Methodology voga in the field of entrepreneurship: employment of quantitative methods for the study of the inherent characteristics entrepreneurs/Metodologia em voga no campo de empreendedorismo: emprego de metodos quantitativos para o estudo das caracteristicas inerentes aos empreendedores/Voga metodologia en el ambito de la iniciativa empresarial: el empleo de metodos cuantitativos para el estudio de los empresarios caracteristicas inherentes

This study aimed to investigate how the quantitative methodology has been employed in research on "the inherent characteristics of entrepreneurs." Specifically, we analyze the Brazilian production exposed at the National Meeting of Anpad (EnANPAD) over 10 years, since 2003, year of the creation of a specific space for production in entrepreneurship, by 2012. Among the 279 articles on entrepreneurship published in EnANPAD in these 10 years, a purposive sample of 28 articles was analyzed. At first abstracts, introductions and objectives were analyzed for the classification of subjects and subsequently proceeded to the detailed analysis of the employed methods in the studies. In order to provide an analysis that indicates how to characterize the entrepreneurship studies on in Brazil in present, the more addressed issue in the field of entrepreneurship were investigated to evaluate the use of quantitative methodology, also justified, as target of this investigation, by being the main method used in the studies on the subject. The study allows to identify methodological tools which are suitable to investigate the inherent characteristics of entrepreneurs and how these resources were used. The level of quality required for publication in EnANPAD collaborates to say about the viability of the search strategies outlined in this study. There is also a contribution to the delimitation of the object of research in the field of entrepreneurship, especially in Brazil.