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10 Quantitative Data Analysis Software for Data Scientists

Are you curious about digging into data but not sure where to start? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered! As a data scientist, you know that having the right tools can make all the difference in the world. When it comes to analyzing quantitative data, having the right quantitative data analysis software can help you extract insights faster and more efficiently. 

From spotting trends to making smart decisions, quantitative analysis helps us unlock the secrets hidden within our data and chart a course for success.

In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to 10 quantitative data analysis software that every data scientist should know about.

What is Quantitative Data Analysis?

Quantitative data analysis refers to the process of systematically examining numerical data to uncover patterns, trends, relationships, and insights. 

Unlike analyzing qualitative data, which deals with non-numeric data like text or images, quantitative research focuses on data that can be quantified, measured, and analyzed using statistical techniques.

What is Quantitative Data Analysis Software?

Quantitative data analysis software refers to specialized computer programs or tools designed to assist researchers, analysts, and professionals in analyzing numerical data. 

These software applications are tailored to handle quantitative data, which consists of measurable quantities, counts, or numerical values. Quantitative data analysis software provides a range of features and functionalities to manage, analyze, visualize, and interpret numerical data effectively.

Key features commonly found in quantitative data analysis software include:

• Data Import and Management: Capability to import data from various sources such as spreadsheets, databases, text files, or online repositories. 
• Descriptive Statistics: Tools for computing basic descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, mode) and measures of dispersion (e.g., standard deviation, variance).
• Data Visualization: Functionality to create visual representations of data through charts, graphs, histograms, scatter plots, or heatmaps. 
• Statistical Analysis: Support for conducting a wide range of statistical tests and analyses to explore relationships, test hypotheses, make predictions, or infer population characteristics from sample data.
• Advanced Analytics: Advanced analytical techniques for more complex data exploration and modeling, such as cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), time series analysis, survival analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM).
• Automation and Reproducibility: Features for automating analysis workflows, scripting repetitive tasks, and ensuring the reproducibility of results. 
• Reporting and Collaboration: Tools for generating customizable reports, summaries, or presentations to communicate analysis results effectively to stakeholders.

Benefits of Quantitative Data Analysis

Quantitative data analysis offers numerous benefits across various fields and disciplines. Here are some of the key advantages:

Making Confident Decisions

Quantitative data analysis provides solid, evidence-based insights that support decision-making. By relying on data rather than intuition, you can reduce the risk of making incorrect decisions. This not only increases confidence in your choices but also fosters buy-in from stakeholders and team members.

Cost Reduction

Analyzing quantitative data helps identify areas where costs can be reduced or optimized. For instance, if certain marketing campaigns yield lower-than-average results, reallocating resources to more effective channels can lead to cost savings and improved ROI.

Personalizing User Experience

Quantitative analysis allows for the mapping of customer journeys and the identification of preferences and behaviors. By understanding these patterns, businesses can tailor their offerings, content, and communication to specific user segments, leading to enhanced user satisfaction and engagement.

Improving User Satisfaction and Delight

Quantitative data analysis highlights areas of success and areas for improvement in products or services. For instance, if a webpage shows high engagement but low conversion rates, further investigation can uncover user pain points or friction in the conversion process. Addressing these issues can lead to improved user satisfaction and increased conversion rates.

Best 10 Quantitative Data Analysis Software

1. questionpro.

Known for its robust survey and research capabilities, QuestionPro is a versatile platform that offers powerful data analysis tools tailored for market research, customer feedback, and academic studies. With features like advanced survey logic, data segmentation, and customizable reports, QuestionPro empowers users to derive actionable insights from their quantitative data.

Features of QuestionPro

• Customizable Surveys
• Advanced Question Types:
• Survey Logic and Branching
• Data Segmentation
• Real-Time Reporting
• Mobile Optimization
• Integration Options
• Multi-Language Support
• Data Export
• User-friendly interface.
• Extensive question types.
• Seamless data export capabilities.
• Limited free version.

Pricing : 

Starts at $99 per month per user.

2. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

SPSS is a venerable software package widely used in the social sciences for statistical analysis. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive range of statistical techniques make it a favorite among researchers and analysts for hypothesis testing, regression analysis, and data visualization tasks.

• Advanced statistical analysis capabilities.
• Data management and manipulation tools.
• Customizable graphs and charts.
• Syntax-based programming for automation.
• Extensive statistical procedures.
• Flexible data handling.
• Integration with other statistical software package
• High cost for the full version.
• Steep learning curve for beginners.

Pricing: 

• Starts at $99 per month.

3. Google Analytics

Primarily used for web analytics, Google Analytics provides invaluable insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversion metrics. By tracking key performance indicators such as page views, bounce rates, and traffic sources, Google Analytics helps businesses optimize their online presence and maximize their digital marketing efforts.

• Real-time tracking of website visitors.
• Conversion tracking and goal setting.
• Customizable reports and dashboards.
• Integration with Google Ads and other Google products.
• Free version available.
• Easy to set up and use.
• Comprehensive insights into website performance.
• Limited customization options in the free version.
• Free for basic features.

Hotjar is a powerful tool for understanding user behavior on websites and digital platforms. Hotjar enables businesses to visualize how users interact with their websites, identify pain points, and optimize the user experience for better conversion rates and customer satisfaction through features like heatmaps, session recordings, and on-site surveys.

• Heatmaps to visualize user clicks, taps, and scrolling behavior.
• Session recordings for in-depth user interaction analysis.
• Feedback polls and surveys.
• Funnel and form analysis.
• Easy to install and set up.
• Comprehensive insights into user behavior.
• Affordable pricing plans.
• Limited customization options for surveys.

Starts at $39 per month.

While not a dedicated data analysis software, Python is a versatile programming language widely used for data analysis, machine learning, and scientific computing. With libraries such as NumPy, pandas, and matplotlib, Python provides a comprehensive ecosystem for data manipulation, visualization, and statistical analysis, making it a favorite among data scientists and analysts.

• The rich ecosystem of data analysis libraries.
• Flexible and scalable for large datasets.
• Integration with other tools and platforms.
• Open-source with a supportive community.
• Free and open-source.
• High performance and scalability.
• Great for automation and customization.
• Requires programming knowledge.
• It is Free for the beginners.

6. SAS (Statistical Analysis System)

SAS is a comprehensive software suite renowned for its advanced analytics, business intelligence, and data management capabilities. With a wide range of statistical techniques, predictive modeling tools, and data visualization options, SAS is trusted by organizations across industries for complex data analysis tasks and decision support.

• Wide range of statistical procedures.
• Data integration and cleansing tools.
• Advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities.
• Scalable for enterprise-level data analysis.
• Powerful statistical modeling capabilities.
• Excellent support for large datasets.
• Trusted by industries for decades.
• Expensive licensing fees.
• Steep learning curve.
• Contact sales for pricing details.

Despite its simplicity compared to specialized data analysis software, Excel remains popular for basic quantitative analysis and data visualization. With features like pivot tables, functions, and charting tools, Excel provides a familiar and accessible platform for users to perform tasks such as data cleaning, summarization, and exploratory analysis.

• Formulas and functions for calculations.
• Pivot tables and charts for data visualization.
• Data sorting and filtering capabilities.
• Integration with other Microsoft Office applications.
• Widely available and familiar interface.
• Affordable for basic analysis tasks.
• Versatile for various data formats.
• Limited statistical functions compared to specialized software.
• Not suitable for handling large datasets.
• Included in Microsoft 365 subscription plans, starts at $6.99 per month.

8. IBM SPSS Statistics

Building on the foundation of SPSS, IBM SPSS Statistics offers enhanced features and capabilities for advanced statistical analysis and predictive modeling. With modules for data preparation, regression analysis, and survival analysis, IBM SPSS Statistics is well-suited for researchers and analysts tackling complex data analysis challenges.

• Advanced statistical procedures.
• Data preparation and transformation tools.
• Automated model building and deployment.
• Integration with other IBM products.
• Extensive statistical capabilities.
• User-friendly interface for beginners.
• Enterprise-grade security and scalability.
• Limited support for open-source integration.

Minitab is a specialized software package designed for quality improvement and statistical analysis in manufacturing, engineering, and healthcare industries. With tools for experiment design, statistical process control, and reliability analysis, Minitab empowers users to optimize processes, reduce defects, and improve product quality.

• Basic and advanced statistical analysis.
• Graphical analysis tools for data visualization.
• Statistical methods improvement.
• DOE (Design of Experiments) capabilities.
• Streamlined interface for statistical analysis.
• Comprehensive quality improvement tools.
• Excellent customer support.
• Limited flexibility for customization.

Pricing:  

• Starts at $29 per month.

JMP is a dynamic data visualization and statistical analysis tool developed by SAS Institute. Known for its interactive graphics and exploratory data analysis capabilities, JMP enables users to uncover patterns, trends, and relationships in their data, facilitating deeper insights and informed decision-making.

• Interactive data visualization.
• Statistical modeling and analysis.
• Predictive analytics and machine learning.
• Integration with SAS and other data sources.
• Intuitive interface for exploratory data analysis.
• Dynamic graphics for better insights.
• Integration with SAS for advanced analytics.
• Limited scripting capabilities.
• Less customizable compared to other SAS products.

Choose QuestionPro as Your Right Quantitative Data Analysis Software

QuestionPro offers a range of features specifically designed for quantitative data analysis, making it a suitable choice for various research, survey, and data-driven decision-making needs. Here’s why it might be the right fit for you:

Comprehensive Survey Capabilities

QuestionPro provides extensive tools for creating surveys with quantitative questions, allowing you to gather structured data from respondents. Whether you need Likert scale questions, multiple-choice questions, or numerical input fields, QuestionPro offers the flexibility to design surveys tailored to your research objectives.

Real-Time Data Analysis 

With QuestionPro’s real-time data collection and analysis features, you can access and analyze survey responses as soon as they are submitted. This enables you to quickly identify trends, patterns, and insights without delay, facilitating agile decision-making based on up-to-date information.

Advanced Statistical Analysis

QuestionPro includes advanced statistical analysis tools that allow you to perform in-depth quantitative analysis of survey data. Whether you need to calculate means, medians, standard deviations, correlations, or conduct regression analysis, QuestionPro offers the functionality to derive meaningful insights from your data.

Data Visualization

Visualizing quantitative data is crucial for understanding trends and communicating findings effectively. QuestionPro offers a variety of visualization options, including charts, graphs, and dashboards, to help you visually represent your survey data and make it easier to interpret and share with stakeholders.

Segmentation and Filtering 

QuestionPro enables you to segment and filter survey data based on various criteria, such as demographics, responses to specific questions, or custom variables. This segmentation capability allows you to analyze different subgroups within your dataset separately, gaining deeper insights into specific audience segments or patterns.

Cost-Effective Solutions

QuestionPro offers pricing plans tailored to different user needs and budgets, including options for individuals, businesses, and enterprise-level organizations. Whether conducting a one-time survey or needing ongoing access to advanced features, QuestionPro provides cost-effective solutions to meet your requirements.

Choosing the right quantitative data analysis software depends on your specific needs, budget, and level of expertise. Whether you’re a researcher, marketer, or business analyst, these top 10 software options offer diverse features and capabilities to help you unlock valuable insights from your data.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive, user-friendly, and cost-effective solution for quantitative data analysis, QuestionPro could be the right choice for your research, survey, or data-driven decision-making needs. With its powerful features, intuitive interface, and flexible pricing options, QuestionPro empowers users to derive valuable insights from their survey data efficiently and effectively.

So go ahead, explore QuestionPro, and empower yourself to unlock valuable insights from your data!

LEARN MORE         FREE TRIAL

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Simplify data analysis with an intuitive, easy-to-use analytics solution for data-driven decisions.

The IBM® SPSS® Statistics software puts the power of advanced statistical analysis at your fingertips. Whether you are a beginner, an experienced analyst, a statistician or a business professional it offers a comprehensive suite of advanced capabilities, flexibility and usability that are not available in traditional statistical software.

With the user-friendly and intuitive interface of SPSS Statistics, you can easily manage and analyze large datasets, gaining actionable insights for fact-base decisions. Its advanced statistical procedures and modeling techniques enable you to optimize organizational strategies, including predicting customer behaviors, forecasting market trends, detecting fraud to minimize business risk and conducting reliable research to drive accurate conclusions.

Read about the benefits of integrating SPSS Statistics 29 and open-source programming languages

What's new in IBM SPSS Statistics 29

Prepare and analyze data through an intuitive user interface with drag-and-drop functionality, eliminating the need for writing codes.

Efficiently integrate data management with statistical analysis, by easily importing, cleaning, and manipulating data within your analytical environment.

Conduct descriptive statistics and regression analyses, visualize patterns of missing data, and summarize variable distributions—all within one-stop solution.

Use the predictive modeling capabilities to accurately forecast trends and outcomes, enhancing your business planning and research.

Tailor analysis outputs and reports to your specific needs with customizable charts, graphs, and tables, optimizing your presentations and insights.

Extend SPSS syntax with R and Python through pre-built extensions or custom scripts for personalized data analysis and visualization.

Popular features

Helping you to achieve more with greater speed and efficiency.

Explore our editions to learn what version of SPSS Statistics is best for your needs.

Take advantage of flexible purchasing plans to find the set up that fits your business’ needs.

IBM offers a way for academic institutions to scale their use of SPSS Statistics for teaching and learning purposes with the SPSS Statistics Campus Edition.

Learn how to use statistical analysis and build skills employers are seeking. Special student pricing available.

Choose from subscription or one-time purchase, with multiple options for capabilities based on need.

Take advantage of flexible payment plans, monthly or annually. Extend the Base edition with three optional add-ons.

Choose between Base, Standard, Professional and Premium packages with options to customize your configuration. Available offers for companies and academic institutions.

Simplify the teaching and learning needs of academic institutions with site-wide licensing.

Comprehensive data visualization capabilities

User-friendly interface

Mobile access

Advanced analytics

Machine-learning capabilities

Ability to handle large data sets, advanced analysis and complex modeling

Python or R integration

Robust extension library and add-ons available

Does not require advanced statistical knowledge

Does not require programming knowledge 

Extensive online and community support

Comprehensive customer or technical support

Software licensing costs

A structural equation modeling software to support research, test theories and study complex data relationships.

An advanced data science tool with drag-and-drop simplicity to improve the productivity of data scientists.

A solution that enables the deployment and sharing of predictive analytics across the enterprise.

