Quantitative Survey: Definition and What You Should Know

Using quantitative research methods – including quantitative surveys, observations, content analyses, experiments and measurements – empirical research collects data in numerical form to capture various socially relevant phenomena and make them statistically measurable.

General Definition of a Quantitative Survey

Quantitative standardized surveys are not only popular in many areas of science, but are used wherever specific opinions and positions in the population need to be determined. These include, for example, market research surveys in advertising, political surveys before federal elections, or user surveys in online shopping.

A quantitative survey is always useful when basic information (age, gender, education level, etc.) or direct assessment questions (e.g. Which party would you vote for if the election were tomorrow?) are to be collected. Such quantitatively collected data allows researchers to obtain representative insights about a larger population group.

 

 

Types of Quantitative Surveys

Quantitative surveys, especially online surveys, are in many cases the most practical and simplest method of data collection. There are various options for conducting a standardized survey:

• Online survey e.g. at empirio
• Written survey
• Telephone or verbal "face-to-face" survey

 

All these survey types use a standardized questionnaire with a fixed sequence of questions and a binding rating scale. This approach ensures that the respondents are overall exposed to the same conditions. Thus, the collected data can be statistically evaluated in the final analysis.