Blackwell Reference Online

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The results of polls tell us how many people intend to vote for a certain political party, watch TV more than four hours a day, or favor a certain TV program. We call methods of collecting and analyzing such data “quantitative methodology” because individuals’ attributes are counted in large numbers. One can count not only single persons (→  Survey ), but also propositions within texts, visual elements within pictures or sequences of film material (→  Content Analysis, Quantitative ), or observed actions and overt behaviors (→  Observation ). Counting people, words, the duration of a TV program, and so on is deeply rooted in our everyday lives and nothing artificial. Quantitative methodology joins these basic social phenomena but works out systematic (methodological) rules to a complex pattern of standards. The main aim of quantitative methodology is comparison and measurement (→  Measurement Theory ). To compare individuals, text units, or behaviors it is necessary to have a common basis as a starting point for comparison. Without commonalities or standards no comparisons can be made. The logic of quantitative methodology is basically the logic of standardization , which implies reducing context complexity around the research object in question. With the help of standardization it is possible to measure the attributes of research units. Measurement is related to the attributes ... log in or subscribe to read full text