El The use of quantitative techniques in law and social sciences research

Abstract

There has been a low use of quantitative methods and techniques in  Social Sciences research with the exception of Economics. The aim of the paper is to establish the reasons for this low application and show two experiences of using quantitative techniques such as index numbers -NI- and content analysis -AC. Both qualitative and quantitative method were used with  primary and secondary sources and research techniques such as interview, documentary review, NI and CA. It is concluded that the low use of quantitative techniques is due to ignorance of these tools by researchers, rather than a lack of confidence or interest in them; regarding to the NI, it was demonstrated how this technique allows to assign a single number or data to a set of variables allowing to assess and compare a category or unit of analysis together, facilitating the generalization of results; On the other hand, CA allows showing the different variables behavior in the official or political discourse over a significant period, showing percentages of registration that indicate the degree of importance that is granted to them.