DEFINITION OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

'Quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are used to obtain information about the world.

This research method is used:

• to describe variables;
• to examine relationships among variables;
• to determine cause-and-effect interactions between variables.' (Burns & Grove 2005:23)

Reference: Burns N, Grove SK (2005) The Practice of Nursing Research: Conduct, Critique, and Utilization (5th Ed.). St. Louis, Elsevier Saunders

quantitative research design    research design