*Prices shown are indicative of one monthly user in USD, may vary by country, exclude any applicable taxes and duties or the cost of any add-ons and are subject to product offering availability in a locale.

** User reviews may have been obtained through an incentive.

Quantitative Data Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide

By: Ofem Eteng Published: May 18, 2022

Related Articles

A healthcare giant successfully introduces the most effective drug dosage through rigorous statistical modeling, saving countless lives. A marketing team predicts consumer trends with uncanny accuracy, tailoring campaigns for maximum impact.

Table of Contents

These trends and dosages are not just any numbers but are a result of meticulous quantitative data analysis. Quantitative data analysis offers a robust framework for understanding complex phenomena, evaluating hypotheses, and predicting future outcomes.

In this blog, we’ll walk through the concept of quantitative data analysis, the steps required, its advantages, and the methods and techniques that are used in this analysis. Read on!

What is Quantitative Data Analysis?

Quantitative data analysis is a systematic process of examining, interpreting, and drawing meaningful conclusions from numerical data. It involves the application of statistical methods, mathematical models, and computational techniques to understand patterns, relationships, and trends within datasets.

Quantitative data analysis methods typically work with algorithms, mathematical analysis tools, and software to gain insights from the data, answering questions such as how many, how often, and how much. Data for quantitative data analysis is usually collected from close-ended surveys, questionnaires, polls, etc. The data can also be obtained from sales figures, email click-through rates, number of website visitors, and percentage revenue increase. 

Quantitative Data Analysis vs Qualitative Data Analysis

When we talk about data, we directly think about the pattern, the relationship, and the connection between the datasets – analyzing the data in short. Therefore when it comes to data analysis, there are broadly two types – Quantitative Data Analysis and Qualitative Data Analysis.

Quantitative data analysis revolves around numerical data and statistics, which are suitable for functions that can be counted or measured. In contrast, qualitative data analysis includes description and subjective information – for things that can be observed but not measured.

Let us differentiate between Quantitative Data Analysis and Quantitative Data Analysis for a better understanding.

Data Preparation Steps for Quantitative Data Analysis

Quantitative data has to be gathered and cleaned before proceeding to the stage of analyzing it. Below are the steps to prepare a data before quantitative research analysis:

• Step 1: Data Collection

Before beginning the analysis process, you need data. Data can be collected through rigorous quantitative research, which includes methods such as interviews, focus groups, surveys, and questionnaires.

• Step 2: Data Cleaning

Once the data is collected, begin the data cleaning process by scanning through the entire data for duplicates, errors, and omissions. Keep a close eye for outliers (data points that are significantly different from the majority of the dataset) because they can skew your analysis results if they are not removed.

This data-cleaning process ensures data accuracy, consistency and relevancy before analysis.

• Step 3: Data Analysis and Interpretation

Now that you have collected and cleaned your data, it is now time to carry out the quantitative analysis. There are two methods of quantitative data analysis, which we will discuss in the next section.

However, if you have data from multiple sources, collecting and cleaning it can be a cumbersome task. This is where Hevo Data steps in. With Hevo, extracting, transforming, and loading data from source to destination becomes a seamless task, eliminating the need for manual coding. This not only saves valuable time but also enhances the overall efficiency of data analysis and visualization, empowering users to derive insights quickly and with precision

Hevo is the only real-time ELT No-code Data Pipeline platform that cost-effectively automates data pipelines that are flexible to your needs. With integration with 150+ Data Sources (40+ free sources), we help you not only export data from sources & load data to the destinations but also transform & enrich your data, & make it analysis-ready.

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Now that you are familiar with what quantitative data analysis is and how to prepare your data for analysis, the focus will shift to the purpose of this article, which is to describe the methods and techniques of quantitative data analysis.

Methods and Techniques of Quantitative Data Analysis

Quantitative data analysis employs two techniques to extract meaningful insights from datasets, broadly. The first method is descriptive statistics, which summarizes and portrays essential features of a dataset, such as mean, median, and standard deviation.

Inferential statistics, the second method, extrapolates insights and predictions from a sample dataset to make broader inferences about an entire population, such as hypothesis testing and regression analysis.

An in-depth explanation of both the methods is provided below:

• Descriptive Statistics
• Inferential Statistics

1) Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics as the name implies is used to describe a dataset. It helps understand the details of your data by summarizing it and finding patterns from the specific data sample. They provide absolute numbers obtained from a sample but do not necessarily explain the rationale behind the numbers and are mostly used for analyzing single variables. The methods used in descriptive statistics include: 

• Mean:   This calculates the numerical average of a set of values.
• Median: This is used to get the midpoint of a set of values when the numbers are arranged in numerical order.
• Mode: This is used to find the most commonly occurring value in a dataset.
• Percentage: This is used to express how a value or group of respondents within the data relates to a larger group of respondents.
• Frequency: This indicates the number of times a value is found.
• Range: This shows the highest and lowest values in a dataset.
• Standard Deviation: This is used to indicate how dispersed a range of numbers is, meaning, it shows how close all the numbers are to the mean.
• Skewness: It indicates how symmetrical a range of numbers is, showing if they cluster into a smooth bell curve shape in the middle of the graph or if they skew towards the left or right.

2) Inferential Statistics

In quantitative analysis, the expectation is to turn raw numbers into meaningful insight using numerical values, and descriptive statistics is all about explaining details of a specific dataset using numbers, but it does not explain the motives behind the numbers; hence, a need for further analysis using inferential statistics.

Inferential statistics aim to make predictions or highlight possible outcomes from the analyzed data obtained from descriptive statistics. They are used to generalize results and make predictions between groups, show relationships that exist between multiple variables, and are used for hypothesis testing that predicts changes or differences.

There are various statistical analysis methods used within inferential statistics; a few are discussed below.

• Cross Tabulations: Cross tabulation or crosstab is used to show the relationship that exists between two variables and is often used to compare results by demographic groups. It uses a basic tabular form to draw inferences between different data sets and contains data that is mutually exclusive or has some connection with each other. Crosstabs help understand the nuances of a dataset and factors that may influence a data point.
• Regression Analysis: Regression analysis estimates the relationship between a set of variables. It shows the correlation between a dependent variable (the variable or outcome you want to measure or predict) and any number of independent variables (factors that may impact the dependent variable). Therefore, the purpose of the regression analysis is to estimate how one or more variables might affect a dependent variable to identify trends and patterns to make predictions and forecast possible future trends. There are many types of regression analysis, and the model you choose will be determined by the type of data you have for the dependent variable. The types of regression analysis include linear regression, non-linear regression, binary logistic regression, etc.
• Monte Carlo Simulation: Monte Carlo simulation, also known as the Monte Carlo method, is a computerized technique of generating models of possible outcomes and showing their probability distributions. It considers a range of possible outcomes and then tries to calculate how likely each outcome will occur. Data analysts use it to perform advanced risk analyses to help forecast future events and make decisions accordingly.
• Analysis of Variance (ANOVA): This is used to test the extent to which two or more groups differ from each other. It compares the mean of various groups and allows the analysis of multiple groups.
• Factor Analysis:   A large number of variables can be reduced into a smaller number of factors using the factor analysis technique. It works on the principle that multiple separate observable variables correlate with each other because they are all associated with an underlying construct. It helps in reducing large datasets into smaller, more manageable samples.
• Cohort Analysis: Cohort analysis can be defined as a subset of behavioral analytics that operates from data taken from a given dataset. Rather than looking at all users as one unit, cohort analysis breaks down data into related groups for analysis, where these groups or cohorts usually have common characteristics or similarities within a defined period.
• MaxDiff Analysis: This is a quantitative data analysis method that is used to gauge customers’ preferences for purchase and what parameters rank higher than the others in the process. 
• Cluster Analysis: Cluster analysis is a technique used to identify structures within a dataset. Cluster analysis aims to be able to sort different data points into groups that are internally similar and externally different; that is, data points within a cluster will look like each other and different from data points in other clusters.
• Time Series Analysis: This is a statistical analytic technique used to identify trends and cycles over time. It is simply the measurement of the same variables at different times, like weekly and monthly email sign-ups, to uncover trends, seasonality, and cyclic patterns. By doing this, the data analyst can forecast how variables of interest may fluctuate in the future. 
• SWOT analysis: This is a quantitative data analysis method that assigns numerical values to indicate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization, product, or service to show a clearer picture of competition to foster better business strategies

How to Choose the Right Method for your Analysis?

Choosing between Descriptive Statistics or Inferential Statistics can be often confusing. You should consider the following factors before choosing the right method for your quantitative data analysis:

1. Type of Data

The first consideration in data analysis is understanding the type of data you have. Different statistical methods have specific requirements based on these data types, and using the wrong method can render results meaningless. The choice of statistical method should align with the nature and distribution of your data to ensure meaningful and accurate analysis.

2. Your Research Questions

When deciding on statistical methods, it’s crucial to align them with your specific research questions and hypotheses. The nature of your questions will influence whether descriptive statistics alone, which reveal sample attributes, are sufficient or if you need both descriptive and inferential statistics to understand group differences or relationships between variables and make population inferences.

Pros and Cons of Quantitative Data Analysis

1. Objectivity and Generalizability:

• Quantitative data analysis offers objective, numerical measurements, minimizing bias and personal interpretation.
• Results can often be generalized to larger populations, making them applicable to broader contexts.

Example: A study using quantitative data analysis to measure student test scores can objectively compare performance across different schools and demographics, leading to generalizable insights about educational strategies.

2. Precision and Efficiency:

• Statistical methods provide precise numerical results, allowing for accurate comparisons and prediction.
• Large datasets can be analyzed efficiently with the help of computer software, saving time and resources.

Example: A marketing team can use quantitative data analysis to precisely track click-through rates and conversion rates on different ad campaigns, quickly identifying the most effective strategies for maximizing customer engagement.

3. Identification of Patterns and Relationships:

• Statistical techniques reveal hidden patterns and relationships between variables that might not be apparent through observation alone.
• This can lead to new insights and understanding of complex phenomena.

Example: A medical researcher can use quantitative analysis to pinpoint correlations between lifestyle factors and disease risk, aiding in the development of prevention strategies.

1. Limited Scope:

• Quantitative analysis focuses on quantifiable aspects of a phenomenon ,  potentially overlooking important qualitative nuances, such as emotions, motivations, or cultural contexts.

Example: A survey measuring customer satisfaction with numerical ratings might miss key insights about the underlying reasons for their satisfaction or dissatisfaction, which could be better captured through open-ended feedback.

2. Oversimplification:

• Reducing complex phenomena to numerical data can lead to oversimplification and a loss of richness in understanding.

Example: Analyzing employee productivity solely through quantitative metrics like hours worked or tasks completed might not account for factors like creativity, collaboration, or problem-solving skills, which are crucial for overall performance.

3. Potential for Misinterpretation:

• Statistical results can be misinterpreted if not analyzed carefully and with appropriate expertise.
• The choice of statistical methods and assumptions can significantly influence results.

This blog discusses the steps, methods, and techniques of quantitative data analysis. It also gives insights into the methods of data collection, the type of data one should work with, and the pros and cons of such analysis.

Gain a better understanding of data analysis with these essential reads:

• Data Analysis and Modeling: 4 Critical Differences
• Exploratory Data Analysis Simplified 101
• 25 Best Data Analysis Tools in 2024

Carrying out successful data analysis requires prepping the data and making it analysis-ready. That is where Hevo steps in.

Want to give Hevo a try? Sign Up for a 14-day free trial and experience the feature-rich Hevo suite first hand. You may also have a look at the amazing Hevo price , which will assist you in selecting the best plan for your requirements.

Share your experience of understanding Quantitative Data Analysis in the comment section below! We would love to hear your thoughts.

Ofem is a freelance writer specializing in data-related topics, who has expertise in translating complex concepts. With a focus on data science, analytics, and emerging technologies.

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A Review of Software Tools for Quantitative Data Analysis

How to get started with statistical analysis

• Research, Samples, and Statistics
• Key Concepts
• Major Sociologists
• News & Issues
• Recommended Reading
• Archaeology

If you're a  sociology student or budding social scientist and have started to work with quantitative (statistical) data, analytic software will be very useful.

These programs force researchers to organize and clean their data and offer pre-programmed commands that allow everything from very basic to quite advanced forms of statistical analysis .

They even offer useful visualizations that will be useful as you seek to interpret data, and that you may wish to use when presenting it to others.

There are many programs on the market that are quite expensive. The good news for students and faculty is that most universities have licenses for at least one program students and professors can use.

Also, most programs offer a free, pared-down version of the full software package which will often suffice.

Here's a review of the three main programs that quantitative social scientists use.

Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS)

SPSS is the most popular quantitative analysis software program used by social scientists.

Made and sold by IBM, it is comprehensive, flexible, and can be used with almost any type of data file. However, it is especially useful for analyzing large-scale survey data .

It can be used to generate tabulated reports, charts, and plots of distributions and trends, as well as generate descriptive statistics such as means, medians, modes and frequencies in addition to more complex statistical analyses like regression models.

SPSS provides a user interface that makes it easy and intuitive for all levels of users. With menus and dialogue boxes, you can perform analyses without having to write command syntax, like in other programs.

It is also simple and easy to enter and edit data directly into the program.

There are a few drawbacks, however, which might not make it the best program for some researchers. For example, there is a limit on the number of cases you can analyze. It is also difficult to account for weights, strata and group effects with SPSS.

STATA is an interactive data analysis program that runs on a variety of platforms. It can be used for both simple and complex statistical analyses.

STATA uses a point-and-click interface as well as command syntax, which makes it easy to use. STATA also makes it simple to generate graphs and plots of data and results.

Analysis in STATA is centered around four windows:

• command window
• review window
• result window
• variable window

Analysis commands are entered into the command window and the review window records those commands. The variables window lists the variables that are available in the current data set along with the variable labels, and the results appear in the results window.

SAS, short for Statistical Analysis System, is also used by many businesses.

In addition to statistical analysis, it also allows programmers to perform report writing, graphics, business planning, forecasting, quality improvement, project management and more.

SAS is a great program for the intermediate and advanced user because it is very powerful; it can be used with extremely large datasets and can perform complex and advanced analyses.

SAS is good for analyses that require you to take into account weights, strata, or groups.

Unlike SPSS and STATA, SAS is run largely by programming syntax rather than point-and-click menus, so some knowledge of the programming language is required.

