@inbook{23fc9d065d704236b0706142b974217c,
title = "Quantitative Research Methods",
abstract = "Scientific knowledge is only as sound as the research methods used to obtain it. Quantitative research methods encompass three broad categories: design, measurement, and analysis issues. The key features and elements within each of these three areas are outlined in the article. For design issues, sampling and generalizabilty as well as randomized and quasi-experimental designs for causal inference are discussed. For measurement issues, different types of reliability and validity of measurement are presented. For analysis issues, the commonly used analysis techniques to quantify the relationships among variables are introduced, including the techniques for different types of outcome, the techniques for cross-sectional and longitudinal data, the techniques to deal with measurement error and missing data, the techniques to take into account dependency among observations, and the techniques to classify subjects. The article concludes with general recommendations to researchers.",
keywords = "Causal inference, Classification, Experimental design, General linear model, Generalizability, Generalized linear model, Longitudinal data analysis, Measurement, Missing data, Multilevel modeling, Path analysis, Quantitative research, Quasi-experimental design, Reliability, Structural equation modeling, Validity",
author = "W. Wu and Little, {T. D.}",
note = "Funding Information: Quart.KU.edu www.Quant.KU.edu – Links to calculators Wei Wu , is an assistant professor of quantitative psychology at the University of Kansas. She is also a Research Affiliate in the Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis (CRMDA). She completed her PhD in Quantitative Psychology from Arizona State University in 2008. Wu is a specialist in longitudinal data analysis, model fit evaluation, and missing data estimation. She has participated in NICHD- and NIH-funded projects as data analyst and statistical consultant. She has also expertise in regression analysis, structural equation modeling (SEM), multilevel modeling, and propensity score matching. She regularly teaches multiple regression, multivariate statistics, and advanced SEM. Todd D Little , is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kansas where he is director of the Quantitative training program and a member of the developmental training program. He has been the senior scientific director of the Research Design and Analysis (RDA) core of the Life Span Institute and is director of the Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis (CRMDA). Little is internationally recognized for his quantitative work on various aspects of applied SEM (e.g., indicator selection, missing data imputation, parceling, modeling developmental processes) as well as his substantive developmental research (e.g., action-control processes and motivation, coping, and self-regulation). He has guided quantitative training and provided consultation to students, staff, and faculty at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development's Center for Lifespan Studies (1991–98), Yale University's Department of Psychology (1998–2002), and social science researchers at KU (2002–date). In 2001, Little was elected to membership in the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology , a restricted-membership society of quantitative specialists in the behavioral and social sciences. In 2009, he was elected president of APA's Division 5 (Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics). Little has published with over 250 persons from around the world in over 65 different peer-reviewed journals. He is currently writing a book on the foundations of longitudinal structural equation modeling, and he has edited five books related to methodology, including the Oxford Handbook of Quantitative Methods and the Guildford Handbook of Developmental Research Methods (with Brett Laursen and Noel Card). Little has served on numerous grant review panels for federal agencies such as NSF, NIH, and IES, and private foundations such as the Jacobs Foundation. ",
year = "2011",
doi = "10.1016/B978-0-12-373951-3.00034-X",
language = "English",
isbn = "9780123739513",
volume = "1",
pages = "287--297",
booktitle = "Encyclopedia of Adolescence",
publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",
}