Polling Data For Political Science Research

I was asked to identify if this research study was quantitative or qualitative and found that it was quantitative in nature. According to Hagan (2010) the definition of quantitative is, “Investigations that involve heavy use of statistical procedures; statistical manipulations of data considered primary in an effort to discover patterns of behavior” (p. 14). Based on this and the fact that the researchers conducted their own research and provided statistics, I believe my finding is factual and sound.

Quantitative research is done to find the accurate facts by evaluating the problems like opinion, behaviour by using numerical data. This research is based on theories, hypothesis, collecting, analysing the data to make the research accurate.

Quantitative data is facts that are written in numerical form and then proven. The way Quantitative data is recorded is in numbers. An example of Quantitative data is 55%take bus, 25% take train, 10% walk and 10% car.

It is essentially research based on numerical data, including collection and analysis. For example, asking questions with yes or no answers to be able to gather a number of statistics for the search. There are a number of methods used for data collection with the quantitative approach to research, these include, questionnaires, surveys, experiments observation schedules and measuring tools. With quantitative research there are two types of sampling methods, probability and non-probability. Probability is the likelihood of the population of the research will be included into the final sample, when every unit has more than zero chance of being selected.

Quantitative research methods are objective as it uses measurements and analysis of statistical data to answer the study question. The researchers’ opinions do not affect the outcome of the study, ensuring that the study is unbiased. Another advantage is quantitative research uses numbers and statistics which is understood universally (Houser,2008).

In defining quantitative research the term can be dichotomized. Firstly, research refers to creative, systematic work with the intention to increase the knowledge of man and thereby devise new applications (OECD, 2002). In addition Gray (1997) stated that research should improve performance and that the results should be

Conducting national exit polls is an enormous undertaking, requiring as long as two years to implement. The goal of the process is to collect information on a subset of voters that can be projected to the entire active electorate with a high degree of confidence. Numerous obstacles, though, stand in the way, threatening to undermine the effort and bias the results. Exit polls, like most surveys, unfold in four distinct but often overlapping stages / Research-ers usually begin by developing procedures for drawing a probabilistic sample of voters whose responses can be inferred to the active electorate with a high degree of confidence. They develop a questionnaire, capable of both describing the types of voters participating in an election as well as offering insights into the reasoning behind their choices. Interviewers are trained and eventually employed to disseminate the questionnaires to and collect them from sampled voters on Election Day. The process concludes with the integration of voters’ responses into a data set for analysis. The specific procedures used for each stage vary by polling organization; therefore, I focus my discussion on those procedures developed by Warren Mitofsky, Murray Edelman, and their col¬leagues at CBS and used by the polling units employed by the network consortium to conduct the national exit polls.

Scientific method involves quantitative information. For example measuring changes in the body and analysing blood or urine samples. Body mass index is used to measure height and weight to distinguish whether an individual is a healthy weight.

“Researchers who use quantitative research method seek objectivity through testable hypotheses and carefully designed studies, and gather date that can be reported in numbers and statistics” (Crawford, 2016, p. 66). According to Crawford (2016, p. 66) “conclusions from this study are drawn from statistics and generalized to populations of interest”. Unlike qualitative that helps to eliminate opinions and thoughts, quantitative quantify opinions and thoughts and they obtain results from a larger sampling population. As I had previously stated on my discussion board “Quantitative researcher’s collection methods include many different kinds of surveys for example; online surveys, paper surveys, online polls, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and etc”(myself). “They use the surveys to measure attitudes, behaviors, and opinions” (myself).

Quantitative Research- a research based on experimental data, a survey that proves the actuality of the theory.

This article was about polling. Polls tell us where people stand on issues, the public mood, record of popularity; approval of elected officials and identified the “likely voters”. The author specifically focuses on polling’s of election campaigns. He also looks at “private” polls. Since the 1950s, some candidates have been using polls in their campaigns. In one study of the congressional campaign of 1978, 74 percent of incumbents, 61 percent of challengers and 80 percent of open seat candidates have either “very much” or “quite a bit” used polling data. Before the 1970s, pollsters only provided an analysis of raw data with little to say about the strategic implications. The current age of modern polling had begun in 1979. Changes in technology

Quantitative research involves collecting data, which can be expressed numerically. The design is well structured with pre-determined outcomes. It frequently involves testing a hypothesis, which then can be analysed from the data deductively using statistical methods. Using numerical data is easier to analysis mathematical, so larger sample sizes can be utilised compared to qualitative research, therefore giving a better representative of the population; along with simplifying the process of making a generalisation. Another advantage is that studies can easily compare to similar findings (Kruger, 2003). The disadvantages are the results are limited and might not provide a proper understanding of the topic. Also, statistics and leading questions can be used to give a false representation of the data when summarising.

To conduct quantitative research, the first step is defining the problem, identifying the objectives and goals, and establishing research questions or hypothesis. It is followed by data collection and analysis with the application of various numerical and statistical approaches. Quantitative research is more factual in terms that we get concrete data with evidence to prove the results of our research.

Quantitative research methods are utilized to study the natural phenomena. So, it includes survey methods, formal methods, and numerical methods.

(i) Quantitative vs Qualitative Research: Qualitative research methods is based on values and not numbers while quantitative is based on numeric and Quantifiable data to generalize in its conclusion.