Other Programs

Other programs popular with sociologists include:

• R: Free to download and use. You can add your own programs to it if you are familiar with statistics and programming.
• NVio: "It helps researchers organize and analyze complex non-numerical or unstructured data, both text and multimedia," according to UCLA Library .
• MATLAB: Provides "Simulations, Multidimensional Data, Image and Signal Processing," according to NYU Libraries .
• Understanding Path Analysis
• The 7 Best Programming Languages to Learn for Beginners
• Data Cleaning for Data Analysis in Sociology
• What Is Quantitative Data?
• Pros and Cons of Secondary Data Analysis
• Cluster Analysis and How Its Used in Research
• Understanding Secondary Data and How to Use It in Research
• Qualitative Data Definition and Examples
• An Overview of Qualitative Research Methods
• 7 Graphs Commonly Used in Statistics
• Correlation Analysis in Research
• Linear Regression Analysis
• Glossary of Visual Basic Terms
• Your Comprehensive Guide to a Painless Undergrad Econometrics Project
• Benefits of the Graphical User Interface
• The Study Island Program: An In-Depth Review

Quantitative Analysis Guide: Which Statistical Software to Use?

• Finding Data
• Which Statistical Software to Use?
• Merging Data Sets
• Reshaping Data Sets
• Choose Statistical Test for 1 Dependent Variable
• Choose Statistical Test for 2 or More Dependent Variables

• Data Services Home Page

Statistical Software Comparison

• What statistical test to use?
• Data Visualization Resources
• Data Analysis Examples External (UCLA) examples of regression and power analysis
• Supported software
• Request a consultation
• Making your code reproducible

Software Access

• The first version of SPSS was developed by  Norman H. Nie, Dale H. Bent and C.  Hadlai  Hull in and released in 1968 as the Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
• In July 2009, IBM acquired SPSS.
• Social sciences
• Health sciences

Data Format and Compatibility

• .sav file to save data
• Optional syntax files (.sps)
• Easily export .sav file from Qualtrics
• Import Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.csv, .txt, .dat), SAS (.sas7bdat), Stata (.dta)
• Export Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.csv, .dat), SAS (.sas7bdat), Stata (.dta)
• SPSS Chart Types
• Chart Builder: Drag and drop graphics
• Easy and intuitive user interface; menus and dialog boxes
• Similar feel to Excel
• SEMs through SPSS Amos
• Easily exclude data and handle missing data

Limitations

• Absence of robust methods (e.g...Least Absolute Deviation Regression, Quantile Regression, ...)
• Unable to perform complex many to many merge

Sample Data

• Developed by SAS 
• Created in the 1980s by John Sall to take advantage of the graphical user interface introduced by Macintosh
• Orginally stood for 'John's Macintosh Program'
• Five products: JMP, JMP Pro, JMP Clinical, JMP Genomics, JMP Graph Builder App
• Engineering: Six Sigma, Quality Control, Scientific Research, Design of Experiments
• Healthcare/Pharmaceutical
• .jmp file to save data
• Optional syntax files (.jsl)
• Import Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.csv, .txt, .dat), SAS (.sas7bdat), Stata (.dta), SPSS (.sav)
• Export Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.csv, .dat), SAS (.sas7bdat)
• Gallery of JMP Graphs
• Drag and Drop Graph Editor will try to guess what chart is correct for your data
• Dynamic interface can be used to zoom and change view
• Ability to lasso outliers on a graph and regraph without the outliers
• Interactive Graphics
• Scripting Language (JSL)
• SAS, R and MATLAB can be executed using JSL
• Interface for using R from within and add-in for Excel
• Great interface for easily managing output
• Graphs and data tables are dynamically linked
• Great set of online resources!
• Absence of some robust methods (regression: 2SLS, LAD, Quantile)

• Stata was first released in January 1985 as a regression and data management package with 44 commands, written by Bill Gould and Sean Becketti. 
• The name Stata is a syllabic abbreviation of the words  statistics and data.
• The graphical user interface (menus and dialog boxes) was released in 2003.
• Political Science
• Public Health
• Data Science
• Who uses Stata?

Data Format and Compatibility

• .dta file to save dataset
• .do syntax file, where commands can be written and saved
• Import Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.txt, .csv, .dat), SAS (.XPT), Other (.XML), and various ODBC data sources
• Export  Excel files  (.xls, . xlsx ), Text files (.txt, .csv, .dat), SAS (.XPT),  Other (.XML),  and various ODBC data sources
• Newer versions of  Stata  can read datasets, commands, graphs, etc., from older versions, and in doing so, reproduce results 
• Older versions of Stata cannot read newer versions of Stata datasets,  but newer versions can save in the format of older versions
• Stata Graph Gallery
• UCLA - Stata Graph Gallery
• Syntax mainly used, but menus are an option as well
• Some user written programs are available to install
• Offers matrix programming in Mata
• Works well with panel, survey, and time-series data
• Data management
• Can only hold one dataset in memory at a time
• The specific Stata package ( Stata/IC, Stata/SE, and Stata/MP ) limits the size of usable datasets.  One may have to sacrifice the number of variables for the number of observations, or vice versa, depending on the package.
• Overall, graphs have limited flexibility.   Stata schemes , however, provide some flexibility in changing the style of the graphs.
• Sample Syntax

* First enter the data manually; input str10 sex test1 test2    "Male" 86 83    "Male" 93 79    "Male" 85 81    "Male" 83 80    "Male" 91 76    "Female" 94 79    "Fem ale" 91 94    "Fem ale" 83 84    "Fem ale" 96 81    "Fem ale" 95 75 end

*   Next run a paired t-test; ttest test1 == test2

* Create a scatterplot; twoway ( scatter test2 test1 if sex == "Male" ) ( scatter test2 test1 if sex == "Fem ale" ), legend (lab(1 "Male" ) lab(2 "Fem ale" ))

• The development of SAS (Statistical Analysis System) began in 1966 by Anthony Bar of North Carolina State University and later joined by James Goodnight. 
• The National Institute of Health funded this project with a goal of analyzing agricultural data to improve crop yields.
• The first release of SAS was in 1972. In 2012, SAS held 36.2% of the market making it the largest market-share holder in 'advanced analytics.'
• Financial Services
• Manufacturing
• Health and Life Sciences
• Available for Windows only
• Import Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.txt, .dat, .csv), SPSS (.sav), Stata (.dta), JMP (.jmp), Other (.xml)
• Export  Excel files (.xls, . xlsx ), Text files (.txt, .dat, .csv),  SPSS  (.sav),  Stata  (.dta), JMP (.jmp),  Other (.xml)
• SAS Graphics Samples Output Gallery
• Can be cumbersome at times to create perfect graphics with syntax
• ODS Graphics Designer provides a more interactive interface
• BASE SAS contains the data management facility, programming language, data analysis and reporting tools
• SAS Libraries collect the SAS datasets you create
• Multitude of additional  components are available to complement Base SAS which include SAS/GRAPH, SAS/PH (Clinical Trial Analysis), SAS/ETS (Econometrics and Time Series), SAS/Insight (Data Mining) etc...
• SAS Certification exams
• Handles extremely large datasets
• Predominantly used for data management and statistical procedures
• SAS has two main types of code; DATA steps and  PROC  steps
• With one procedure, test results, post estimation and plots can be produced
• Size of datasets analyzed is only limited by the machine

Limitations 

• Graphics can be cumbersome to manipulate
• Since SAS is a proprietary software, there may be an extensive lag time for the implementation of new methods
• Documentation and books tend to be very technical and not necessarily new user friendly

* First enter the data manually; data example;    input  sex $ test1 test2;   datalines ;     M 86 83     M 93 79     M 85 81     M 83 80     M 91 76     F 94 79     F 91 94     F 83 84     F 96 81     F 95 75    ; run ;

*   Next run a paired t-test; proc ttest data = example;   paired test1*test2; run ;

* Create a scatterplot; proc sgplot data = example;   scatter y = test1 x = test2 / group = sex; run ;

• R first appeared in 1993 and was created by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. 
• R is an implementation of the S programming language which was developed at Bell Labs.
• It is named partly after its first authors and partly as a play on the name of S.
• R is currently developed by the R Development Core Team. 
• RStudio, an integrated development environment (IDE) was first released in 2011.
• Companies Using R
• Finance and Economics
• Bioinformatics
• Import Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.txt, .dat, .csv), SPSS (.sav), Stata (.dta), SAS(.sas7bdat), Other (.xml, .json)
• Export Excel files (.xlsx), Text files (.txt, .csv), SPSS (.sav), Stata (.dta), Other (.json)
• ggplot2 package, grammar of graphics
• Graphs available through ggplot2
• The R Graph Gallery
• Network analysis (igraph)
• Flexible esthetics and options
• Interactive graphics with Shiny
• Many available packages to create field specific graphics
• R is a free and open source
• Over 6000 user contributed packages available through  CRAN
• Large online community
• Network Analysis, Text Analysis, Data Mining, Web Scraping 
• Interacts with other software such as, Python, Bioconductor, WinBUGS, JAGS etc...
• Scope of functions, flexible, versatile etc..

Limitations​

• Large online help community but no 'formal' tech support
• Have to have a good understanding of different data types before real ease of use begins
• Many user written packages may be hard to sift through

# Manually enter the data into a dataframe dataset <- data.frame(sex = c("Male", "Male", "Male", "Male", "Male", "Female", "Female", "Female", "Female", "Female"),                        test1 = c( 86 , 93 , 85 , 83 , 91 , 94 , 91 , 83 , 96 , 95 ),                        test2 = c( 83 , 79 , 81 , 80 , 76 , 79 , 94 , 84 , 81 , 75 ))

# Now we will run a paired t-test t.test(dataset$test1, dataset$test2, paired = TRUE )

# Last let's simply plot these two test variables plot(dataset$test1, dataset$test2, col = c("red","blue")[dataset$sex]) legend("topright", fill = c("blue", "red"), c("Male", "Female"))

# Making the same graph using ggplot2 install.packages('ggplot2') library(ggplot2) mygraph <- ggplot(data = dataset, aes(x = test1, y = test2, color = sex)) mygraph + geom_point(size = 5) + ggtitle('Test1 versus Test2 Scores')

• Cleave Moler of the University of New Mexico began development in the late 1970s.
• With the help of Jack Little, they cofounded MathWorks and released MATLAB (matrix laboratory) in 1984. 
• Education (linear algebra and numerical analysis)
• Popular among scientists involved in image processing
• Engineering
• .m Syntax file
• Import Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.txt, .dat, .csv), Other (.xml, .json)
• Export Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.txt, .dat, .csv), Other (.xml, .json)
• MATLAB Plot Gallery
• Customizable but not point-and-click visualization
• Optimized for data analysis, matrix manipulation in particular
• Basic unit is a matrix
• Vectorized operations are quick
• Diverse set of available toolboxes (apps) [Statistics, Optimization, Image Processing, Signal Processing, Parallel Computing etc..]
• Large online community (MATLAB Exchange)
• Image processing
• Vast number of pre-defined functions and implemented algorithms
• Lacks implementation of some advanced statistical methods
• Integrates easily with some languages such as C, but not others, such as Python
• Limited GIS capabilities

sex = { 'Male' , 'Male' , 'Male' , 'Male' , 'Male' , 'Female' , 'Female' , 'Female' , 'Female' , 'Female' }; t1 = [86,93,85,83,91,94,91,83,96,95]; t2 = [83,79,81,80,76,79,94,84,81,75];

% paired t-test [h,p,ci,stats] = ttest(t1,t2)

% independent samples t-test sex = categorical(sex); [h,p,ci,stats] = ttest2(t1(sex== 'Male' ),t1(sex== 'Female' ))

plot(t1,t2, 'o' ) g = sex== 'Male' ; plot(t1(g),t2(g), 'bx' ); hold on; plot(t1(~g),t2(~g), 'ro' )

Software Features and Capabilities

*The primary interface is bolded in the case of multiple interface types available.

Learning Curve

Further Reading

• The Popularity of Data Analysis Software
• Statistical Software Capability Table
• The SAS versus R Debate in Industry and Academia
• Why R has a Steep Learning Curve
• Comparison of Data Analysis Packages
• Comparison of Statistical Packages
• MATLAB commands in Python and R
• MATLAB and R Side by Side
• Stata and R Side by Side

• << Previous: Statistical Guidance
• Next: Merging Data Sets >>
• Last Updated: May 3, 2024 1:22 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/quant

Quantitative Data Analysis 101

The lingo, methods and techniques, explained simply.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA)  and Kerryn Warren (PhD) | December 2020

Quantitative data analysis is one of those things that often strikes fear in students. It’s totally understandable – quantitative analysis is a complex topic, full of daunting lingo , like medians, modes, correlation and regression. Suddenly we’re all wishing we’d paid a little more attention in math class…

The good news is that while quantitative data analysis is a mammoth topic, gaining a working understanding of the basics isn’t that hard , even for those of us who avoid numbers and math . In this post, we’ll break quantitative analysis down into simple , bite-sized chunks so you can approach your research with confidence.

Overview: Quantitative Data Analysis 101

• What (exactly) is quantitative data analysis?
• When to use quantitative analysis
• How quantitative analysis works

The two “branches” of quantitative analysis

• Descriptive statistics 101
• Inferential statistics 101
• How to choose the right quantitative methods
• Recap & summary

What is quantitative data analysis?

Despite being a mouthful, quantitative data analysis simply means analysing data that is numbers-based – or data that can be easily “converted” into numbers without losing any meaning.

For example, category-based variables like gender, ethnicity, or native language could all be “converted” into numbers without losing meaning – for example, English could equal 1, French 2, etc.

This contrasts against qualitative data analysis, where the focus is on words, phrases and expressions that can’t be reduced to numbers. If you’re interested in learning about qualitative analysis, check out our post and video here .

What is quantitative analysis used for?

Quantitative analysis is generally used for three purposes.

• Firstly, it’s used to measure differences between groups . For example, the popularity of different clothing colours or brands.
• Secondly, it’s used to assess relationships between variables . For example, the relationship between weather temperature and voter turnout.
• And third, it’s used to test hypotheses in a scientifically rigorous way. For example, a hypothesis about the impact of a certain vaccine.

Again, this contrasts with qualitative analysis , which can be used to analyse people’s perceptions and feelings about an event or situation. In other words, things that can’t be reduced to numbers.

How does quantitative analysis work?

Well, since quantitative data analysis is all about analysing numbers , it’s no surprise that it involves statistics . Statistical analysis methods form the engine that powers quantitative analysis, and these methods can vary from pretty basic calculations (for example, averages and medians) to more sophisticated analyses (for example, correlations and regressions).

