Paper Keywords: research quantitative research qualitative research
Quantitative research method is one of the main research paradigms of educational research. When applying quantitative research methods in educational research, the scope of application should be clear; When processing and using data, we should seek truth from facts and pay attention to the validity of data; We should look at its limitations objectively and pay attention to the comprehensive application with other research methods, especially qualitative research methods.
Quantitative research is the analysis and study of the quantity of things, and it is a research method to collect data through structural observation, experiment and test, study things objectively with existing quantitative data, and reveal the causal relationship between things variables. Quantitative research originates from positivism in theory. The development of Comte's positivism philosophy and methodology, Newrat's and Carnap's positivism and practical positivism in the United States led to the emergence of quantitative research, which matured in the middle and late 20th century. [1] At first, quantitative research, as one of the main research paradigms, was mainly used in natural science and scientific fields. Later, with the continuous development of education, a large number of western natural scientists and educational researchers such as Gao Erdun and Thorndike began to apply quantitative research to the field of education. Quantitative research rose in China around 1930s. After decades of development, although great progress has been made, it is still not mature and perfect. Among them, there are many problems worthy of attention in the application of quantitative research in education. The following is a brief analysis of three issues, hoping to help improve the quantitative research of education.
First, the scope of application of quantitative research methods in educational research
There are two different trends in the application of quantitative research in education. At first, the application of quantitative research in education was questioned and criticized. Later, with its wide application in the field of education and some remarkable achievements, another tendency appeared, that is, to completely quantify educational research and study any educational problem by quantitative methods. Obviously, these two tendencies are not conducive to educational research. We know that no method is omnipotent, and quantitative research in education is no exception. It cannot be applied to all educational research. Therefore, when choosing research methods in educational research, we must follow them? Is the method suitable for the problem? Principles should be carefully chosen according to the specific characteristics of the educational problems studied. If the quantitative method is not suitable, it must not be demanding. This requires us to define the application scope of quantitative research in the field of education. The following briefly explains the application scope of quantitative research in education from two aspects.
1. Quantitative research in education is suitable for studying material phenomena in education.
The quantitative study of education is a quantitative study of educational phenomena, but not all educational phenomena can be quantified. Generally speaking, the material aspects of educational phenomena, such as the scale and speed of educational development at all levels, the quality of teaching materials and teaching, and the employment rate of graduates, are relatively dominant and can be studied by quantitative methods. However, those spiritual phenomena, such as students' learning attitude and teachers' morality, are difficult to quantify or quantify to a satisfactory degree, and the research effect with quantitative methods is not necessarily good. [2]
2. The quantitative study of education is suitable for the educational objects unfamiliar to researchers or with a large sample size.
Quantitative research focuses on the conditions and results of research, rather than the intermediate process of research. It does not consider the influence of researchers on the research process and results. And it is often studied through a large number of samples, and then the overall situation is inferred from the samples. The research results are universal, and are suitable for the educational objects that researchers are not familiar with or have a large sample (such as the popularization of compulsory education in a certain district, the schooling situation of children of floating population in a certain place, the employment situation of college graduates, etc.). ). For example, case study of students and evaluation of students' schoolbags are not suitable for quantitative research. [3]
Second, the processing of quantitative data in educational research.
Because the quantitative study of education is the study and analysis of the number of educational phenomena, it is inevitable to encounter data processing problems in this process. Two problems in quantitative data processing in educational research.
1. Follow the principle of seeking truth from facts.
In educational research, we must follow the principle of seeking truth from facts when analyzing the collected materials and data quantitatively. Sometimes, some research may require statistical analysis of a large number of data. At this time, researchers should never simplify the data or deliberately lose some data for fear of trouble. In addition, the statistical analysis results of data and materials may sometimes be different from their own research assumptions, or even quite different. At this time, researchers must respect objective facts and cannot artificially tamper with data to prove their research hypotheses. For example, when studying the employment rate of a university, the result of statistical analysis is 50%, and researchers may change this data to 80% for some purpose. This practice is disrespectful to objective facts and irresponsible to educational research.
2. Ensure the validity of data ①
In educational research, we should not only deal with the collected data realistically, but also ensure the validity of the data. Only valid data can ensure the reliability and validity of the study and explain the problems studied. This requires our attention. Sometimes some data are objective, but they may not be effective for research. For example, studying the employment rate of A and B majors in a university, the statistical results show that the employment rate of A major is 60%, and that of B major is 100%. However, there are 100 people in major A, but only 1 00 people in major B. Although the statistical results show that the employment rate of major B is much higher than that of major A, it cannot be said that major B is better than major A. Obviously, the employment rate of major B 100% in this example is invalid and cannot explain the problem studied.
Thirdly, the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods in educational research.
In recent years, many scholars have been studying the integration of research methods. We know that each research method can't solve all the research problems independently, so the integration of multiple methods has become the development trend of research methods. In the field of education, people pay more and more attention to combining quantitative research with other research methods, especially qualitative research methods. Qualitative research is the study of qualitative aspects of things, right? A research method that takes the researcher himself as a research tool, uses various data collection methods to explore the whole social phenomenon in natural situations, forms a theory by summarizing and analyzing the data, and constructs an explanatory understanding of its behavior and meaning through interaction with the research object? . [4] Educational research should not only integrate quantitative research and qualitative research, but also pay attention to the complementary advantages in integration.
1. The necessity of the integration of the two.
In the research, the complexity of the research object and the limitations of the quantitative research method itself determine that the quantitative method cannot solve all the educational problems alone. Only by combining quantitative methods with qualitative methods can we promote the further development of educational research.
