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Collection of empirical data; Modeling and analysis of data; Quantitative research is often contrasted with qualitative research, which purports to be focused more on discovering underlying meanings and patterns of relationships, including classifications of types of phenomena and entities, in a manner that does not involve mathematical models. [7]
An example of data from ecological research provides a useful illustration. There are, for 72 stations, two types of measurements: The abundance-dominance coefficient of 50 plant species (coefficient ranging from 0 = the plant is absent, to 9 = the species covers more than three-quarters of the surface).
For quantitative analysis, data is coded usually into measured and recorded as nominal or ordinal variables.. Questionnaire data can be pre-coded (process of assigning codes to expected answers on designed questionnaire), field-coded (process of assigning codes as soon as data is available, usually during fieldwork), post-coded (coding of open questions on completed questionnaires) or office ...
Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, and is used in different business, science, and social science domains. [2] In today's business world, data analysis plays a role in making decisions more scientific and helping businesses operate more effectively. [3]
Tukey defined data analysis in 1961 as: "Procedures for analyzing data, techniques for interpreting the results of such procedures, ways of planning the gathering of data to make its analysis easier, more precise or more accurate, and all the machinery and results of (mathematical) statistics which apply to analyzing data."
Two main statistical methods are used in data analysis: descriptive statistics, which summarize data from a sample using indexes such as the mean or standard deviation, and inferential statistics, which draw conclusions from data that are subject to random variation (e.g., observational errors, sampling variation). [4]
Quantitative analysis also takes a deductive approach. [8] Examples of content-analytical variables and constructs can be found, for example, in the open-access database DOCA. This database compiles, systematizes, and evaluates relevant content-analytical variables of communication and political science research areas and topics.
Bibliometrics is the application of statistical methods to the study of bibliographic data, especially in scientific and library and information science contexts, and is closely associated with scientometrics (the analysis of scientific metrics and indicators) to the point that both fields largely overlap.