Sounds like gibberish? Don’t worry. We’ll explain all of that in this post. Importantly, you don’t need to be a statistician or math wiz to pull off a good quantitative analysis. We’ll break down all the technical mumbo jumbo in this post.

Need a helping hand?

As I mentioned, quantitative analysis is powered by statistical analysis methods . There are two main “branches” of statistical methods that are used – descriptive statistics and inferential statistics . In your research, you might only use descriptive statistics, or you might use a mix of both , depending on what you’re trying to figure out. In other words, depending on your research questions, aims and objectives . I’ll explain how to choose your methods later.

So, what are descriptive and inferential statistics?

Well, before I can explain that, we need to take a quick detour to explain some lingo. To understand the difference between these two branches of statistics, you need to understand two important words. These words are population and sample .

First up, population . In statistics, the population is the entire group of people (or animals or organisations or whatever) that you’re interested in researching. For example, if you were interested in researching Tesla owners in the US, then the population would be all Tesla owners in the US.

However, it’s extremely unlikely that you’re going to be able to interview or survey every single Tesla owner in the US. Realistically, you’ll likely only get access to a few hundred, or maybe a few thousand owners using an online survey. This smaller group of accessible people whose data you actually collect is called your sample .

So, to recap – the population is the entire group of people you’re interested in, and the sample is the subset of the population that you can actually get access to. In other words, the population is the full chocolate cake , whereas the sample is a slice of that cake.

So, why is this sample-population thing important?

Well, descriptive statistics focus on describing the sample , while inferential statistics aim to make predictions about the population, based on the findings within the sample. In other words, we use one group of statistical methods – descriptive statistics – to investigate the slice of cake, and another group of methods – inferential statistics – to draw conclusions about the entire cake. There I go with the cake analogy again…

With that out the way, let’s take a closer look at each of these branches in more detail.

Branch 1: Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics serve a simple but critically important role in your research – to describe your data set – hence the name. In other words, they help you understand the details of your sample . Unlike inferential statistics (which we’ll get to soon), descriptive statistics don’t aim to make inferences or predictions about the entire population – they’re purely interested in the details of your specific sample .

When you’re writing up your analysis, descriptive statistics are the first set of stats you’ll cover, before moving on to inferential statistics. But, that said, depending on your research objectives and research questions , they may be the only type of statistics you use. We’ll explore that a little later.

So, what kind of statistics are usually covered in this section?

Some common statistical tests used in this branch include the following:

• Mean – this is simply the mathematical average of a range of numbers.
• Median – this is the midpoint in a range of numbers when the numbers are arranged in numerical order. If the data set makes up an odd number, then the median is the number right in the middle of the set. If the data set makes up an even number, then the median is the midpoint between the two middle numbers.
• Mode – this is simply the most commonly occurring number in the data set.
• In cases where most of the numbers are quite close to the average, the standard deviation will be relatively low.
• Conversely, in cases where the numbers are scattered all over the place, the standard deviation will be relatively high.
• Skewness . As the name suggests, skewness indicates how symmetrical a range of numbers is. In other words, do they tend to cluster into a smooth bell curve shape in the middle of the graph, or do they skew to the left or right?

Feeling a bit confused? Let’s look at a practical example using a small data set.

On the left-hand side is the data set. This details the bodyweight of a sample of 10 people. On the right-hand side, we have the descriptive statistics. Let’s take a look at each of them.

First, we can see that the mean weight is 72.4 kilograms. In other words, the average weight across the sample is 72.4 kilograms. Straightforward.

Next, we can see that the median is very similar to the mean (the average). This suggests that this data set has a reasonably symmetrical distribution (in other words, a relatively smooth, centred distribution of weights, clustered towards the centre).

In terms of the mode , there is no mode in this data set. This is because each number is present only once and so there cannot be a “most common number”. If there were two people who were both 65 kilograms, for example, then the mode would be 65.

Next up is the standard deviation . 10.6 indicates that there’s quite a wide spread of numbers. We can see this quite easily by looking at the numbers themselves, which range from 55 to 90, which is quite a stretch from the mean of 72.4.

And lastly, the skewness of -0.2 tells us that the data is very slightly negatively skewed. This makes sense since the mean and the median are slightly different.

As you can see, these descriptive statistics give us some useful insight into the data set. Of course, this is a very small data set (only 10 records), so we can’t read into these statistics too much. Also, keep in mind that this is not a list of all possible descriptive statistics – just the most common ones.

But why do all of these numbers matter?

While these descriptive statistics are all fairly basic, they’re important for a few reasons:

• Firstly, they help you get both a macro and micro-level view of your data. In other words, they help you understand both the big picture and the finer details.
• Secondly, they help you spot potential errors in the data – for example, if an average is way higher than you’d expect, or responses to a question are highly varied, this can act as a warning sign that you need to double-check the data.
• And lastly, these descriptive statistics help inform which inferential statistical techniques you can use, as those techniques depend on the skewness (in other words, the symmetry and normality) of the data.

Simply put, descriptive statistics are really important , even though the statistical techniques used are fairly basic. All too often at Grad Coach, we see students skimming over the descriptives in their eagerness to get to the more exciting inferential methods, and then landing up with some very flawed results.

Don’t be a sucker – give your descriptive statistics the love and attention they deserve!

Branch 2: Inferential Statistics

As I mentioned, while descriptive statistics are all about the details of your specific data set – your sample – inferential statistics aim to make inferences about the population . In other words, you’ll use inferential statistics to make predictions about what you’d expect to find in the full population.

What kind of predictions, you ask? Well, there are two common types of predictions that researchers try to make using inferential stats:

• Firstly, predictions about differences between groups – for example, height differences between children grouped by their favourite meal or gender.
• And secondly, relationships between variables – for example, the relationship between body weight and the number of hours a week a person does yoga.

In other words, inferential statistics (when done correctly), allow you to connect the dots and make predictions about what you expect to see in the real world population, based on what you observe in your sample data. For this reason, inferential statistics are used for hypothesis testing – in other words, to test hypotheses that predict changes or differences.

Of course, when you’re working with inferential statistics, the composition of your sample is really important. In other words, if your sample doesn’t accurately represent the population you’re researching, then your findings won’t necessarily be very useful.

For example, if your population of interest is a mix of 50% male and 50% female , but your sample is 80% male , you can’t make inferences about the population based on your sample, since it’s not representative. This area of statistics is called sampling, but we won’t go down that rabbit hole here (it’s a deep one!) – we’ll save that for another post .

What statistics are usually used in this branch?

There are many, many different statistical analysis methods within the inferential branch and it’d be impossible for us to discuss them all here. So we’ll just take a look at some of the most common inferential statistical methods so that you have a solid starting point.

First up are T-Tests . T-tests compare the means (the averages) of two groups of data to assess whether they’re statistically significantly different. In other words, do they have significantly different means, standard deviations and skewness.

This type of testing is very useful for understanding just how similar or different two groups of data are. For example, you might want to compare the mean blood pressure between two groups of people – one that has taken a new medication and one that hasn’t – to assess whether they are significantly different.

Kicking things up a level, we have ANOVA, which stands for “analysis of variance”. This test is similar to a T-test in that it compares the means of various groups, but ANOVA allows you to analyse multiple groups , not just two groups So it’s basically a t-test on steroids…

Next, we have correlation analysis . This type of analysis assesses the relationship between two variables. In other words, if one variable increases, does the other variable also increase, decrease or stay the same. For example, if the average temperature goes up, do average ice creams sales increase too? We’d expect some sort of relationship between these two variables intuitively , but correlation analysis allows us to measure that relationship scientifically .

Lastly, we have regression analysis – this is quite similar to correlation in that it assesses the relationship between variables, but it goes a step further to understand cause and effect between variables, not just whether they move together. In other words, does the one variable actually cause the other one to move, or do they just happen to move together naturally thanks to another force? Just because two variables correlate doesn’t necessarily mean that one causes the other.

Stats overload…

I hear you. To make this all a little more tangible, let’s take a look at an example of a correlation in action.

Here’s a scatter plot demonstrating the correlation (relationship) between weight and height. Intuitively, we’d expect there to be some relationship between these two variables, which is what we see in this scatter plot. In other words, the results tend to cluster together in a diagonal line from bottom left to top right.

As I mentioned, these are are just a handful of inferential techniques – there are many, many more. Importantly, each statistical method has its own assumptions and limitations.

For example, some methods only work with normally distributed (parametric) data, while other methods are designed specifically for non-parametric data. And that’s exactly why descriptive statistics are so important – they’re the first step to knowing which inferential techniques you can and can’t use.

How to choose the right analysis method

To choose the right statistical methods, you need to think about two important factors :

• The type of quantitative data you have (specifically, level of measurement and the shape of the data). And,
• Your research questions and hypotheses

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

Factor 1 – Data type

The first thing you need to consider is the type of data you’ve collected (or the type of data you will collect). By data types, I’m referring to the four levels of measurement – namely, nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. If you’re not familiar with this lingo, check out the video below.

Why does this matter?

Well, because different statistical methods and techniques require different types of data. This is one of the “assumptions” I mentioned earlier – every method has its assumptions regarding the type of data.

For example, some techniques work with categorical data (for example, yes/no type questions, or gender or ethnicity), while others work with continuous numerical data (for example, age, weight or income) – and, of course, some work with multiple data types.

If you try to use a statistical method that doesn’t support the data type you have, your results will be largely meaningless . So, make sure that you have a clear understanding of what types of data you’ve collected (or will collect). Once you have this, you can then check which statistical methods would support your data types here .

If you haven’t collected your data yet, you can work in reverse and look at which statistical method would give you the most useful insights, and then design your data collection strategy to collect the correct data types.

Another important factor to consider is the shape of your data . Specifically, does it have a normal distribution (in other words, is it a bell-shaped curve, centred in the middle) or is it very skewed to the left or the right? Again, different statistical techniques work for different shapes of data – some are designed for symmetrical data while others are designed for skewed data.

This is another reminder of why descriptive statistics are so important – they tell you all about the shape of your data.

Factor 2: Your research questions

The next thing you need to consider is your specific research questions, as well as your hypotheses (if you have some). The nature of your research questions and research hypotheses will heavily influence which statistical methods and techniques you should use.

If you’re just interested in understanding the attributes of your sample (as opposed to the entire population), then descriptive statistics are probably all you need. For example, if you just want to assess the means (averages) and medians (centre points) of variables in a group of people.

On the other hand, if you aim to understand differences between groups or relationships between variables and to infer or predict outcomes in the population, then you’ll likely need both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.

So, it’s really important to get very clear about your research aims and research questions, as well your hypotheses – before you start looking at which statistical techniques to use.

Never shoehorn a specific statistical technique into your research just because you like it or have some experience with it. Your choice of methods must align with all the factors we’ve covered here.

Time to recap…

You’re still with me? That’s impressive. We’ve covered a lot of ground here, so let’s recap on the key points:

• Quantitative data analysis is all about  analysing number-based data  (which includes categorical and numerical data) using various statistical techniques.
• The two main  branches  of statistics are  descriptive statistics  and  inferential statistics . Descriptives describe your sample, whereas inferentials make predictions about what you’ll find in the population.
• Common  descriptive statistical methods include  mean  (average),  median , standard  deviation  and  skewness .
• Common  inferential statistical methods include  t-tests ,  ANOVA ,  correlation  and  regression  analysis.
• To choose the right statistical methods and techniques, you need to consider the  type of data you’re working with , as well as your  research questions  and hypotheses.

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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74 Comments

Hi, I have read your article. Such a brilliant post you have created.

Thank you for the feedback. Good luck with your quantitative analysis.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. I learnt much well. I love your summaries of the concepts. I had love you to explain how to input data using SPSS

Amazing and simple way of breaking down quantitative methods.

This is beautiful….especially for non-statisticians. I have skimmed through but I wish to read again. and please include me in other articles of the same nature when you do post. I am interested. I am sure, I could easily learn from you and get off the fear that I have had in the past. Thank you sincerely.

Send me every new information you might have.

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Thank you for the blog. It is quite informative. Dr Peter Nemaenzhe PhD

It is wonderful. l’ve understood some of the concepts in a more compréhensive manner

Your article is so good! However, I am still a bit lost. I am doing a secondary research on Gun control in the US and increase in crime rates and I am not sure which analysis method I should use?

Based on the given learning points, this is inferential analysis, thus, use ‘t-tests, ANOVA, correlation and regression analysis’

Well explained notes. Am an MPH student and currently working on my thesis proposal, this has really helped me understand some of the things I didn’t know.

I like your page..helpful

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This is great GRADACOACH I am not a statistician but I require more of this in my thesis

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Essential Data Analyst Tools Discover a List of The 17 Best Data Analysis Software & Tools On The Market

Top 17 software & tools for data analysts (2023).

Table of Content 1) What are data analyst tools? 2) The best 17 data analyst tools for 2023 3) Key takeaways & guidance

To be able to perform data analysis at the highest level possible, analysts and data professionals will use software that will ensure the best results in several tasks from executing algorithms, preparing data, generating predictions, and automating processes, to standard tasks such as visualizing and reporting on the data. Although there are many of these solutions on the market, data analysts must choose wisely in order to benefit their analytical efforts. That said, in this article, we will cover the best data analyst tools and name the key features of each based on various types of analysis processes. But first, we will start with a basic definition and a brief introduction.

1) What Are Data Analyst Tools?

Data analyst tools is a term used to describe software and applications that data analysts use in order to develop and perform analytical processes that help companies to make better, informed business decisions while decreasing costs and increasing profits.

In order to make the best possible decision on which software you need to choose as an analyst, we have compiled a list of the top data analyst tools that have various focus and features, organized in software categories, and represented with an example of each. These examples have been researched and selected using rankings from two major software review sites: Capterra and G2Crowd . By looking into each of the software categories presented in this article, we selected the most successful solutions with a minimum of 15 reviews between both review websites until November 2022. The order in which these solutions are listed is completely random and does not represent a grading or ranking system.

2) What Tools Do Data Analysts Use?

To make the most out of the infinite number of software that is currently offered on the market, we will focus on the most prominent tools needed to be an expert data analyst. The image above provides a visual summary of all the areas and tools that will be covered in this insightful post. These data analysis tools are mostly focused on making analysts lives easier by providing them with solutions that make complex analytical tasks more efficient. Like this, they get more time to perform the analytical part of their job. Let’s get started with business intelligence tools.