(1) Complexity of educational research objects. The complexity of educational research objects determines that it is impossible to pursue complete quantification in educational research, and some research can only be completed by combining quantitative research with qualitative research. The educational phenomenon to be studied by the Institute of Education is not only unrepeatable and uncontrollable, but also involves independent people with reflective ability, so it is impossible to completely quantify it. Even in educational research, the educational phenomenon that we artificially controlled cannot be exactly the same as the situation at that time. At best, it only helps to control some irrelevant variables in an educational experiment. [5] In addition, from the perspective of dialectical materialism, any educational phenomenon is the unity of quantity and quality, and there is no educational phenomenon that only quantity has no quality or only quality has no quantity. Therefore, if we want to study and understand an educational phenomenon clearly and thoroughly, we must study its quantitative and qualitative aspects at the same time.
(2) Limitations of quantitative research in educational research. There are many limitations in the quantitative research methods in educational research. First of all, due to the limitation of its scope of application, it is powerless to those educational phenomena that cannot be quantified; Secondly, the results of quantitative research are general, although the overall characteristics of educational phenomena can be inferred from the samples, they can only represent an average value of the whole, but can not reflect the particularity of each individual; Thirdly, quantitative research requires rigor, but it is very complicated and difficult to implement. For example, there are many requirements for the compilation of questionnaires and measurement scales, the sampling requirements are random, and the survey data should be analyzed mathematically. [6] Finally, due to the imperfect development of technology and measurement tools, many educational problems are difficult to study by quantitative methods, or even if quantitative methods are used, the conclusions may be biased and it is difficult to explain the problems effectively. [7] These limitations of quantitative education research also determine that it is impossible to solve all educational problems alone. Some educational problems must be studied by other methods, especially qualitative methods, in order to achieve satisfactory results.
2. The integration of the two should complement each other.
In educational research, there are differences and connections between quantitative methods and qualitative methods. The difference between the two, from the research purpose, the purpose of quantitative research is to study the quantity of educational phenomena, while qualitative research is to study the quality of educational phenomena; From the scope of application, different from the above-mentioned quantitative methods, qualitative research is mainly suitable for small samples and specific cases that researchers are spiritual or familiar with; In terms of research methods, quantitative method is deductive process, focusing on statistical analysis and research results, while qualitative research is based on descriptive analysis, focusing on research process; Judging from the research conclusion, the conclusion of quantitative research is scientific, objective and accurate, and can be inferred to the whole, while the conclusion of qualitative research is vague and uncertain to a great extent, and cannot be inferred to the whole. [8]
The relationship between them is as follows: quantitative research cannot replace qualitative research, and quantitative research must be based on qualitative research. In educational research, no matter how quantitative analysis develops and how its tools and techniques are perfected, what can be solved is only the relationship between quantity and quantity in educational phenomena, and the essential things in educational phenomena can only be understood through qualitative analysis. Moreover, if the conclusion of quantitative research is not clearly and thoroughly explained through qualitative research, it can only be a pile of dead data, which can not clearly reveal the educational phenomenon studied. [9]
From the relationship between quantitative research and qualitative research mentioned above, we can see that they are complementary in many aspects. In educational research, the integration of the two can make up for the defects when used alone, on the other hand, it can give full play to their respective advantages, make educational research scientific and accurate in quantity, clear and thorough in quality, and thus improve persuasiveness. Therefore, in educational research, we should avoid? Generalization? Quantitative research, but should pay attention to the comprehensive application of the two, give full play to their respective research personality and characteristics, form a huge tension, and realize complementary advantages. [10] For example, by studying the employment distribution of college graduates, we can obtain the data of employed students in various regions through quantitative methods such as questionnaires, and then qualitatively analyze the reasons for this distribution and put forward corresponding countermeasures. In this way, the combination of quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis not only gives full play to the accuracy, objectivity and conciseness of quantitative analysis, making the employment distribution of students clear at a glance, but also gives full play to the comprehensiveness, profundity and exploration of qualitative analysis, and gives clear reasons and countermeasures. The advantages of the two are complementary and convincing.
Four. conclusion
In a word, quantitative research, as one of the main research paradigms of educational research, has both advantages and limitations. Only by grasping its scope of application, combining it with qualitative research and complementing each other's advantages can we improve the scientificity and accuracy of educational research.
Precautions:
(1) This part refers to the teacher's classroom teaching content. If there is any mistake or omission, it is the author's misunderstanding. I hereby explain it.
References:
[1] woye. Three Related Issues in Quantitative and Qualitative Research of Science [J]. Academic Research, 2005, (4):4 1-47.
[2][3][ 10] Fu Ying, Zhouyi. Comparison between qualitative research and quantitative research in educational research methods [J]. Educational Exploration, 2004, (2):9- 1 1.
[4] Chen Xiangming. Qualitative research methods and social science research [M]. Beijing Education Science Press 2002:22-23.
[5] Li Yuxiang, Feng. Education and scientific research should not demand quantitative analysis [J]. Shanghai Education Research, 199 1, (2):33-35.
[6] Wu. Analysis on the application of quantitative methods in China's social research [J]. Journal of Hubei University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), 2009,6 (1):12-13.
[7] As the saying goes. On quantitative research in educational research [J]. Journal of Cangzhou Teachers College, 2003, 19, (1): 6 1-62.
Wu Hongmei. Comparison and Combination of Quantitative Research and Qualitative Research [J]. Journal of Chengdu Aviation Vocational and Technical College (Comprehensive Edition), 2009,9 (3): 70-72.
[9] Garida. On the two orientations and methods of quality and quantity in scientific research [J]. Journal of Peking University (Social Science Edition), 2004,41(1): 54-62.
Please continue reading the relevant recommendation: graduation thesis? ? Fresh graduates apply for jobs.
View and download the graduation thesis model essay? See the paper opening report. See the outline of the reference document.
Read more graduation thesis thanks to the relevant graduation thesis format? See more papers for the defense.
?
;