Types of Data

• adv; quantitative data

  - objectively measured, reduces likelihood of bias

  - descriptive statistics allows data to be summarised and displayed on graphs/charts/tables

  - quantitative data tends to be more reliable, higher chances of getting the same findings when study repeated
• adv; qualitative data

  - rich in detail, as researchers can collect more information with open-ended questions (ppts not limited in their responses)
• disadv; quantitative data

  - limited number of quantitative research responses (due to closed questions) results in data lacking depths and detail
• disadv; qualitative data

  - can be open to interpretation, potentially biased

  - due to extensive range of data, can be challenging to summarise

  - reliability of data reduces as open-ended questions allow for a variety of responses
• primary data

  - information collected for the specific purpose at hand

  - collected by;conducting experiments, observations, interviews, questionnaires, case studies
• secondary data

  - information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose by a third party

  - eg: government/business statistics, records, previously published studies
• adv/disadv; primary data

  +: increased validity as data is collected to answer research question directly, researcher can also control the data collection carefully

  -: collecting said data can be both time-consuming and expensive; paying for ppts time, setting up an experiment
• adv/disadv; secondary data

  +: data already exists/is analysed, reduces time and costs needed to conduct research

  -: decreased validity as data collected does not answer researcher question directly, cannot ensure data was collected is free from bias
• meta-analysis

  - a process that collects and combines results of a range of previously published studies which ask similar research questions