Quantitative Methods

Designing Your Study

Step One: Big Idea

Narrowing down exactly what you are studying in terms of one succinct question can be one of the hardest parts of any research project.

For Quantitative research, the question is phrased in terms of larger concepts that will be analyzed as variables. The process of connecting the concept to the variable is called operationalization.

The Big Idea or Issue you're interested in…

As an example I will use a research topic that I am currently studying: my research on multiracial family formation (e.g. marriage, child bearing, etc.)

Example: Let's say I'm interested in the lives of people who claim to be mixed race or multiracial, specifically who they marry. Whom do multiracial people marry? What are their races? Do multiracial people tend to marry some races more than others? How does that compare to people who aren't multiracial?

Big Idea: Whom do multiracial or mixed race people tend to marry?

- "What is demography?," Amanda Baumle