määrällinen

Määrällinen is a Finnish adjective meaning quantitative or numerical. It is used to describe data, measurements, analyses and research methods that rely on numbers, quantities and statistical techniques. The term is commonly contrasted with laadullinen (qualitative), which refers to non-numerical data and interpretive methods.

In practice, määrällinen tutkimus (quantitative research) collects numerical data, often through surveys, experiments or secondary data sets, and employs statistical analysis such as descriptive statistics, regression or variance analysis.

In other contexts, määrällinen data refers to numerical values that can be measured and counted, while määrällinen malli implies a model built to quantify relationships or predict outcomes. The concept is widely used in social sciences, health sciences and natural sciences, alongside laadullinen tutkimus.

Etymology: Derived from määrä meaning "amount" or "quantity" with the -llinen adjectival suffix.

See also:

- määrällinen tutkimus

- laadullinen tutkimus

- tilastollinen analyysi

- data