their own environment through methods like participant observation and face-to-face interviewing. The difference between anthropological and ethnographic research is small, but significant. While anthropological research involves all of the cultures on the planet, classic ethnographic research provides a detailed description of an entire culture outside of the country of origin of the researcher(Ingold, 2008).

Field Research.

Field research is research outside of a lab, in a natural setting. This type of research usually involves first hand note-taking. It may also include video footage, interviews with experts in the area being studied, conducting surveys or attending public discussion forums.

Grounded Theory Research.

Grounded theory is often categorized as a qualitative research method, but technically it can be applied to either quantitative research or qualitative research; it's a general research method involving a set of rigorous procedures. The result is (hopefully) a set of conceptual data categories. The "Theory" in grounded theory refers to the theory of what you are studying. For example, you might have a theory about the eating habits of the Nez Perce Tribe. The "Grounded" part refers to the fact that your theory needs to be grounded in research. That's the simple definition. In reality, it's a type of QR that's poorly understood, with many researchers claiming they used it, when in fact they did not. It's actually a fairly complicated process that builds upon itself. You start by generating questions to guide your research. These questions identify core concepts, which lead you to identifying links between your questions and your data. This part of the process can take months. For a detailed outline of the grounded theory process, see Odis Simmon's outline here.

Naturalistic.

Naturalistic research is research that doesn't manipulate anything in the environment. In other words, it's the opposite of a lab environment where variables are manipulated on purpose. Care should be taken with naturalistic research, as even your presence can alter the environment-taking away the "naturalistic" component. Bias can easily creep in to these types of studies; two people can have different viewpoints of the same thing. It's a common safeguard to have two or more researchers observing the same thing so that any differences in viewpoint can be addressed.

Participant Observer Research.

In this type of research, you participate in the activity and record observations. It differs from naturalistic research because y ou actually participate in the activity you are researching. For example, you might become a member of a cult, enroll in spelunking courses, or go undercover as a dishwasher at a restaurant. Although this is a great way to get an insider viewpoint, it carries risks. For example, bias and reactivity are magnified in participant observer research. Bias seeps in because you are looking through one lens (yours). As hard as you try to make sure your notes are accurate, you might have biases that you aren't aware of. Reactivity is where your actions change what is happening. As you are more than just an observer, it's difficult not to have some influence in what's going on around you. A fairly famous example of this type of research was undertaken by Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken and Stanley Schachter, who infiltrated a UFO religion called "The Seekers."

Phenomenology.

Phenomenology studies someone's perception of an event. The focus of this type of study is what people's experiences are for a particular event and how they interpret their experiences. For example: a study of Hurricane Katrina survivors perceptions, understandings, and perspectives of the hurricane.

Qualitative research is not part of statistical analysis. That's because the results can't be tested to see if they are statistically significant (i.e. to see if the results could have occurred by chance). As a result, findings can't be extended to a wider population. That doesn't mean this type of research is useless: in many studies, getting hard numbers is inappropriate or just impossible.

Advantages:
If qualitative research can't be used to estimate statistics for a population, why use it at all? One reason is that while statistics concentrates on specific, narrow areas (for example, population means, medians or standard deviations), qualitative analysis paints a wider, complete picture. In addition, phenomena that's rare receives the same level of attention as more common phenomena. Other advantages include:

It's useful for finding out more about complex situations.

Allows the use of an "insider viewpoint."

Data is based on the participant's views of the world, rather than a world created by a researcher.

Can be used to figure out how people interpret constructs like IQ or fear, which can be hard to quantify.

The study focus can be shifted in the middle of research, if necessary. In a traditional lab setting, this would usually null-and-void the experiment.

An important case can be used to vividly paint a picture in a report.

Disadvantages:
One of the main disadvantages to qualitative research is that your data usually can't be generalized outside of your research. For example, if you find that an Asian street gang has a certain hierarchy, then that hierarchy likely exists only within Asian street gangs, and perhaps only in the particular gang you studied.

Predictions of future events are usually impossible to quantify (i.e. you wouldn't be able to say "there is a 95% chance of this event happening in the future.").

Qualitative research, in general, has lower credibility than quantitative research. This may make it more difficult to get your results published.

Data collection takes a lot longer than in a traditional lab setting.

Your own personal biases and other idiosyncrasies are more likely to affect the research.

Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have their limitations. There is a recent trend towards a multi-method research approach which uses both types to:

1. Quantify phenomena and make sure it's statistically sound.

2. Paint a broader picture of the phenomena.

What is Quantitative Research?

Quantitative research is about collecting and analyzing data to explain phenomena. Information from a sample is used to make generalizations or predictions about a population. Some questions that are easily answered using information from samples include:

What percentage of high school teachers belong to minority groups?

