1.2 Quantitative research

Figure 3 (image to be picked/added? no problem to cut the figure entirely though if that’s easier)

Quantitative research reflects the philosophical stance of ‘positivism’. Those who ascribe to this position believe a topic of research can be described, recorded and studied numerically in a scientific manner. In simple terms, they believe that it is possible to quantify and therefore measure, in a research context, most aspects of life. For instance:

• Basic descriptive statistics can often be used to describe a population by comparing different age ranges or genders. For example, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that in the UK in 2022, 12.9 per cent of people aged 18 years and over smoked cigarettes. The highest proportion of smokers in 2022 was in Wales (14.1 per cent) and the lowest was in England (12.7 per cent); Northern Ireland and Scotland reported 14 per cent and 13.9 per cent respectively (ONS, 2023).
• Correlational analysis explores relationships between factors or variables. For instance, there is a correlation between neighbourhood socioeconomic environment and obesity. Living in an area of higher deprivation (as measured by the deprivation index score) is an indicator of higher risk of obesity in children as young as 18 months (Conrey et al., 2022).
• Experimental research can be used to measure the effect of an intervention. That is to say, it can show the difference, if any, that a specific change has made. As an example, Naima Covassin et al. (2022) showed that if you deprive someone of sleep, then this heightens the risk of obesity.

Quantitative research involves using methods such as questionnaires or collecting numerical data in a repeated and controlled way. Geoff Payne and Judy Payne (2011) conclude that almost all forms of quantitative research share certain features:

• describing and/or accounting for phenomena
• breaking down or separating behaviour into variables or factors that can be measured
• containing statistical results that are analysed in a structured way.

In the next section, you’ll look at a type of quantitative research that uses statistical data to analyse overweight and obesity across a population.