Data analysis: Kinds of data

Question 1

What is qualitative data?

Answer 1

• data expressed in words rather than statistics
• may take form as written description of thoughts, feelings & opinions of pps
• e.g. transcript from an interview or extract from a diary
• qualitative methods of data collection involves interpretation of language e.g. an interview

Question 2

What is quantitative data?

Answer 2

• data expressed numerically
• quantitative data collection gathers numerical data from scores
• data is open to being analysed statistically and easily converted to graphs

Question 3

What is primary data?

Answer 3

• original data collected specifically for the purpose of the investigation by the researcher
• arrives first-hand from the pps
• gathered using questionnaires, interviews, observations etc.

Question 4

What is secondary data?

Answer 4

• data that has been collected by someone else other than who is conducting the research
• previously existing data that has already been subject to statistical testing
• e.g. journal articles, books, websites etc.

Question 5

Evaluation: Qualitative data

Answer 5

• offers researcher more detail than quantitative as it is broader and gives pps more choice to develop their thoughts, feelings & opinions
• qualitative data has more external validity than quantitative as it provides researcher with more meaningful insight into the pps
• data is difficult to analyse as it can’t be easily summarised statistically so patterns are hard to identify
• this means conclusions rely on subjective interpretations of researcher which may cause bias

Question 6

Evaluation: Quantitative data

Answer 6

• relatively simple to analyse so comparisons between groups are easily made
• numerical data is more objective and less open to bias
• data is much narrower and has less meaning than qualitative so may lack external validity

Question 7

Evaluation: Primary data

Answer 7

• is authentic data obtained from the pps themselves for the purpose of a particular design
• e.g. questionnaires & interviews can be designed in a way to specifically target info required by researchers
• required time & effort to produce primary data
• conducting the experiment requires a lot of planning, prep & resources

Question 8

Evaluation: Secondary data

Answer 8

• may be less expensive & easily accessed requiring minimal effort
• when examining secondary data the researcher may find that desired info already exists to primary data collection isn’t needed
• info might appear to be valuable at first but may be incomplete or out-dated