Content area
Full Text
The foundation of any e-book analysis framework rests on knowledge of the general e-book landscape and the existing information needs of a local user community. From this starting point, quantitative methods, such as cost analysis, can provide evidence for collection development initiatives and demonstrate how they align with patrons' needs and the overarching goals of library administrators or funding agencies.
Essentially, "data stands in place of reality we wish to study. We cannot simply know a phenomenon, but we can attempt to capture it as data which represents the reality we have experienced . . . and are trying to explain."1 The data collected through quantitative investigations provides a baseline for future evaluation, evidence for when and how patrons make use of electronic collections, and promotes data-driven decisions throughout collection development departments. To get the most mileage out of the time and resources invested into quantitative investigations, it is essential to first understand what quantitative research is and what types of questions it can answer.
What Is Quantitative Research?
In the most basic terms, quantitative research methods are concerned with collecting and analyzing data that is structured and can be represented numerically.2 One of the central goals is to build accurate and reliable measurements that allow for statistical analysis.
Because quantitative research focuses on data that can be measured, it is very effective at answering the "what" or "how" of a given situation. Questions are direct, quantifiable, and often contain phrases such as what percentage? what proportion? to what extent? how many? how much?
Quantitative research allows librarians to learn more about the demographics of a population, measure how many patrons use a service or product, examine attitudes and behaviors, document trends, or explain what is known anecdotally. Measurements like frequencies (i.e., counts), percentages, proportions, and relationships provide means to quantify and provide evidence for the variables listed above.
Findings generated from quantitative research uncover behaviors and trends. However, it is important to note that they do not provide insight into why people think, feel, or act in certain ways. In other words, quantitative research highlights trends across data sets or study groups, but not the motivation behind observed behaviors. To fill in these knowledge gaps, qualitative studies like focus groups, interviews, or open-ended survey...