Types of Data

Types of Data

1. Quantitative Data - measures behaviour collected numerically; can be collected from the DV and closed questions

   • easy to analyse - using descriptive statistics and statistical tests; may oversimplify reality leading to meaningless conclusions

2. Qualitative Data - non-numerical data which can be collected from open questions, descriptions of behaviour and collected material e.g books

   • can be quantified by tallying behavioural categories in an observational study or coding categories in content analysis
   • provides rich and descriptive details of participant's experiences; can produce unexpected insights into thoughts and behaviour (makes it harder to analyse and draw conclusions)

3. Primary data - collected directly by the researcher, specifically to address the aims and hypotheses of the study

   • collected specifically to meet the aims and hypotheses of a study - researcher has tight control over quality, quantity and type of data collected. data collection is time consuming and expensive so studies must be carefully designed to make sure only useful data is collected.

4. Secondary Data - information gathered for a different purpose or by another researcher; could include govt statistics or health records

   • used in review studies and meta-analyses, often in correlational studies
   • simpler to access - as it has already been collected; if statistical tests have already been carried out then the researcher knows which data is significant (however variables may have been operationalised differently) means this data may not fit the needs of a new study or may not be valid for comparison with similar data from other studies.