Qualitative data

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which of these is an example of qualitative data?

A A student's comment: "The app was confusing to navigate."

B The number of minutes the student spent on the app: 42

2. Which survey question is most likely to collect qualitative data?

A What did you like most about the new school canteen menu?

B How many times per week do you buy lunch at the canteen?

3. True or false: Qualitative data is not measured as numbers.

A False

B True

4. A transcript of an interview with a local council worker about recycling is...

A Qualitative data

B Quantitative data

5. Which set of values is qualitative data?

A Hours of sleep: 6, 8, 7.5

B Favourite genre: Horror, Comedy, Fantasy

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1"The app is easy to use but slow to load."		AThese values are measured numbers, so they are quantitative data. Qualitative data is descriptive, such as comments or opinions.
2Interviewer: How did you feel about the new timetable?		BComment: "Loved the new canteen menu" -> Category: Positive
3Qualitative data can be sorted into categories, such as positive, negative or neutral comments		CWhat did you like most about the school camp?
4An open-ended question lets people answer in their own words, which collects qualitative data		DAn open-ended survey response, which is qualitative data because it is a descriptive comment
5Qualitative data: Age = 16, Height = 172 cm		EA question from an interview transcript that gathers qualitative data about a person's experience
6Qualitative data = the average rating out of 10 from 50 students		FAn average rating is a calculated number, so it is quantitative. Qualitative data is descriptive and not measured as numbers.

Definitions

Qualitative data

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Comment "Easy to use" is ___________ data

________ ← "Positive"

________ comment IN responses category ← "Negative" END FOR

=_______(B2:B30,"Positive")

IF comment CONTAINS "easy" ____ category ← "Positive" END IF

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Q1: How was the app?

B Answer: 'Easy to use'

C Data: quantitative

Question 2

A Source: interview transcript

B Speaker: Student

C Quote: 'I felt rushed'

D Theme: mean score 3.5

Question 3

A comment ← 'Great teacher'

B type ← 'quantitative'

C OUTPUT type

Question 4

A R1: 'Too noisy'

B R2: 'Loved the music'

C R3: 'Needs more seats'

D Sort into: totals

Question 5

A Q: What did you enjoy most?

B Type: closed, Yes or No

C Answer: 'The group work'

Answer Key

Qualitative data

Section A: Quick Questions

A — A student's comment: "The app was confusing to navigate."

A — What did you like most about the new school canteen menu?

B — True

A — Qualitative data

B — Favourite genre: Horror, Comedy, Fantasy

Section B: Match the Pairs

"The app is easy to use but slow to load." → An open-ended survey response, which is qualitative data because it is a descriptive comment

Interviewer: How did you feel about the new timetable? → A question from an interview transcript that gathers qualitative data about a person's experience

Qualitative data can be sorted into categories, such as positive, negative or neutral comments → Comment: "Loved the new canteen menu" -> Category: Positive

An open-ended question lets people answer in their own words, which collects qualitative data → What did you like most about the school camp?

Qualitative data: Age = 16, Height = 172 cm → These values are measured numbers, so they are quantitative data. Qualitative data is descriptive, such as comments or opinions.

Qualitative data = the average rating out of 10 from 50 students → An average rating is a calculated number, so it is quantitative. Qualitative data is descriptive and not measured as numbers.

Section C: Definitions

Qualitative data — Descriptive data such as opinions, comments and experiences, often from open-ended responses or interviews. It is not measured as numbers, and is sorted into categories and descriptions.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Comment "Easy to use" is qualitative data

category ← "Positive"

FOR EACH comment IN responses
    category ← "Negative"
END FOR

=COUNTIF(B2:B30,"Positive")

IF comment CONTAINS "easy" THEN
    category ← "Positive"
END IF

Section E: Spot the Error

C — An open-ended answer in words, such as 'Easy to use', is qualitative data, not quantitative. The line should be 'Data: qualitative'.

D — Qualitative data from a transcript is sorted into themes or categories described in words. It is not turned into a mean score. It should be 'Theme: feeling rushed'.

B — A comment such as 'Great teacher' is an opinion described in words, so it is qualitative. It is not measured as numbers. Line 2 should assign 'qualitative'.

D — Qualitative responses are sorted into categories and descriptions, not added into totals. The line should be 'Sort into: categories'.

B — A question that lets students answer in their own words is open-ended. A closed Yes/No question would not give a descriptive answer like 'The group work'. It should be 'Type: open-ended'.