Investigação quantitativa: fundamentos, características e aplicações nas ciências sociais
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51247/st.v8iS3.47Palavras-chave:
investigação quantitativa, metodologia, medição, análise estatística.Resumo
Este artigo abordou a importância da investigação quantitativa como abordagem fundamental para a geração de conhecimento e a tomada de decisão baseada na evidência. O seu papel em diversas áreas, incluindo a educação, a saúde, a administração pública e a psicologia, foi contextualizado, destacando-se a sua capacidade de medir variáveis, analisar relações e generalizar resultados. O principal objetivo foi descrever os princípios, métodos e exemplos da abordagem quantitativa, mostrando como esta permite a identificação de correlações, relações causais e padrões de comportamento de forma objetiva e replicável. A metodologia empregue consistiu numa revisão teórica da literatura especializada, complementada por exemplos ilustrativos que demonstrassem a aplicação da abordagem em estudos sobre o desempenho académico, satisfação no trabalho, políticas públicas, estudos epidemiológicos e análises comportamentais ou atitudinais. Destacou-se a utilização de instrumentos estruturados, amostras representativas e análise estatística como ferramentas essenciais para garantir a validade e fiabilidade dos resultados. Entre as principais conclusões, destacou-se que a investigação quantitativa oferece precisão, objetividade e replicabilidade, tornando-a útil para apoiar decisões e avaliar políticas e intervenções. No entanto, também foram identificadas limitações, como a rigidez dos instrumentos, a falta de profundidade interpretativa e a compreensão limitada do contexto. Por fim, concluiu-se que a integração de abordagens qualitativas fortaleceu a investigação, permitindo uma compreensão mais completa e contextualizada dos fenómenos estudados.
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Direitos de Autor (c) 2025 Eudaldo Enrique Espinoza-Freire
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