What is qualitative data?

What is qualitative data?

• A. Data that describes meaning and experiences in words.
• B. Data that focuses on numbers.
• C. Data from surveys with Likert scales only.
• D. Data from archival records.

Answer: (A)

Qualitative data describes meaning and experiences in words, providing rich, descriptive information from sources like interview transcripts, open-ended survey responses, and observational notes. It aims to understand how people think and feel in context, not to count or measure phenomena. The focus on verbal descriptions and subjective meaning is what makes data qualitative. In contrast, data that focuses on numbers is quantitative—things like counts, lengths, and frequencies. A survey with Likert scales yields numerical scores rather than in-depth descriptions. Data from archival records can be qualitative or quantitative, but simply being archival does not define qualitative data.

Qualitative data describes meaning and experiences in words, providing rich, descriptive information from sources like interview transcripts, open-ended survey responses, and observational notes. It aims to understand how people think and feel in context, not to count or measure phenomena. The focus on verbal descriptions and subjective meaning is what makes data qualitative. In contrast, data that focuses on numbers is quantitative—things like counts, lengths, and frequencies. A survey with Likert scales yields numerical scores rather than in-depth descriptions. Data from archival records can be qualitative or quantitative, but simply being archival does not define qualitative data.