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Epistemological Foundations of Quantitative Research, The main advantages…
Epistemological Foundations of Quantitative Research
Generalities
Epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge.
Quantitative research is characterized by being a systematic inquiry.
His vision is objective, also known as realist or positivist.
Different types of epistemologies
Post-positivism
They believe that research can never be certain.
Researchers must approximate reality as best they can.
Experiential realism
Confirms that it is not possible to observe the world only objectively.
One's own perception influences in some way what one observes.
Science, according to this view, is an activity that is based on this subject/object scheme.
"The meaning and truth of any idea is a function of its practical results."
Recommends a mixed methods approach that links quantitative and qualitative methods.
This is the most appropriate way to observe the world in terms of what you want to discover.
Philosophers such as Peirce, Dewey and James developed pragmatism as a philosophy in the United States.
Any phenomenon that occurs in the world has its cause and consequence.
In terms of research, your philosophical point of view should be clear from the outset.
Epistemologies underlying theory and practice
These are fundamentals that mark the difference between quantitative and qualitative research.
Quantitative research is described as realist or positivist.
Qualitative research is considered subjectivism.
General worldviews
Positivism
It is a philosophical theory that affirms that certain knowledge.
It is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relationships.
The world works according to fixed laws of cause and effect.
Subjectivism
Our own mental activity is the only unquestionable fact of our experience.
There is no external or objective truth.
Subjectivism gives primacy to subjective experience as fundamental to all measurement and law.
Paradigms
Interpretivism
Incorporates human interest in a study.
Focuses of meaning
It is used to group different approaches.
Its purpose is to reveal different characteristics of the subject of study.
The approaches do not accept the purely objectivist view of the world separated from consciousness.
It is vitally important to see the differences that characterize people.
Criticalism
Its origins are in sociology and literary criticism.
Its aim is to change limiting social conditions.
It aims to change existing social conditions and not only to predict or explain reality.
It includes the deep assessment and evaluation of society and culture.
It relates knowledge from the social sciences and the humanities.
It provides insight into the structures of power.
Postmodernism
Rejects the idea that science can be considered objective.
Science is neither universal nor the "paradigm of all true knowledge".
Reality cannot be conceived the same by all.
Research implies different ways of appreciating reality.
In conducting research, generalizations must be made sensibly.
Postmodernists do not accept "rational conclusions".
Reality is socially constructed.
This lack of agreement makes the field of educational research confusing and "incoherent".
The main advantages and disadvantages of quantitative approach.
Advantages
It is an investigation of a specific problem
It allows observing, counting and analyzing the required information using statistical techniques
The information can be verified, confirmed and checked with greater precision
It allows researchers to know how to interpret the results obtained
The results will be more reliable, definitive and standardized
It tries to determine the cause and consequence of the investigated difficulty
It provides approximations of larger sample sizes
It is a simple way to evaluate which is basically the researcher's interest
Likewise, it answers more precisely some questions such as who, how much, what, where, when, how many and how
It is useful to make the segmentation of the sample group
Furthermore, it specifies clearly and precisely the independent and dependent variables
Quantitative research is practical and useful because it can:
Collect reliable and accurate data
Rapid data collection
Wide range of data analysis
Eliminates bias
Disadvantages
The numbers found in the research may be restrictive
It fails to provide sufficient explanation of the reasons for the effect of certain variables
The positivism paradigm does not describe how reality is configured
It measures variables in a particular context and at a particular time
It may be insufficient if it concentrates only on numbers
Some things that are numerically precise are not true
Uses a static and rigid approach, thus employing an inflexible process
Tends to reduce the confidence given
It doesn´t study things in a natural setting
They need careful planning
Some aspects of the social phenomenon cannot be analyzed because society is constantly changing
