Skip to Main Content

Statistics: Finding and Using Quantitative Research: Home

This Guide is designed to help students locate and evaluate information related to Probability and Statistics. It is designed to complement MAT 131 & MAT 222.

About Quantitative Research?

What is Quantitative Research?
"Methods of investigating phenomena which involve the collection and analysis of numerical data. Such methods are particularly associated with surveys and experiments" (Oxford Reference). 

How to use Quantitative Research? 
Using Quantitative Data

How to Evaluate Quantitative Research?
Evaluating Statistics
 

Research Consultation

For Students, Staff, and Faculty: 

Need help finding sources?

Schedule a Research Consultation to discuss your topic and the best way to find sources.

To schedule a research consultation, Click here

Research Consultations can be conducted via Zoom, phone, or in person. 
 

For Faculty: 

To schedule a class session, contact the Masland Library at library@cairn.edu.

Structure of Quantitative Research

Research articles will often include the following headings to orient the reader:

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methodology
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion

Quantitative research articles often include graphs, charts, and tables to help the reader to visualize the data. They may also include appendices for forms, questionnaires, or other relevant material used in the study.

Looking for headings, visuals, and appendices can be a quick way to assess the research to see if it is quantitative. 

How do I find a Quantitative Article? 

Quantitative articles can be located throughout the library's resources using methodology terms as keywords. Using terms related to the type of study, data analysis type, or the terminology used to describe the results can be an efficient way to find relevant articles. Below are some possible keywords to include in a search. 

  • Quantitative
  • Statistical
  • Time series
  • Variable
  • Variance 
  • Distribution
  • Experiment 
  • Correlation
  • Data
  • T-test
  • Chi-square

A keyword search on the homepage is one place to start your research. Click here on the Library homepage to begin. Try a search for "quantitative AND" followed by a topic of your choosing (see the example search below): 

Quantitative AND Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

 

Searching Tips

  • Connecting the alternative terms with OR tells the database to search for any of these terms.

    • Example: Quantitative AND Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder OR PTSD

  • Using the asterisk (*) truncates the search. The database will search for the part of the word you typed before the asterisk, along with any possible endings of the word.

    • Using statistic* tells the database to search for statistics, statistical, etc.

    • Example: Quantitative AND statistic* 

  • Many articles and dissertations will include methodological terms in the abstract or title. To ensure you have an example of your methodology, look at the methodology section in the full text. This will provide detailed information about the methodology used.
     
  • Some methodologies are rarely used for certain research topics. You may need to broaden your search topic to find a study that uses your methodology.

 

Suggested Databases