What is quantitative research?

What is quantitative research?

Quantitative research

Qualitative and quantitative analyses, such as group studies, expert audits and heuristic evaluations, should be regularly used in all digital product projects.

The combination of both types of research enables an in-depth and multi-dimensional understanding of the needs of end users, for example customers in an online store, in a more credible and reliable way.

This allows you to create solutions that better meet the needs of end users. Additionally, it allows you to tailor the designs of websites or mobile applications to their specific preferences, identified as a result of the research.


In practice, quantitative and qualitative research should be treated as complementary, not competing.

The differences between qualitative and quantitative research are basic. Qualitative research helps answer questions such as: Why? How? When? Where? Meanwhile, quantitative research focuses on answering questions about frequency and quantity, such as: How often? How much?

Sometimes it seems that in the area of ​​User Experience problems, qualitative research is a more appropriate tool.

Issues of quality of experience, problems with usability - these are the aspects that can be more easily captured using qualitative methods, such as user impressions, opinions, emotions or behavior.

See also what personas are and how to create them

So does quantitative research make sense in UX/UI design and ensuring a positive user experience?

What is the value of quantitative research in research, design or optimization processes? How can quantitative methods be used in the field of User Experience?


Today we will focus on the issue of quantitative research in the area of ​​UX. They are a valuable complement to qualitative research, so it is worth understanding their importance.

This research allows for a comprehensive, multi-faceted view of usability problems. They show us the scope of these problems and their degree of severity.


Quantitative research has many advantages, including:

  • They provide precise and accurate measurements (B. Janusz et al., 2010, p. 8),
  • They use research procedures that can be repeated many times (H. Grabowski 2013, p. 26),
  • They present the results in the form of numbers, which allows for a specific characterization of the phenomenon (W. J. Paluchowski 2010, p. 9),
  • They enable generalization of the results from the sample to the entire population (H. Grabowski 2013, p. 26).

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When is the best time to choose quantitative research?


The goal of quantitative research is to focus on explicit measurement of the phenomena under study. Primarily used in the social sciences and marketing fields, this research seeks to answer one simple question: "How much."

Quantitative research can also answer other questions, which can be both open-ended and sometimes closed-ended, depending on the structure of the questionnaire. These questions may cover aspects of "What?" or "When?" These studies are used to analyze a given phenomenon in a population or in a larger group of people studied using a group interview.

The main goal of quantitative methods is:

  • Verification and confirmation of knowledge and data,
  • Research on the frequency of occurrence of various phenomena, analysis of the distribution of responses and opinions,
  • Quick analysis with effective conclusions,
  • The use of statistical analyses,
  • Verification of hypotheses formulated at the beginning of the study.

Quantitative research involves analyzing data using statistical or mathematical methods.

Their use is wide - they enable obtaining information about the brand image, customer profile, consumer behavior and their reaction to products or services (as part of marketing research). In this research, we focus on specific information about the situation, but our results apply to the entire population, not individual cases.

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Quantitative research techniques

Such research can be carried out using various methods, such as:

  • Questionnaires in the form of surveys - In this type of analysis, you can identify a survey addressed to a larger number of people and a survey sent by mail.
  • Direct interviews - Quantitative research using the direct interview method is characterized primarily by the fact that the interviewer directly contacts the respondent, asking him specific questions from a prepared set. This type of research involves structured interviews that often use standardized questions and attempt to obtain answers to predetermined issues. During a face-to-face conversation, the interviewer usually tries to maintain control over the question-asking process, ensuring consistency and order in the collected data. Ultimately, the goal is to obtain specific and measurable answers that can be analyzed further.
  • Online surveys (CAWI) - Research conducted on the Internet. An online form that the participant completes independently or under the supervision of an interviewer.
  • Telephone interviews (CATI) and mailed surveys - Telephone interviewing with computer support is a method in which interviewers establish contact with research participants by telephone. Questions, visible on the interviewer's computer monitor, are asked and the respondents' answers are immediately saved in the system. This system enables ongoing monitoring of interviewers' work and research progress, which is beneficial for both the research company and the respondents themselves. The collected answers are stored in the system and are available for analysis immediately after the survey is completed.

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Research examples and questions

It is obvious that in the quantitative method the key questions are "What?", "When?", "How?" and how much?". When analyzing data on a larger scale, researchers may wonder about:

  • number of people recognizing brand X passenger car,
  • number of Warsaw residents using the metro,
  • preferences of young Poles in their free time,
  • moments when students most often use the library resources.

Frequently asked questions - FAQ

Which aspects are crucial in quantitative research?

Quantitative research seeks to understand the attitudes, views and actions of specific groups of people.

What are the limitations of quantitative research?


One important issue with quantitative research is its limited ability to account for small subtleties or details that may influence results.

What are common mistakes that occur in quantitative research?


Common mistakes in quantitative research include ill-considered questions, inappropriate tools, lack of proper preparation, and results that may be unreliable.