Tips for Writing a Quantitative Research Paper

Statistics is a discipline that involves the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. Examples of statistical measures include mean, regression analysis, skewness, variance, and kurtosis, among others. The application of statistics in various disciplines involves gathering data and then analyzing the data using descriptive or inferential statistics.

A quantitative research paper provides an analysis of collected statistical data to support the main ideas of a specific research topic; one defends the research topic by using available statistical data. The data used can be primary or secondary.

Selecting the Topic

Brainstorm for ideas of topics that interest you around statistics and consider your parameters in terms of the purpose of your research study to help you choose one topic. Then conduct preliminary research about the topic to obtain general information that will help you narrow down your topic. Take note of the available information and the issues raised in some of the sources about the research topic. An example of a researchable paper is a statistical analysis of road accidents in the United States.

The overview of your research topic helps you also to formulate research questions that you could answer in your research paper. From the different researchable areas, decide on the research question you intend to answer through your research. The nature of the research question depends on the type of research paper you are writing.

You may change the scope of your research question by either making the question broader or narrower during the preliminary search. You then look for more information about your specific research question and answer the research question to form the thesis statement that guides the research paper. From your thesis statement, come up with hypotheses to direct your research methodology and design.

Searching for Sources

Identify the types of sources you will need for your research study, that is, the specific primary and secondary sources. Sources of data in include censuses and surveys.

Examples of primary sources include structured surveys, the use of questionnaires, and telephone interviews, among others.

The secondary sources of statistical data include official publications such as the Ministry of Finance, statistical departments of the government, federal bureaus, and agricultural statistical boards, among others. Semi-official sources of information include state banks, the Board of economic inquiry, among others. Another secondary source of data is the data published by chambers of commerce, trade associations, and boards and articles from peer-reviewed journals and technical publications.

To retrieve the different sources of information, begin by identifying the key terms from the thesis statement and enter them in statistical databases and catalogs and then acquiring the various sources of information around the research topic. Then evaluate the specific potential sources by assessing currency, reliability, authority, accuracy, and purpose. You could also retrieve more sources from the reference list of a credible scholarly material around your research topic.

Note-Taking

Take notes about each resource you find using index cards or other computer apps to help you organize these notes. List the citation information for the source t the top of the card and take notes in your own words. Ensure you include the page numbers that you would use in your citation. If you write a text directly from the source, ensure you use quotation marks around the copied words, write the page number, and the page number to avoid plagiarism. Create a spreadsheet of the bibliographic information for all your sources to help you organize and find your citation information as you work on your research paper.

Creating an Outline

Categorize your notes into groups of similar information and order /arrange these categories in a way that answers your research question. Then draft an outline based on the order of those categories. Use roman numerals, and letters or bullets to formulate your outline and fill in the contents using simple words or full sentences.

The Structure of a Quantitative Research Paper

Once you have gathered enough notes around your research topic, you then formulate a draft containing the introduction, the body, and conclusion.

1. The Introduction

State and define the topic of your paper and explain why your research study is significant. Make your topic sentence as attractive as possible to create interest in the reader for the rest of the paper. Provide background information on the topic from previous researches and state the specific gaps in the literature. Then, define your research question and the thesis statement. State the hypotheses of your paper and introduce the methods you will use to answer the research question and support your thesis statement.

2. The Body

Weave the different sources into paragraphs based on the themes and categories you recorded in your outline and use the information to support your thesis statement. Discuss all the information that supports your thesis statement, followed by any contradicting argument that you might identify in the process of reading your sources. For any criticism toward your claim, provide evidence to show your opinion is the correct one over the contradicting proposition.

For each piece of information you use in your text, either in a direct quote or paraphrase, ensure you correctly cite the source as per your research paper requirements. Examples of citation styles are the APA, MLA, Chicago, among others. Be aware of these writing styles and use them correctly to avoid plagiarism.

3. Methods: Data Collection and Analysis

The methods section is essential since it establishes the validity of your research paper, as the audience can determine if the results are valid how they fit into existing theories and if they apply to a broad population. Include the data information, that is, when and where the data was collected, the organization that collected the data, the sampling method and sample size, the limitations of the data, and the adjustments to the data and weighting procedures. Also, include the method information, that is, the type of analysis, that is, regression, ANOVA, chi-square, among others, the expected outcome of variables, and the measurement of variables used in the data analysis.

4. Results

Present the most relevant results needed to answer your research question and use summary statistics related to the variables you used in the analysis, such as the table of mean and standard deviation of each variable. Use tables and figures such as graphs to display and summarize data. Report the results in an active voice. Should you face any challenges in in analyzing or presenting data, you can make use of data analysis experts to assist you.

5. Discussion

Finally, interpret your results considering your thesis statement. Indicate if the outcomes support or refute your literature and provide the possible reasons. Discuss any implications that may arise from your results and any recommendations for further research.

6. The Abstract

After writing your quantitative research paper, write an abstract to summarize your draft. The purpose of the abstract is to report the aims and outcomes of your research study and comprises of the research question and thesis statement, the methods, the results, and the conclusion. Use the keywords from your paper and be careful not to introduce new arguments in your abstract besides the information in the draft. Your abstract should be two hundred to two hundred and fifty words.

Checking for Plagiarism

Ensure you correctly acknowledge each source of information that you use during your study to avoid plagiarism. Paraphrase texts from other sources or use quotation marks in case you directly quote words or phrases from reference materials and use the correct format to cite the source. The styles you could use to cite sources include the MLA, APA, among others. Familiarize yourself with the different writing styles and use them appropriately to avoid plagiarism in your quantitative research paper.

Editing and Proofreading

Read through your paper to check for any errors in grammar, punctuation, and ensure the correct use of the citation style in your paper. Check that the sentences and paragraphs flow logically and that there are smooth transitions between the paragraphs. Make the necessary changes and write your final draft.