1. Business intelligence tools

BI tools are one of the most represented means of performing data analysis. Specializing in business analytics, these solutions will prove to be beneficial for every data analyst that needs to analyze, monitor, and report on important findings. Features such as self-service, predictive analytics, and advanced SQL modes make these solutions easily adjustable to every level of knowledge, without the need for heavy IT involvement. By providing a set of useful features, analysts can understand trends and make tactical decisions. Our data analytics tools article wouldn’t be complete without business intelligence, and datapine is one example that covers most of the requirements both for beginner and advanced users. This all-in-one tool aims to facilitate the entire analysis process from data integration and discovery to reporting.

KEY FEATURES:

Visual drag-and-drop interface to build SQL queries automatically, with the option to switch to, advanced (manual) SQL mode

Powerful predictive analytics features, interactive charts and dashboards, and automated reporting

AI-powered alarms that are triggered as soon as an anomaly occurs or a goal is met

datapine is a popular business intelligence software with an outstanding rating of 4.8 stars in Capterra and 4.6 stars in G2Crowd. It focuses on delivering simple, yet powerful analysis features into the hands of beginners and advanced users in need of a fast and reliable online data analysis solution for all analysis stages. An intuitive user interface will enable you to simply drag-and-drop your desired values into datapine’s Analyzer and create numerous charts and graphs that can be united into an interactive dashboard. If you’re an experienced analyst, you might want to consider the SQL mode where you can build your own queries or run existing codes or scripts. Another crucial feature is the predictive analytics forecast engine that can analyze data from multiple sources which can be previously integrated with their various data connectors. While there are numerous predictive solutions out there, datapine provides simplicity and speed at its finest. By simply defining the input and output of the forecast based on specified data points and desired model quality, a complete chart will unfold together with predictions.

We should also mention robust artificial intelligence that is becoming an invaluable assistant in today’s analysis processes. Neural networks, pattern recognition, and threshold alerts will alarm you as soon as a business anomaly occurs or a previously set goal is met so you don’t have to manually analyze large volumes of data – the data analytics software does it for you. Access your data from any device with an internet connection, and share your findings easily and securely via dashboards or customized reports for anyone that needs quick answers to any type of business question.

2. Statistical Analysis Tools

Next in our list of data analytics tools comes a more technical area related to statistical analysis. Referring to computation techniques that often contain a variety of statistical techniques to manipulate, explore, and generate insights, there exist multiple programming languages to make (data) scientists’ work easier and more effective. With the expansion of various languages that are today present on the market, science has its own set of rules and scenarios that need special attention when it comes to statistical data analysis and modeling. Here we will present one of the most popular tools for a data analyst – Posit (previously known as RStudio or R programming). Although there are other languages that focus on (scientific) data analysis, R is particularly popular in the community.

POSIT (R-STUDIO)

An ecosystem of more than 10 000 packages and extensions for distinct types of data analysis

Statistical analysis, modeling, and hypothesis testing (e.g. analysis of variance, t test, etc.)

Active and communicative community of researchers, statisticians, and scientists

Posit , formerly known as RStudio, is one of the top data analyst tools for R and Python. Its development dates back to 2009 and it’s one of the most used software for statistical analysis and data science, keeping an open-source policy and running on a variety of platforms, including Windows, macOS and Linux. As a result of the latest rebranding process, some of the famous products on the platform will change their names, while others will stay the same. For example, RStudio Workbench and RStudio Connect will now be known as Posit Workbench and Posit Connect respectively. On the other side, products like RStudio Desktop and RStudio Server will remain the same. As stated on the software’s website, the rebranding happened because the name RStudio no longer reflected the variety of products and languages that the platform currently supports.

Posit is by far the most popular integrated development environment (IDE) out there with 4,7 stars on Capterra and 4,5 stars on G2Crowd. Its capabilities for data cleaning, data reduction, and data analysis report output with R markdown, make this tool an invaluable analytical assistant that covers both general and academic data analysis. It is compiled of an ecosystem of more than 10 000 packages and extensions that you can explore by categories, and perform any kind of statistical analysis such as regression, conjoint, factor cluster analysis, etc. Easy to understand for those that don’t have a high-level of programming skills, Posit can perform complex mathematical operations by using a single command. A number of graphical libraries such as ggplot and plotly make this language different than others in the statistical community since it has efficient capabilities to create quality visualizations.

Posit was mostly used in the academic area in the past, today it has applications across industries and large companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Airbnb, among others. Due to an enormous number of researchers, scientists, and statisticians using it, the tool has an extensive and active community where innovative technologies and ideas are presented and communicated regularly.

3. QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS

Naturally, when we think about data, our mind automatically takes us to numbers. Although much of the extracted data might be in a numeric format, there is also immense value in collecting and analyzing non-numerical information, especially in a business context. This is where qualitative data analysis tools come into the picture. These solutions offer researchers, analysts, and businesses the necessary functionalities to make sense of massive amounts of qualitative data coming from different sources such as interviews, surveys, e-mails, customer feedback, social media comments, and much more depending on the industry. There is a wide range of qualitative analysis software out there, the most innovative ones rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to make the analysis process faster and more efficient. Today, we will discuss MAXQDA, one of the most powerful QDA platforms in the market.

The possibility to mark important information using codes, colors, symbols or emojis

AI-powered audio transcription capabilities such as speed and rewind controls, speaker labels, and others

Possibility to work with multiple languages and scripts thanks to Unicode support

Founded in 1989 “by researchers, for researchers”, MAXQDA is a qualitative data analysis software for Windows and Mac that assists users in organizing and interpreting qualitative data from different sources with the help of innovative features. Unlike some other solutions on the same range, MAXQDA supports a wide range of data sources and formats. Users can import traditional text data from interviews, focus groups, web pages, and YouTube or Twitter comments, as well as various types of multimedia data such as videos or audio files. Paired to that, the software also offers a Mixed Methods tool which allows users to use both qualitative and quantitative data for a more complete analytics process. This level of versatility has earned MAXQDA worldwide recognition for many years. The tool has a positive 4.6 stars rating in Capterra and a 4.5 in G2Crowd.

Amongst its most valuable functions, MAXQDA offers users the capability of setting different codes to mark their most important data and organize it in an efficient way. Codes can be easily generated via drag & drop and labeled using colors, symbols, or emojis. Your findings can later be transformed, automatically or manually, into professional visualizations and exported in various readable formats such as PDF, Excel, or Word, among others.

4. General-purpose programming languages

Programming languages are used to solve a variety of data problems. We have explained R and statistical programming, now we will focus on general ones that use letters, numbers, and symbols to create programs and require formal syntax used by programmers. Often, they’re also called text-based programs because you need to write software that will ultimately solve a problem. Examples include C#, Java, PHP, Ruby, Julia, and Python, among many others on the market. Here we will focus on Python and we will present PyCharm as one of the best tools for data analysts that have coding knowledge as well.

Intelligent code inspection and completion with error detection, code fixes, and automated code refractories

Built-in developer tools for smart debugging, testing, profiling, and deployment

Cross-technology development supporting JavaScript, CoffeeScript, HTML/CSS, Node.js, and more

PyCharm is an integrated development environment (IDE) by JetBrains designed for developers that want to write better, more productive Python code from a single platform. The tool, which is successfully rated with 4.7 stars on Capterra and 4.6 in G2Crowd, offers developers a range of essential features including an integrated visual debugger, GUI-based test runner, integration with major VCS and built-in database tools, and much more. Amongst its most praised features, the intelligent code assistance provides developers with smart code inspections highlighting errors and offering quick fixes and code completions.

PyCharm supports the most important Python implementations including Python 2.x and 3.x, Jython, IronPython, PyPy and Cython, and it is available in three different editions. The Community version, which is free and open-sourced, the Professional paid version, including all advanced features, and the Edu version which is also free and open-sourced for educational purposes. Definitely, one of the best Python data analyst tools in the market.

5. SQL consoles

Our data analyst tools list wouldn’t be complete without SQL consoles. Essentially, SQL is a programming language that is used to manage/query data held in relational databases, particularly effective in handling structured data as a database tool for analysts. It’s highly popular in the data science community and one of the analyst tools used in various business cases and data scenarios. The reason is simple: as most of the data is stored in relational databases and you need to access and unlock its value, SQL is a highly critical component of succeeding in business, and by learning it, analysts can offer a competitive advantage to their skillset. There are different relational (SQL-based) database management systems such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL, and Oracle, for example, and by learning these data analysts’ tools would prove to be extremely beneficial to any serious analyst. Here we will focus on MySQL Workbench as the most popular one.

MySQL Workbench

A unified visual tool for data modeling, SQL development, administration, backup, etc.

Instant access to database schema and objects via the Object Browser

SQL Editor that offers color syntax highlighting, reuse of SQL snippets, and execution history

MySQL Workbench is used by analysts to visually design, model, and manage databases, optimize SQL queries, administer MySQL environments, and utilize a suite of tools to improve the performance of MySQL applications. It will allow you to perform tasks such as creating and viewing databases and objects (triggers or stored procedures, e.g.), configuring servers, and much more. You can easily perform backup and recovery as well as inspect audit data. MySQL Workbench will also help in database migration and is a complete solution for analysts working in relational database management and companies that need to keep their databases clean and effective. The tool, which is very popular amongst analysts and developers, is rated 4.6 stars in Capterra and 4.5 in G2Crowd.

6. Standalone predictive analytics tools

Predictive analytics is one of the advanced techniques, used by analysts that combine data mining, machine learning, predictive modeling, and artificial intelligence to predict future events, and it deserves a special place in our list of data analysis tools as its popularity has increased in recent years with the introduction of smart solutions that enabled analysts to simplify their predictive analytics processes. You should keep in mind that some BI tools we already discussed in this list offer easy to use, built-in predictive analytics solutions but, in this section, we focus on standalone, advanced predictive analytics that companies use for various reasons, from detecting fraud with the help of pattern detection to optimizing marketing campaigns by analyzing consumers’ behavior and purchases. Here we will list a data analysis software that is helpful for predictive analytics processes and helps analysts to predict future scenarios.

IBM SPSS PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS ENTERPRISE

A visual predictive analytics interface to generate predictions without code

Can be integrated with other IBM SPSS products for a complete analysis scope

Flexible deployment to support multiple business scenarios and system requirements

IBM SPSS Predictive Analytics provides enterprises with the power to make improved operational decisions with the help of various predictive intelligence features such as in-depth statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and decision management. The tool offers a visual interface for predictive analytics that can be easily used by average business users with no previous coding knowledge, while still providing analysts and data scientists with more advanced capabilities. Like this, users can take advantage of predictions to inform important decisions in real time with a high level of certainty.

Additionally, the platform provides flexible deployment options to support multiple scenarios, business sizes and use cases. For example, for supply chain analysis or cybercrime prevention, among many others. Flexible data integration and manipulation is another important feature included in this software. Unstructured and structured data, including text data, from multiple sources, can be analyzed for predictive modeling that will translate into intelligent business outcomes.

As a part of the IBM product suite, users of the tool can take advantage of other solutions and modules such as the IBM SPSS Modeler, IBM SPSS Statistics, and IMB SPSS Analytic Server for a complete analytical scope. Reviewers gave the software a 4.5 star rating on Capterra and 4.2 on G2Crowd.

7. Data modeling tools

Our list of data analysis tools wouldn’t be complete without data modeling. Creating models to structure the database, and design business systems by utilizing diagrams, symbols, and text, ultimately represent how the data flows and is connected in between. Businesses use data modeling tools to determine the exact nature of the information they control and the relationship between datasets, and analysts are critical in this process. If you need to discover, analyze, and specify changes in information that is stored in a software system, database or other application, chances are your skills are critical for the overall business. Here we will show one of the most popular data analyst software used to create models and design your data assets.

erwin data modeler (DM)

Automated data model generation to increase productivity in analytical processes

Single interface no matter the location or the type of the data

5 different versions of the solution you can choose from and adjust based on your business needs

erwin DM works both with structured and unstructured data in a data warehouse and in the cloud. It’s used to “find, visualize, design, deploy and standardize high-quality enterprise data assets,” as stated on their official website. erwin can help you reduce complexities and understand data sources to meet your business goals and needs. They also offer automated processes where you can automatically generate models and designs to reduce errors and increase productivity. This is one of the tools for analysts that focus on the architecture of the data and enable you to create logical, conceptual, and physical data models.

Additional features such as a single interface for any data you might possess, no matter if it’s structured or unstructured, in a data warehouse or the cloud makes this solution highly adjustable for your analytical needs. With 5 versions of the erwin data modeler, their solution is highly adjustable for companies and analysts that need various data modeling features. This versatility is reflected in its positive reviews, gaining the platform an almost perfect 4.8 star rating on Capterra and 4.3 stars in G2Crowd.

8. ETL tools

ETL is a process used by companies, no matter the size, across the world, and if a business grows, chances are you will need to extract, load, and transform data into another database to be able to analyze it and build queries. There are some core types of ETL tools for data analysts such as batch ETL, real-time ETL, and cloud-based ETL, each with its own specifications and features that adjust to different business needs. These are the tools used by analysts that take part in more technical processes of data management within a company, and one of the best examples is Talend.

Collecting and transforming data through data preparation, integration, cloud pipeline designer

Talend Trust Score to ensure data governance and resolve quality issues across the board

Sharing data internally and externally through comprehensive deliveries via APIs

Talend is a data integration platform used by experts across the globe for data management processes, cloud storage, enterprise application integration, and data quality. It’s a Java-based ETL tool that is used by analysts in order to easily process millions of data records and offers comprehensive solutions for any data project you might have. Talend’s features include (big) data integration, data preparation, cloud pipeline designer, and stitch data loader to cover multiple data management requirements of an organization. Users of the tool rated it with 4.2 stars in Capterra and 4.3 in G2Crowd. This is an analyst software extremely important if you need to work on ETL processes in your analytical department.

Apart from collecting and transforming data, Talend also offers a data governance solution to build a data hub and deliver it through self-service access through a unified cloud platform. You can utilize their data catalog, inventory and produce clean data through their data quality feature. Sharing is also part of their data portfolio; Talend’s data fabric solution will enable you to deliver your information to every stakeholder through a comprehensive API delivery platform. If you need a data analyst tool to cover ETL processes, Talend might be worth considering.

9. Automation Tools

As mentioned, the goal of all the solutions present on this list is to make data analysts lives easier and more efficient. Taking that into account, automation tools could not be left out of this list. In simple words, data analytics automation is the practice of using systems and processes to perform analytical tasks with almost no human interaction. In the past years, automation solutions have impacted the way analysts perform their jobs as these tools assist them in a variety of tasks such as data discovery, preparation, data replication, and more simple ones like report automation or writing scripts. That said, automating analytical processes significantly increases productivity, leaving more time to perform more important tasks. We will see this more in detail through Jenkins one of the leaders in open-source automation software.

