Question

What does quantitative mean?

Answer 1

If a characteristic under study can be quantified (measured in terms of some number) or not.

Explanation:

Any characteristics under study may be anything. We may like to study the brand preference of a group of people, or we may study the time spent on repairing a machine, - it can be anything.

if the characteristic under study is quantifiable (i.e. measured in terms of a number) - it is known as a variable.
if the characteristic is checked only for its presence or absence, it is an attribute.
In some cases, we also use a scale (0 to 5) in describing a characteristic.
for example, height is measurable - i.e. quantitative.
on the other hand 'wearing glasses' is not quantifiable. We can only say yes or no.