How many females in college study mathematics compared to males?

Has the high school graduation rate in our district increased over time?

However, data doesn't always naturally happen in a numerical way. You may want to answer questions like:

What do high school students think of their teachers?

What is the general public opinion of health care reform?

What do customers at a particular business think of customer service?

These questions aren't immediately quantifiable, but you can turn them into quantifiable questions by assigning numbers to them. For example, you could make a survey with the following question and responses:
"I think that customer service at this business is excellent."

Elements of Quantitative Research Methods.

The crucial elements of quantitative research design are:

1. Research Design. Quantitative research designs are either descriptive or experimental. Descriptive designs are where you measure an association between two variables (independent and dependent variables). Sample sizes are typically large. For example, you might survey thousands of local students. Subjects are usually only measured once. In an experimental design, subjects are usually measured both before and after a treatment and you're looking for causality. Sample sizes tend to be small. For example, you might be analyzing a treatment for a small number of cancer patients.

2. Choice of data collection instrument. Typical methods for data collection are surveys or questionnaires with closed-ended questions, using data from another source (for example, a government database) or an experiment with a control group and an experimental group.

3. Choice of analysis tool (i.e. statistics). For example, you might choose to report your results using confidence intervals and test statistics from t tests or f tests with significance levels (alpha levels) and p values.

Archival research. Researching through archives: rare books, historical records and other historical data like school yearbooks.

Content analysis. Content analysis looks at whether certain words or phrases are present in texts. Inferences can then be made about the writer, the audience and the culture surrounding those texts.

Case study. Case studies are usually performed on an individual or small group of individuals. A detailed history is taken of some aspect of the participant's life. For example, you might make a case study of a group of 12 alcoholics on their drinking habits, personal history and home life.

Computer simulation. Computer modeling is one of the research methods gradually becoming more popular especially, where ethical constraints prevent actual experiments or observation. For example, instead of watching the effects of a poisonous gas on mice, a computer simulation can model the effect without the need for live animals.

Experiment. An experiment is where you deliberately manipulate one variable (the independent variable) to see what the outcome is on another variable (the dependent variable). Experiments are typically performed in a closed setting, like a laboratory. Field experiments are where the experiment takes place outside of the controlled setting, in the real world.

Interview. In an interview, you meet face to face with participants. Taping an interview is usually preferable, as note-taking can be distracting. Interview questions can be closed-where participants are given a choice of answers-or open questions, which allow for thoughtful, in-depth responses. An interview can also be a mixture of both.

Meta-analysis. A meta-analysis combines the findings from existing research into one, comprehensive thesis. A meta-analysis can uncover trends or themes that weren't apparent in individual pieces of research.

Observational Study. A type of study where the researcher observes participants without any kind of interference. Participants are placed into two groups with one control group and one experimental group (i.e. smokers and non-smokers).

Naturalistic Observation. In naturalistic observation, you observe participants in their natural setting. You should be inconspicuous and not change anything in the setting.
Examples:

Unobtrusively observing wild chimpanzees

Sitting in a coffee shop and observing interactions between patrons

Survey. Surveys usually involve a representative sample of the population, using a technique like random sampling. A questionnaire is given to each member of the sample and used to infer characteristics of the whole population. Surveys are easy in theory but can be difficult to put into practice, mainly because of a typically low response rate.

References

Beyer, W. H. CRC Standard Mathematical Tables, 31st ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp. 536 and 571, 2002.
Dodge, Y. (2008). The Concise Encyclopedia of Statistics. Springer.
Ingold, T. (2008). Anthropology is not ethnography. Proceedings of the British Academy, 154, 69-92.
Kotz, S.; et al., eds. (2006), Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences, Wiley.
Vogt, W.P. (2005). Dictionary of Statistics & Methodology: A Nontechnical Guide for the Social Sciences. SAGE.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need help with a homework or test question? With Chegg Study, you can get step-by-step solutions to your questions from an expert in the field. Your first 30 minutes with a Chegg tutor is free!

Comments? Need to post a correction? Please post a comment on our Facebook page.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research Methods: Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research - Statistics How To

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Design of Experiments > Research Methods Quantitative research is statistical: it has numbers attached to it, like averages, percentages or quotas. Qualitative research uses non-statistical methods. For example, you might perform a study and find that 50% of a district's students dislike their teachers. The quantity (50%) makes it quantitative research.

# data[].attributes.body
Methods to Choose from

# data[].attributes.body
Some ratio practice using food

# data[].attributes.body
How to do simple percentages YouTube:

# data[].attributes.body
I will use this resource to help my students xxxxxxxxx.......

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Free online interactive resources for Mathematics teachers, pupils and parents.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Here is a link to the video instead.