Popular continuous integration (CI) solution with advanced automation features such as running code in multiple platforms

Job automations to set up customized tasks can be scheduled or based on a specific event

Several job automation plugins for different purposes such as Jenkins Job Builder, Jenkins Job DLS or Jenkins Pipeline DLS

Developed in 2004 under the name Hudson, Jenkins is an open-source CI automation server that can be integrated with several DevOps tools via plugins. By default, Jenkins assists developers to automate parts of their software development process like building, testing, and deploying. However, it is also highly used by data analysts as a solution to automate jobs such as running codes and scripts daily or when a specific event happened. For example, run a specific command when new data is available.

There are several Jenkins plugins to generate jobs automatically. For example, the Jenkins Job Builder plugin takes simple descriptions of jobs in YAML or JSON format and turns them into runnable jobs in Jenkins’s format. On the other side, the Jenkins Job DLS plugin provides users with the capabilities to easily generate jobs from other jobs and edit the XML configuration to supplement or fix any existing elements in the DLS. Lastly, the Pipeline plugin is mostly used to generate complex automated processes.

For Jenkins, automation is not useful if it’s not tight to integration. For this reason, they provide hundreds of plugins and extensions to integrate Jenkins with your existing tools. This way, the entire process of code generation and execution can be automated at every stage and in different platforms - leaving you enough time to perform other relevant tasks. All the plugins and extensions from Jenkins are developed in Java meaning the tool can also be installed in any other operator that runs on Java. Users rated Jenkins with 4.5 stars in Capterra and 4.4 stars in G2Crowd.

10. DOCUMENT SHARING TOOLS

As an analyst working with programming, it is very likely that you have found yourself in the situation of having to share your code or analytical findings with others. Rather you want someone to look into your code for errors or provide any other kind of feedback to your work, a document sharing tool is the way to go. These solutions enable users to share interactive documents which can contain live code and other multimedia elements for a collaborative process. Below, we will present Jupyter Notebook, one of the most popular and efficient platforms for this purpose.

JUPYTER NOTEBOOK

Supports 40 programming languages including Python, R, Julia, C++, and more

Easily share notebooks with others via email, Dropbox, GitHub and Jupyter Notebook Viewer

In-browser editing for code, with automatic syntax highlighting, indentation, and tab completion

Jupyter Notebook is an open source web based interactive development environment used to generate and share documents called notebooks, containing live codes, data visualizations, and text in a simple and streamlined way. Its name is an abbreviation of the core programming languages it supports: Julia, Python, and R and, according to its website, it has a flexible interface that enables users to view, execute and share their code all in the same platform. Notebooks allow analysts, developers, and anyone else to combine code, comments, multimedia, and visualizations in an interactive document that can be easily shared and reworked directly in your web browser.

Even though it works by default on Python, Jupyter Notebook supports over 40 programming languages and it can be used in multiple scenarios. Some of them include sharing notebooks with interactive visualizations, avoiding the static nature of other software, live documentation to explain how specific Python modules or libraries work, or simply sharing code and data files with others. Notebooks can be easily converted into different output formats such as HTML, LaTeX, PDF, and more. This level of versatility has earned the tool 4.7 stars rating on Capterra and 4.5 in G2Crowd.

11. Unified data analytics engines

If you work for a company that produces massive datasets and needs a big data management solution, then unified data analytics engines might be the best resolution for your analytical processes. To be able to make quality decisions in a big data environment, analysts need tools that will enable them to take full control of their company’s robust data environment. That’s where machine learning and AI play a significant role. That said, Apache Spark is one of the data analysis tools on our list that supports big-scale data processing with the help of an extensive ecosystem.

Apache Spark

High performance: Spark owns the record in the large-scale data processing

A large ecosystem of data frames, streaming, machine learning, and graph computation

Perform Exploratory Analysis on petabyte-scale data without the need for downsampling

Apache Spark was originally developed by UC Berkeley in 2009 and since then, it has expanded across industries and companies such as Netflix, Yahoo, and eBay that have deployed Spark, processed petabytes of data and proved that Apache is the go-to solution for big data management, earning it a positive 4.2 star rating in both Capterra and G2Crowd. Their ecosystem consists of Spark SQL, streaming, machine learning, graph computation, and core Java, Scala, and Python APIs to ease the development. Already in 2014, Spark officially set a record in large-scale sorting. Actually, the engine can be 100x faster than Hadoop and this is one of the features that is extremely crucial for massive volumes of data processing.

You can easily run applications in Java, Python, Scala, R, and SQL while more than 80 high-level operators that Spark offers will make your data transformation easy and effective. As a unified engine, Spark comes with support for SQL queries, MLlib for machine learning and GraphX for streaming data that can be combined to create additional, complex analytical workflows. Additionally, it runs on Hadoop, Kubernetes, Apache Mesos, standalone or in the cloud and can access diverse data sources. Spark is truly a powerful engine for analysts that need support in their big data environment.

12. Spreadsheet applications

Spreadsheets are one of the most traditional forms of data analysis. Quite popular in any industry, business or organization, there is a slim chance that you haven’t created at least one spreadsheet to analyze your data. Often used by people that don’t have high technical abilities to code themselves, spreadsheets can be used for fairly easy analysis that doesn’t require considerable training, complex and large volumes of data and databases to manage. To look at spreadsheets in more detail, we have chosen Excel as one of the most popular in business.

Part of the Microsoft Office family, hence, it’s compatible with other Microsoft applications

Pivot tables and building complex equations through designated rows and columns

Perfect for smaller analysis processes through workbooks and quick sharing

With 4.8 stars rating in Capterra and 4.7 in G2Crowd, Excel needs a category on its own since this powerful tool has been in the hands of analysts for a very long time. Often considered a traditional form of analysis, Excel is still widely used across the globe. The reasons are fairly simple: there aren’t many people who have never used it or come across it at least once in their career. It’s a fairly versatile data analyst tool where you simply manipulate rows and columns to create your analysis. Once this part is finished, you can export your data and send it to the desired recipients, hence, you can use Excel as a reporting tool as well. You do need to update the data on your own, Excel doesn’t have an automation feature similar to other tools on our list. Creating pivot tables, managing smaller amounts of data and tinkering with the tabular form of analysis, Excel has developed as an electronic version of the accounting worksheet to one of the most spread tools for data analysts.

A wide range of functionalities accompany Excel, from arranging to manipulating, calculating and evaluating quantitative data to building complex equations and using pivot tables, conditional formatting, adding multiple rows and creating charts and graphs – Excel has definitely earned its place in traditional data management.

13. Industry-specific analytics tools

While there are many data analysis tools on this list that are used in various industries and are applied daily in analysts’ workflow, there are solutions that are specifically developed to accommodate a single industry and cannot be used in another. For that reason, we have decided to include of one these solutions on our list, although there are many others, industry-specific data analysis programs and software. Here we focus on Qualtrics as one of the leading research software that is used by over 11000 world’s brands and has over 2M users across the globe as well as many industry-specific features focused on market research.

5 main experience features: design, customer, brand, employee, and product

Additional research services by their in-house experts

Advanced statistical analysis with their Stats iQ analysis tool

Qualtrics is a software for data analysis that is focused on experience management (XM) and is used for market research by companies across the globe. The tool, which has a positive 4.8 stars rating on Capterra and 4.4 in G2Crowd, offers 5 product pillars for enterprise XM which include design, customer, brand, employee, and product experiences, as well as additional research services performed by their own experts. Their XM platform consists of a directory, automated actions, Qualtrics iQ tool, and platform security features that combine automated and integrated workflows into a single point of access. That way, users can refine each stakeholder’s experience and use their tool as an “ultimate listening system.”

Since automation is becoming increasingly important in our data-driven age, Qualtrics has also developed drag-and-drop integrations into the systems that companies already use such as CRM, ticketing, or messaging, while enabling users to deliver automatic notifications to the right people. This feature works across brand tracking and product feedback as well as customer and employee experience. Other critical features such as the directory where users can connect data from 130 channels (including web, SMS, voice, video, or social), and Qualtrics iQ to analyze unstructured data will enable users to utilize their predictive analytics engine and build detailed customer journeys. If you’re looking for a data analytic software that needs to take care of market research of your company, Qualtrics is worth the try.

14. Data science platforms

Data science can be used for most software solutions on our list, but it does deserve a special category since it has developed into one of the most sought-after skills of the decade. No matter if you need to utilize preparation, integration or data analyst reporting tools, data science platforms will probably be high on your list for simplifying analytical processes and utilizing advanced analytics models to generate in-depth data science insights. To put this into perspective, we will present RapidMiner as one of the top data analyst software that combines deep but simplified analysis.

A comprehensive data science and machine learning platform with 1500+ algorithms and functions

Possible to integrate with Python and R as well as support for database connections (e.g. Oracle)

Advanced analytics features for descriptive and prescriptive analytics

RapidMiner , which was just acquired by Altair in 2022 as a part of their data analytics portfolio, is a tool used by data scientists across the world to prepare data, utilize machine learning, and model operations in more than 40 000 organizations that heavily rely on analytics in their operations. By unifying the entire data science cycle, RapidMiner is built on 5 core platforms and 3 automated data science products that help in the design and deployment of analytics processes. Their data exploration features such as visualizations and descriptive statistics will enable you to get the information you need while predictive analytics will help you in cases such as churn prevention, risk modeling, text mining, and customer segmentation.

With more than 1500 algorithms and data functions, support for 3rd party machine learning libraries, integration with Python or R, and advanced analytics, RapidMiner has developed into a data science platform for deep analytical purposes. Additionally, comprehensive tutorials and full automation, where needed, will ensure simplified processes if your company requires them, so you don’t need to perform manual analysis. All these positive traits have earned the tool a positive 4.4 stars rating on Capterra and 4.6 stars in G2Crowd. If you’re looking for analyst tools and software focused on deep data science management and machine learning, then RapidMiner should be high on your list.

15. DATA CLEANSING PLATFORMS

The amount of data being produced is only getting bigger, hence, the possibility of it involving errors. To help analysts avoid these errors that can damage the entire analysis process is that data cleansing solutions were developed. These tools help in preparing the data by eliminating errors, inconsistencies, and duplications enabling users to extract accurate conclusions from it. Before cleansing platforms were a thing, analysts would manually clean the data, this is also a dangerous practice since the human eye is prompt to error. That said, powerful cleansing solutions have proved to boost efficiency and productivity while providing a competitive advantage as data becomes reliable. The cleansing software we picked for this section is a popular solution named OpenRefine.

Data explorer to clean “messy” data using transformations, facets, and clustering, among others

Transform data to the format you desire, for example, turn a list into a table by importing the file into OpenRefine

Includes a large list of extensions and plugins to link and extend datasets with various web services

Previously known as Google Refine, OpenRefine is a Java-based open-source desktop application for working with large sets of data that needs to be cleaned. The tool, with ratings of 4.0 stars in Capterra and 4.6 in G2Crowd, also enables users to transform their data from one format to another and extend it with web services and external data. OpenRefine has a similar interface to the one of spreadsheet applications and can handle CSV file formats, but all in all, it behaves more as a database. Upload your datasets into the tool and use their multiple cleaning features that will let you spot anything from extra spaces to duplicated fields.

Available in more than 15 languages, one of the main principles of OpenRefine is privacy. The tool works by running a small server on your computer and your data will never leave that server unless you decide to share it with someone else.

16. DATA MINING TOOLS

Next, in our insightful list of data analyst tools we are going to touch on data mining. In short, data mining is an interdisciplinary subfield of computer science that uses a mix of statistics, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques and platforms to identify hidden trends and patterns in large, complex data sets. To do so, analysts have to perform various tasks including data classification, cluster analysis, association analysis, regression analysis, and predictive analytics using professional data mining software. Businesses rely on these platforms to anticipate future issues and mitigate risks, make informed decisions to plan their future strategies, and identify new opportunities to grow. There are multiple data mining solutions in the market at the moment, most of them relying on automation as a key feature. We will focus on Orange, one of the leading mining software at the moment.

Visual programming interface to easily perform data mining tasks via drag and drop

Multiple widgets offering a set of data analytics and machine learning functionalities

Add-ons for text mining and natural language processing to extract insights from text data

Orange is an open source data mining and machine learning tool that has existed for more than 20 years as a project from the University of Ljubljana. The tool offers a mix of data mining features, which can be used via visual programming or Python Scripting, as well as other data analytics functionalities for simple and complex analytical scenarios. It works under a “canvas interface” in which users place different widgets to create a data analysis workflow. These widgets offer different functionalities such as reading the data, inputting the data, filtering it, and visualizing it, as well as setting machine learning algorithms for classification and regression, among other things.

What makes this software so popular amongst others in the same category is the fact that it provides beginners and expert users with a pleasant usage experience, especially when it comes to generating swift data visualizations in a quick and uncomplicated way. Orange, which has 4.2 stars ratings on both Capterra and G2Crowd, offers users multiple online tutorials to get them acquainted with the platform. Additionally, the software learns from the user’s preferences and reacts accordingly, this is one of their most praised functionalities.

17. Data visualization platforms

Data visualization has become one of the most indispensable elements of data analytics tools. If you’re an analyst, there is probably a strong chance you had to develop a visual representation of your analysis or utilize some form of data visualization at some point. Here we need to make clear that there are differences between professional data visualization tools often integrated through already mentioned BI tools, free available solutions as well as paid charting libraries. They’re simply not the same. Also, if you look at data visualization in a broad sense, Excel and PowerPoint also have it on offer, but they simply cannot meet the advanced requirements of a data analyst who usually chooses professional BI or data viz tools as well as modern charting libraries, as mentioned. We will take a closer look at Highcharts as one of the most popular charting libraries on the market.

Interactive JavaScript library compatible with all major web browsers and mobile systems like Android and iOS

Designed mostly for a technical-based audience (developers)

WebGL-powered boost module to render millions of datapoints directly in the browser

Highcharts is a multi-platform library that is designed for developers looking to add interactive charts to web and mobile projects. With a promising 4.6 stars rating in Capterra and 4.5 in G2Crowd, this charting library works with any back-end database and data can be given in CSV, JSON, or updated live. They also feature intelligent responsiveness that fits the desired chart into the dimensions of the specific container but also places non-graph elements in the optimal location automatically.

