types of data and collection

• qualitative data

  • expressed in words
  • gathering data concerning thoughts and feelings
  • produces highly detailed and meaningful info
  • collected from: unstructured interviews, case studies, open questionnaires, some observational studies
• drawing conclusions from qualitative research

  • categorise data - use pre existing categories chosen before research or use emergent categories which emerge from examining data
  • summarise data within those categories - list categories (quote examples or tally them)
  • very detailed and meaningful, high validity
  • difficult to replicate, difficult to analyse
• quantitative research

  • focuses on numerical data
  • less meaningful
  • info more narrowly focused
  • collected from: experiments, correlational studies, structured observations, structured interviews and closed questionnaires
  • easy to analyse, can replicate, more objective
  • less meaningful, low ecological validity
• qualitative to quantitative

  • qualitative data can be converted into quantitative data
  • responses from an interview can be categorised and then certain types of behaviour can be counted
• primary data 


  • information observed or collected directly from first hand experience - data collected would be specifically related to the aims of the study
  • researcher has control over data, applicable data
  • lengthly and therefore expensive
• secondary data 


  • information that was collected for a reason other than the current one
  • this data already exists and has been collected by someone else
  • researcher may use government statistics or make sure of data held by other institutions
  • easier and cheaper, less time consuming
  • from some studies the data may not fit the needs of the study, data may be outdated
• meta analysis 


  • types of secondary data that involves combining data from a large number of studies
  • effect size is calculated
  • tells us how strong the relationship between 2 variables is
  • increases validity of conclusions, sample is larger than the original
  • publication bias - researcher may not select all relevant studies which will lower validity