Types of data

• Primary data

  Original data that has been collected specifically for the purpose of the investigation by the researcher. It is data that arrives first-hand from the participants themselves.
• Primary data

  • Data gathered by conducting an experiment, questionnaire, interview or observation
• Secondary data

  Data that has been collected by someone other than the person who is conducting the research. It is data that already exists before the psychologist begins their research or investigation.
• Secondary data

  • Data located in journal articles, books or websites
  • Statistical information held by the government (such as that obtained in the Census)
  • Population records
  • Employee absence records within an organisation
• Qualitative data

  Data expressed in words, rather than numbers or statistics, and may take the form of a written description of the thoughts, feelings and opinions of participants
• Qualitative data

  • Transcript from an interview
  • Extract from a diary
  • Notes recorded within a counselling session
• Quantitative data

  Data expressed numerically, usually in the form of individual scores from participants
• Qualitative methods of data collection are those that are concerned with the interpretation of language from, for example, an interview or an unstructured observation
• Quantitative data collection techniques usually gather numerical data in the form of individual scores from participants
• Quantitative data is open to being analysed statistically and can be easily converted into graphs, charts, etc.
• Neither qualitative nor quantitative data is really 'best', it depends upon the purpose and aims of the research
• There is significant overlap between qualitative and quantitative data - researchers collecting quantitative data may interview participants to gain more qualitative insight, and qualitative information can be converted to numerical data