Highcharts supports line, spline, area, column, bar, pie, scatter charts and many others that help developers in their online-based projects. Additionally, their WebGL-powered boost module enables you to render millions of datapoints in the browser. As far as the source code is concerned, they allow you to download and make your own edits, no matter if you use their free or commercial license. In essence, Basically, Highcharts is designed mostly for the technical target group so you should familiarize yourself with developers’ workflow and their JavaScript charting engine. If you’re looking for a more easy to use but still powerful solution, you might want to consider an online data visualization tool like datapine.

3) Key Takeaways & Guidance

We have explained what are data analyst tools and given a brief description of each to provide you with the insights needed to choose the one (or several) that would fit your analytical processes the best. We focused on diversity in presenting tools that would fit technically skilled analysts such as R Studio, Python, or MySQL Workbench. On the other hand, data analysis software like datapine cover needs both for data analysts and business users alike so we tried to cover multiple perspectives and skill levels.

We hope that by now you have a clearer perspective on how modern solutions can help analysts perform their jobs more efficiently in a less prompt to error environment. To conclude, if you want to start an exciting analytical journey and test a professional BI analytics software for yourself, you can try datapine for a 14-day trial , completely free of charge and with no hidden costs.

Take advantage of modern BI software features today!

Quantitative research

Objectives and applications

Quantitative research methods, choosing a quantitative research design, software for quantitative research.

Quantitative and qualitative research are commonly considered differing fundamentally. Yet, their objectives, as well as their applications, overlap in numerous ways. Quantitative Research is considered to have as its main purpose the quantification of data. This allows generalizations of results from a sample to an entire population of interest and the measurement of the incidence of various views and opinions in a given sample.

Yet, quantitative research is not infrequently followed by qualitative research, which aims to explore select findings further. Qualitative research is considered particularly suitable for gaining an in-depth understanding of underlying reasons and motivations. It provides insights into the setting of a problem. At the same time, it frequently generates ideas and hypotheses for later quantitative research.

Quantitative research measures the frequency or intensity of a phenomenon or its distribution, hypotheses can be tested, and insights inferred. At the beginning of the research process, theories about the facts under investigation have already been proposed, from which hypotheses are derived. The actual data are then collected by quantitative methods. In the social sciences, often, these are surveys using questionnaires or experiments. Statistical methods are used to dissect and evaluate the data, often using control groups. The research process results are then, in turn, related to the previously established theories and interpreted.

The advantages of quantitative research are high reliability, fast processing of large amounts of data, and high comparability. There are several methods of quantitative research:

• standardized surveys
• standardized observations
• experiments and trials
• quantitative content analysis

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The research design is composed of:

• Type of research
• Data collection
• Data description
• Method of analysis

Which method of data collection and analysis is suitable depends on the research questions.

A distinction can be made between dependent and independent variables in quantitative research. Independent variables are considered to have an effect on other variables in the research context. They influence the dependent variable(s). Regression analysis can be run to determine whether an independent variable has an effect. For example, one can examine the bathing time (dependent variable) of swimming pool guests as a function of the water temperature (independent variable).

Correlational analysis can be used to determine whether two variables are related, but no cause and effect relationship can be established. For example, it has been observed that more children are born in places where many storks live. This however does not mean that storks deliver babies. The simple explanation for this observation is that birth rates are higher in the countryside, and storks also prefer to live in this environment.

Quantitative research, predominantly statistical analysis, is common in the social sciences. Many software programs designed for use with quantitative data are available today. The main requirements for such packages are that they are comprehensive and flexible. A useful statistical software tool can generate tabulated reports, charts, and plots of distributions and trends and generate descriptive statistics and more complex statistical analyses. Lastly, a user interface that makes it very easy and intuitive for all levels of users is a must.

Examples of statistical analysis software are SPSS, Excel, SAS, or R. The presentation of results of studies usually takes place in the form of tables or graphs.

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The ultimate guide to quantitative data analysis

Numbers help us make sense of the world. We collect quantitative data on our speed and distance as we drive, the number of hours we spend on our cell phones, and how much we save at the grocery store.

Our businesses run on numbers, too. We spend hours poring over key performance indicators (KPIs) like lead-to-client conversions, net profit margins, and bounce and churn rates.

But all of this quantitative data can feel overwhelming and confusing. Lists and spreadsheets of numbers don’t tell you much on their own—you have to conduct quantitative data analysis to understand them and make informed decisions.

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This guide explains what quantitative data analysis is and why it’s important, and gives you a four-step process to conduct a quantitative data analysis, so you know exactly what’s happening in your business and what your users need .

Collect quantitative customer data with Hotjar

Use Hotjar’s tools to gather the customer insights you need to make quantitative data analysis a breeze.

What is quantitative data analysis? 

Quantitative data analysis is the process of analyzing and interpreting numerical data. It helps you make sense of information by identifying patterns, trends, and relationships between variables through mathematical calculations and statistical tests. 

With quantitative data analysis, you turn spreadsheets of individual data points into meaningful insights to drive informed decisions. Columns of numbers from an experiment or survey transform into useful insights—like which marketing campaign asset your average customer prefers or which website factors are most closely connected to your bounce rate. 

Without analytics, data is just noise. Analyzing data helps you make decisions which are informed and free from bias.

What quantitative data analysis is not

But as powerful as quantitative data analysis is, it’s not without its limitations. It only gives you the what, not the why . For example, it can tell you how many website visitors or conversions you have on an average day, but it can’t tell you why users visited your site or made a purchase.

For the why behind user behavior, you need qualitative data analysis , a process for making sense of qualitative research like open-ended survey responses, interview clips, or behavioral observations. By analyzing non-numerical data, you gain useful contextual insights to shape your strategy, product, and messaging. 

Quantitative data analysis vs. qualitative data analysis 

Let’s take an even deeper dive into the differences between quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis to explore what they do and when you need them.

The bottom line: quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis are complementary processes. They work hand-in-hand to tell you what’s happening in your business and why.  

💡 Pro tip: easily toggle between quantitative and qualitative data analysis with Hotjar Funnels . 

The Funnels tool helps you visualize quantitative metrics like drop-off and conversion rates in your sales or conversion funnel to understand when and where users leave your website. You can break down your data even further to compare conversion performance by user segment.

Spot a potential issue? A single click takes you to relevant session recordings , where you see user behaviors like mouse movements, scrolls, and clicks. With this qualitative data to provide context, you'll better understand what you need to optimize to streamline the user experience (UX) and increase conversions .

Hotjar Funnels lets you quickly explore the story behind the quantitative data

4 benefits of quantitative data analysis

There’s a reason product, web design, and marketing teams take time to analyze metrics: the process pays off big time. 

Four major benefits of quantitative data analysis include:

1. Make confident decisions 

With quantitative data analysis, you know you’ve got data-driven insights to back up your decisions . For example, if you launch a concept testing survey to gauge user reactions to a new logo design, and 92% of users rate it ‘very good’—you'll feel certain when you give the designer the green light. 

Since you’re relying less on intuition and more on facts, you reduce the risks of making the wrong decision. (You’ll also find it way easier to get buy-in from team members and stakeholders for your next proposed project. 🙌)

2. Reduce costs

By crunching the numbers, you can spot opportunities to reduce spend . For example, if an ad campaign has lower-than-average click-through rates , you might decide to cut your losses and invest your budget elsewhere. 

Or, by analyzing ecommerce metrics , like website traffic by source, you may find you’re getting very little return on investment from a certain social media channel—and scale back spending in that area.

3. Personalize the user experience

Quantitative data analysis helps you map the customer journey , so you get a better sense of customers’ demographics, what page elements they interact with on your site, and where they drop off or convert . 

These insights let you better personalize your website, product, or communication, so you can segment ads, emails, and website content for specific user personas or target groups.

4. Improve user satisfaction and delight

Quantitative data analysis lets you see where your website or product is doing well—and where it falls short for your users . For example, you might see stellar results from KPIs like time on page, but conversion rates for that page are low. 

These quantitative insights encourage you to dive deeper into qualitative data to see why that’s happening—looking for moments of confusion or frustration on session recordings, for example—so you can make adjustments and optimize your conversions by improving customer satisfaction and delight.

💡Pro tip: use Net Promoter Score® (NPS) surveys to capture quantifiable customer satisfaction data that’s easy for you to analyze and interpret. 

With an NPS tool like Hotjar, you can create an on-page survey to ask users how likely they are to recommend you to others on a scale from 0 to 10. (And for added context, you can ask follow-up questions about why customers selected the rating they did—rich qualitative data is always a bonus!)

Hotjar graphs your quantitative NPS data to show changes over time

4 steps to effective quantitative data analysis 

Quantitative data analysis sounds way more intimidating than it actually is. Here’s how to make sense of your company’s numbers in just four steps:

1. Collect data

Before you can actually start the analysis process, you need data to analyze. This involves conducting quantitative research and collecting numerical data from various sources, including: 

Interviews or focus groups 

Website analytics

Observations, from tools like heatmaps or session recordings

Questionnaires, like surveys or on-page feedback widgets

Just ensure the questions you ask in your surveys are close-ended questions—providing respondents with select choices to choose from instead of open-ended questions that allow for free responses.

Hotjar’s pricing plans survey template provides close-ended questions

 2. Clean data

Once you’ve collected your data, it’s time to clean it up. Look through your results to find errors, duplicates, and omissions. Keep an eye out for outliers, too. Outliers are data points that differ significantly from the rest of the set—and they can skew your results if you don’t remove them.

By taking the time to clean your data set, you ensure your data is accurate, consistent, and relevant before it’s time to analyze. 

3. Analyze and interpret data

At this point, your data’s all cleaned up and ready for the main event. This step involves crunching the numbers to find patterns and trends via mathematical and statistical methods. 

Two main branches of quantitative data analysis exist: 

Descriptive analysis : methods to summarize or describe attributes of your data set. For example, you may calculate key stats like distribution and frequency, or mean, median, and mode.

Inferential analysis : methods that let you draw conclusions from statistics—like analyzing the relationship between variables or making predictions. These methods include t-tests, cross-tabulation, and factor analysis. (For more detailed explanations and how-tos, head to our guide on quantitative data analysis methods.)

Then, interpret your data to determine the best course of action. What does the data suggest you do ? For example, if your analysis shows a strong correlation between email open rate and time sent, you may explore optimal send times for each user segment.

4. Visualize and share data

Once you’ve analyzed and interpreted your data, create easy-to-read, engaging data visualizations—like charts, graphs, and tables—to present your results to team members and stakeholders. Data visualizations highlight similarities and differences between data sets and show the relationships between variables.

Software can do this part for you. For example, the Hotjar Dashboard shows all of your key metrics in one place—and automatically creates bar graphs to show how your top pages’ performance compares. And with just one click, you can navigate to the Trends tool to analyze product metrics for different segments on a single chart. 

Hotjar Trends lets you compare metrics across segments

Discover rich user insights with quantitative data analysis

Conducting quantitative data analysis takes a little bit of time and know-how, but it’s much more manageable than you might think. 

By choosing the right methods and following clear steps, you gain insights into product performance and customer experience —and you’ll be well on your way to making better decisions and creating more customer satisfaction and loyalty.

FAQs about quantitative data analysis

What is quantitative data analysis.

Quantitative data analysis is the process of making sense of numerical data through mathematical calculations and statistical tests. It helps you identify patterns, relationships, and trends to make better decisions.

How is quantitative data analysis different from qualitative data analysis?

Quantitative and qualitative data analysis are both essential processes for making sense of quantitative and qualitative research .

Quantitative data analysis helps you summarize and interpret numerical results from close-ended questions to understand what is happening. Qualitative data analysis helps you summarize and interpret non-numerical results, like opinions or behavior, to understand why the numbers look like they do.

 If you want to make strong data-driven decisions, you need both.

What are some benefits of quantitative data analysis?

Quantitative data analysis turns numbers into rich insights. Some benefits of this process include: 

Making more confident decisions

Identifying ways to cut costs

Personalizing the user experience

Improving customer satisfaction

What methods can I use to analyze quantitative data?

Quantitative data analysis has two branches: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. 

Descriptive statistics provide a snapshot of the data’s features by calculating measures like mean, median, and mode. 

Inferential statistics , as the name implies, involves making inferences about what the data means. Dozens of methods exist for this branch of quantitative data analysis, but three commonly used techniques are: 

Cross tabulation

Factor analysis

Data Analysis in Quantitative Research

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Quantitative data analysis serves as part of an essential process of evidence-making in health and social sciences. It is adopted for any types of research question and design whether it is descriptive, explanatory, or causal. However, compared with qualitative counterpart, quantitative data analysis has less flexibility. Conducting quantitative data analysis requires a prerequisite understanding of the statistical knowledge and skills. It also requires rigor in the choice of appropriate analysis model and the interpretation of the analysis outcomes. Basically, the choice of appropriate analysis techniques is determined by the type of research question and the nature of the data. In addition, different analysis techniques require different assumptions of data. This chapter provides introductory guides for readers to assist them with their informed decision-making in choosing the correct analysis models. To this end, it begins with discussion of the levels of measure: nominal, ordinal, and scale. Some commonly used analysis techniques in univariate, bivariate, and multivariate data analysis are presented for practical examples. Example analysis outcomes are produced by the use of SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences).

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Jung, Y.M. (2019). Data Analysis in Quantitative Research. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_109

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MATLAB is a quantitative analysis software optimized for solving scientific and engineering problems. Typical users include education-based (specifically linear algebra and numerical analysis), scientists, and engineers. Provided by UO  through CASIT services.

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Import:  Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.txt, .dat, .csv, .m), Web-based files (.xml) & additional formats (.json)

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Microsoft Power BI and Power BI Pro provide users with cloud-based or desktop-based access to quantitative analysis. Typical users include educators and profit/nonprofit corporations. Provided by UO through the Technology Service Desk .

Import: Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), Text files (.csv), Database files & Power BI files (.pbix)

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View this Microsoft PowerBI video tutorial to learn about PowerBI and how to get started. Closed captions are available. 

SAS is quantitative analysis software predominantly used for data management and statistical procedures. Typical users include financial services, government, manufacturing, health and life sciences, and profit/nonprofit corporations. Provided by UO  through the Technology Service Desk . 

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SAS provides a SAS video demo giving an overview of visual analytics and how SAS can be utilized. Closed captions are available. 

SPSS  &  SPSS Amos

SPSS is quantitative analysis software. SPSS Amos is a product edition that features the ability to build attitudinal and behavioral models to show relationships among variables. Typical users include the social sciences, health sciences, marketing, and academia. SPSS and SPSS Amos are provided by UO through the Technology Service Desk . 

