INTERPRET RESEARCH STUDIES

Interpret Qualitative and Quantitative Research Studies

Research has become necessary to find information about things that have not been established truthfully after valid reasoning and experience. When an already available source of information is present, it becomes easier for a researcher to build rational results that are both valid and reliable. This paper aims at finding the difference between continuous and categorical variables, nominal data, and interval data. The next section highlights qualitative and quantitative studies and how they were carried out to understand both the categories of research studies better.

Part 1

Difference between continuous versus categorical variables

Continuous variables have an infinite numeric value between any two points of the values or numbers (Minitab, n.a.). For instance, a continuous variable can be a date or time between two days, such as a delivery parcel arrives on a specific day. On the other hand, the variables that do not have a logical order and are finite in number are called categorical variables. They can be categorized into different groups. For instance, gender, payment method, or ethnic group are some examples of categorical variables.

Difference between nominal data versus interval data

Nominal data is when the labeling of variables is done without prescribing them any quantitative value (Corporate Finance Institute, n.a.). It is considered the simplest type of measurement scale as it cannot be measured or cannot be put in an order. Interval data is when each value of the number is placed on a definite value on of the scale at equal intervals (Question Pro, n.a.). It is measured quantitatively with definite numbers since the value is assumed to be equal and standardized.

Part 2

Qualitative article

From the annotated bibliography, the selected article for the qualitative research study was presented by Courtin & Knapp (2015). The qualitative research technique was the review of literature presented by various authors before on the same issue. 11,736 articles were included in this study and the period of the review of this comprehensive literature spanned from July to September 2013. However, it was mentioned in the details of the study that out of these articles, 128 items from 15 countries was extracted for scoping review purpose. The two concepts, social isolation and loneliness, were focused on in these selected studies so that their effect on old age and mental and physical health in old age could be analyzed deeply.

The study results indicated that the previous literature that was included for studying loneliness and social isolation on the old age health revealed that the studies were mainly directed towards the US. Also, the studies were largely highlighting...

It was noted that after the effects of loneliness and somewhat the impacts of social isolation, the effects only resulted in cardiovascular diseases or depression. It was deducted that vast research was needed to extend the topic's research to other countries, rather than only focusing on the US population. Also, by keeping aside the bias of effects in cardiovascular problems and depression, the results of these two concepts should be studied...…running statistical tests on them so that the relationship between the two variables and their corresponding factors could be analyzed.

The data analysis was done using SPSS 16, descriptive statistics, independent t-sample tests, ANOVA, and Pearson coefficient. These tests showed that all the quality of life factors had a strong relationship with social networking attributes, except social performance. It was due to the reason that its Pearson coefficient value was low as compared to the other factors of that variable. The lowest relation was revealed between the quality of life and the social network in neighbors' form.

The study is considered comprehensive compared to the previous similar studies since the questionnaire used in this study, LEIPAD, is considered a technical approach for collecting useful information about the quality of life for elderly people. The results are more suitable and reliable than the studies in the past for the same research question. The quality of life for elderly people was investigated to be improving if they had more friends, and it had a direct positive effect on their mental and physical health. In old age, people are exposed to loneliness since their children get busy with their own lives, and the only connection they are left with is either their partner or their friends. This study showed that neighbors were relatively close to older people compared to older people's friends.

References

Bahramnezhad, F., Chalik, R., Bastani, F., Taherpour, M. & Navab, E. (2017). The social network among the elderly and its relationship with quality of life. Electronic Physician, 9(5),…