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STATA is quantitative analysis software. It specifically works well for data management regarding panel data, survey data, and multiple imputations. Typical users include economists, sociologists, political scientists, and researchers. STATA is available on the UO Virtual Computer Lab and UO Libraries Windows computers.

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QUALITATIVE & QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Add empathy and context to your insights.

Complement your quantitative research by adding empathy back into your insights — because behind every data point and experience is a person. With Qualtrics Strategy & Research, get to know the people who make your business tick — from what they really care about to what you could do better — and transform the experiences you deliver, today.

Video feedback analysis

Hear the human stories behind the data.

Whether it’s mobile, laptop or desktop , let your audience tell you exactly how they feel — wherever and whenever they want to — with video feedback. Then, plug those insights into everything you do.

• Automatically transcribe and analyze video responses using Text iQ — a cutting-edge, AI-powered text analytics platform that helps to uncover trends, sentiment and more
• Filter and clip videos to create your own highlight reels using an intuitive, built-in video editor, and then share them with stakeholders to bring findings to life

QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS AT SCALE

Discover how your respondents really feel.

From the words respondents use to how they convey emotion, delve deeper into the qualitative feedback you receive and glean more meaningful, actionable data for your organization.

• Access best-in-class machine learning and natural language processing to analyze videos, tag content based on topic, and determine how people truly feel based on what they say
• Automatically translate videos into your languages of choice -- making them easy for everyone to use while scaling feedback across the organization
• Qualtrics AI summarization allows deeper insights generation from every video with less time and effort required

Qualitative research design handbook

In qualitative research, you’re seeking to understand the feelings and perceptions behind the number — the why behind the what. But to do qualitative research well, it’s important to understand the fundamentals and how best to apply qualitative techniques at every stage of the process. This handbook outlines the basics of great qualitative research design, providing you with a clear and concise resource on everything from concept to delivery.

EFFICIENT RESEARCH

Go deeper with in-depth interviews.

Extract high-quality, actionable insights at scale from your video interviews. Just upload them directly to our platform and let the video editor and analysis do the rest.

• Transcribe and analyze video responses for both topics and sentiment, whether people are excited, angry, frustrated or otherwise, to get more authentic findings
• Leverage robust analysis that can identify and capture insights from up to 10 unique speakers per video interview, helping streamline your efforts and reduce admin

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Understanding data analysis: A beginner's guide

Before data can be used to tell a story, it must go through a process that makes it usable. Explore the role of data analysis in decision-making.

What is data analysis?

Data analysis is the process of gathering, cleaning, and modeling data to reveal meaningful insights. This data is then crafted into reports that support the strategic decision-making process.

Types of data analysis

There are many different types of data analysis. Each type can be used to answer a different question.

Descriptive analytics

Descriptive analytics refers to the process of analyzing historical data to understand trends and patterns. For example, success or failure to achieve key performance indicators like return on investment.

An example of descriptive analytics is generating reports to provide an overview of an organization's sales and financial data, offering valuable insights into past activities and outcomes.

Predictive analytics

Predictive analytics uses historical data to help predict what might happen in the future, such as identifying past trends in data to determine if they’re likely to recur.

Methods include a range of statistical and machine learning techniques, including neural networks, decision trees, and regression analysis.

Diagnostic analytics

Diagnostic analytics helps answer questions about what caused certain events by looking at performance indicators. Diagnostic analytics techniques supplement basic descriptive analysis.

Generally, diagnostic analytics involves spotting anomalies in data (like an unexpected shift in a metric), gathering data related to these anomalies, and using statistical techniques to identify potential explanations.

Cognitive analytics

Cognitive analytics is a sophisticated form of data analysis that goes beyond traditional methods. This method uses machine learning and natural language processing to understand, reason, and learn from data in a way that resembles human thought processes.

The goal of cognitive analytics is to simulate human-like thinking to provide deeper insights, recognize patterns, and make predictions.

Prescriptive analytics

Prescriptive analytics helps answer questions about what needs to happen next to achieve a certain goal or target. By using insights from prescriptive analytics, organizations can make data-driven decisions in the face of uncertainty.

Data analysts performing prescriptive analysis often rely on machine learning to find patterns in large semantic models and estimate the likelihood of various outcomes.

analyticsText analytics

Text analytics is a way to teach computers to understand human language. It involves using algorithms and other techniques to extract information from large amounts of text data, such as social media posts or customer previews.

Text analytics helps data analysts make sense of what people are saying, find patterns, and gain insights that can be used to make better decisions in fields like business, marketing, and research.

The data analysis process

Compiling and interpreting data so it can be used in decision making is a detailed process and requires a systematic approach. Here are the steps that data analysts follow:

1. Define your objectives.

Clearly define the purpose of your analysis. What specific question are you trying to answer? What problem do you want to solve? Identify your core objectives. This will guide the entire process.

2. Collect and consolidate your data.

Gather your data from all relevant sources using  data analysis software . Ensure that the data is representative and actually covers the variables you want to analyze.

3. Select your analytical methods.

Investigate the various data analysis methods and select the technique that best aligns with your objectives. Many free data analysis software solutions offer built-in algorithms and methods to facilitate this selection process.

4. Clean your data.

Scrutinize your data for errors, missing values, or inconsistencies using the cleansing features already built into your data analysis software. Cleaning the data ensures accuracy and reliability in your analysis and is an important part of data analytics.

5. Uncover valuable insights.

Delve into your data to uncover patterns, trends, and relationships. Use statistical methods, machine learning algorithms, or other analytical techniques that are aligned with your goals. This step transforms raw data into valuable insights.

6. Interpret and visualize the results.

Examine the results of your analyses to understand their implications. Connect these findings with your initial objectives. Then, leverage the visualization tools within free data analysis software to present your insights in a more digestible format.

7. Make an informed decision.

Use the insights gained from your analysis to inform your next steps. Think about how these findings can be utilized to enhance processes, optimize strategies, or improve overall performance.

By following these steps, analysts can systematically approach large sets of data, breaking down the complexities and ensuring the results are actionable for decision makers.

The importance of data analysis

Data analysis is critical because it helps business decision makers make sense of the information they collect in our increasingly data-driven world. Imagine you have a massive pile of puzzle pieces (data), and you want to see the bigger picture (insights). Data analysis is like putting those puzzle pieces together—turning that data into knowledge—to reveal what’s important.

Whether you’re a business decision maker trying to make sense of customer preferences or a scientist studying trends, data analysis is an important tool that helps us understand the world and make informed choices.

Primary data analysis methods

Quantitative analysis

Quantitative analysis deals with numbers and measurements (for example, looking at survey results captured through ratings). When performing quantitative analysis, you’ll use mathematical and statistical methods exclusively and answer questions like ‘how much’ or ‘how many.’ 

Qualitative analysis

Qualitative analysis is about understanding the subjective meaning behind non-numerical data. For example, analyzing interview responses or looking at pictures to understand emotions. Qualitative analysis looks for patterns, themes, or insights, and is mainly concerned with depth and detail.

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10 free data analytics courses you can take online

Data analytics is the science of taking raw data, cleaning it, and analyzing it to inform conclusions and support decision making. From business to health care to social media, data analytics is changing the way organizations operate.

“It’s not hyperbole to say that data analytics has really taken over the world,” says Brian Caffo, professor of biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health and director of academic programs for the university’s Data Science and AI Institute. “Every domain has become increasingly quantitative to inform decision making.”

Berkeley's Data Science Master's

And this space isn’t slowing down anytime soon: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment for data scientists will grow 35% from 2022 to 2032, with 17,700 new job openings projected each year on average during that decade. 

Interested in becoming a data analyst? Below, we’ve compiled ten free data analytics courses to help give you a firmer grasp of this rapidly growing field.

A/B Testing  

About: This course covers the design and analysis of A/B tests, which are online experiments that compare two versions of content to see which one appeals to viewers more. A/B tests are used throughout the tech industry by companies like Amazon and Google. This course is offered through Udacity. 

Course length: Six self-paced modules

Who this course is for: Beginners

What you’ll learn: In this course you’ll learn about A/B testing, experiment ethics, how to choose metrics, design an experiment, and analyze results.

Prerequisites: None  

Data Analytics Short Course  

About: In this quick, five-tutorial course you’ll get a broad overview of data analytics. You’ll learn about the different types of roles in data analytics, a summary of the tools and skills you’ll need to develop, and a hands-on introduction to the field. This course is offered by CareerFoundry.

Course length: 75 minutes, divided into five 15-minute lessons

What you’ll learn: In this course you’ll get an introduction to data analytics. You’ll also analyze a real dataset to solve a business problem through data cleaning, visualizations, and garnering final insights.

Prerequisites: None 

Data Science: R Basics  

About: This program gives you a foundational knowledge of programming language R. Offered by HarvardX through the EdX platform, this course is offered for free; the paid version includes a credential. It’s the first of ten courses HarvardX offers as part of its Professional Certificate in Data Science.

Course length: Eight weeks, 1–2 hours per week

What you’ll learn: In this course you’ll learn basic R syntax and foundational R programming concepts, including data types, vectors arithmetic, and indexing. You’ll also perform operations that include sorting, data wrangling using dplyr, and making plots. 

“It’s the basics of how to wrangle, analyze, and visualize data in R,” says Dustin Tingley, Harvard University’s deputy vice provost for advances in learning and a professor of government in the school’s government department. “That gets you writing a little bit of code, but you’re not doing anything that heavy.”

Prerequisites: HarvardX recommends having an up-to-date browser to enable programming directly in a browser-based interface 

Fundamentals of Qualitative Research Methods  

About: This course will teach you the fundamentals of qualitative research methods. Qualitative research provides deeper insights into real-world problems that might not always be immediately evident. This course is offered through Yale University on YouTube.

Course length: 90 minutes spread out over six modules

What you’ll learn: In this course you’ll learn how qualitative research is a way to systematically collect, organize, and interpret information that is difficult to measure quantitatively. This includes developing qualitative research questions, gathering data through interviews and focus groups, and analyzing this data. 

“Qualitative research is the systematic, rigorous application of narratives and tools to better understand a complex phenomenon,” says Leslie Curry, a professor of public health and management at the Yale School of Public Health and a professor of management at the Yale School of Management. She adds that this approach can help understand flaws in large data sets. “It can be used as an adjunct to a lot of the really important work that’s happening in large data analysis.”

Getting and Cleaning Data  

About: This course covers the basic ways that data can be obtained and how that data can be cleaned to make it “tidy.” It will also teach you the components of a complete data set, such as raw data, codebooks, processing instructions, and processed data. This course is offered by Johns Hopkins University through Coursera, and is part of a 10-course Data Science Specialization series.

Course length: Four weeks, totaling approximately 19 hours

What you’ll learn: Through this course you’ll learn about common data storage systems, how to use R for text and date manipulation, how to use data cleaning basics to make data “tidy,” and how to obtain useable data from the web, application programming interfaces (APIs), and databases. 

“It’s the starting point” when it comes to data analysis, Caffo says. “Without a good data set that is cleaned and appropriate for use, you have nothing. You can talk all you want about doing models or whatnot—underlying that has to be the data to support it.”

Prerequisites: None

Introduction to Data Science with Python  

About: This course teaches you concepts and techniques to give you a foundational understanding of data science and machine learning. Offered by HarvardX through the EdX platform, this course can be taken for free. The paid version offers a credential.

Course length: Eight weeks, 3–4 hours a week

Who this course is for: Intermediate

What you’ll learn: This course will give you hands-on experience using Python to solve real data science challenges. You’ll use Python programming and coding for modeling, statistics, and storytelling. 

“It gets you up and running with the main workhorse tools of data analytics,” says Tingley. “It helps to set people up to take more advanced courses in things like machine learning and artificial intelligence.”

Prerequisites: None, but Tingley says having a basic background in high school-level algebra and basic probability is helpful. Some programming experience—particularly in Python—is recommended 

Introduction to Databases and SQL Querying  

About: In this course you’ll learn how to query a database, create tables and databases, and be proficient in basic SQL querying. This free course is offered through Udemy.

Course length: Two hours and 17 minutes

What you’ll learn: This course will acquaint you with the basic concepts of databases and queries. This course will walk you through setting up your environment, creating your first table, and writing your first query. By the course’s conclusion, you should be able to write simple queries related to dates, string manipulation, and aggregation.

Introduction to Data Analytics  

About: This course offers an introduction to data analysis, the role of a data analyst, and the various tools used for data analytics. This course is offered by IBM through Coursera.

Course length: Five modules totaling roughly 10 hours 

What you’ll learn: This course will teach you about data analytics and the different types of data structures, file formats, and sources of data. You’ll learn about the data analysis process, including collecting, wrangling, mining, and visualizing data. And you’ll learn about the different roles within the field of data analysis.

Learn to Code for Data Analysis  

About: This course will teach you how to write your own computer programs, access open data, clean and analyze data, and produce visualizations. You’ll code in Python, write analyses and do coding exercises using the Jupyter Notebooks platform. This course is offered through the United Kingdom’s Open University on its OpenLearn platform.

Course length: Eight weeks, totaling 24 hours

What you’ll learn: In this course you’ll learn basic programming and data analysis concepts, recognize open data sources, use a programming environment to develop programs, and write simple programs to analyze large datasets and produce results.

Prerequisites: A background in coding—especially Python—is helpful  

The Data Scientist’s Toolbox  

About: This course will give you an introduction to the main tools and concepts of data science. You will learn the ideas behind turning data into actionable knowledge and get an introduction to tools like version control, markdown, git, GitHub, R, and RStudio. This course is offered by Johns Hopkins University through Coursera, and is part of a 10-course Data Science Specialization series.

Course length: 18 hours

What you’ll learn: This course will teach you how to set up R, RStudio, GitHub, and other tools. You will learn essential study design concepts, as well as how to understand the data, problems, and tools that data analysts use. 

“That course is a very accessible introduction for anyone who wants to get started in this,” Caffo says. “It’s an overview that covers the full pipeline, from things like collecting and arranging data to asking good questions, all the way to creating a data deliverable.”

The takeaway  

From businesses estimating demand for their products to political campaigns figuring out where they should run advertisements to health care professionals running clinical trials to judge a drug’s efficacy, data analytics has a wide variety of applications. Getting a better understanding of the field on your own time can be done easily and freely. And the field is only growing.

“Just about every field is having a revolution in data analytics,” Caffo says. “In fields like medicine that have always been data driven, it’s become more data-driven.”

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