7. RESEARCH METHODS (Types of data (Qualitative/Quantitative, Primary/Secondary, Measures of Central tendency & Measures of dispersion))

Question 1

What is quantitative data?

Answer 1

Quantitative data is expressed in numerical form, such as numbers on a Likert scale or yes/no answers, and is easy to analyse using statistical methods like graphs.

Question 2

What is qualitative data?

Answer 2

Qualitative data is non-numerical and uses words to describe people’s thoughts, feelings, or experiences, such as written responses to open-ended questions.

Question 3

What is a strength of quantitative data?

Answer 3

Quantitative data is objective, easy to analyse, and allows for easy comparison of responses across participants, which makes it reliable and valid.

Question 4

What is a weakness of quantitative data?

Answer 4

Quantitative data lacks depth and detail, as it focuses on numbers and may not fully represent the complexity of human behaviour.

Question 5

What is a strength of qualitative data?

Answer 5

Qualitative data provides rich, detailed information that can offer insights into the complexities of human behaviour.

Question 6

What is a weakness of qualitative data?

Answer 6

Qualitative data is subjective, difficult to analyse statistically, and may not be reliable or easy to compare due to its non-numerical nature.

Question 7

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data?

Answer 7

Quantitative data involves numbers and is objective, while qualitative data involves words and is subjective, providing more detailed insights but harder to analyse.

Question 8

What is primary data?

Answer 8

Primary data is original data collected directly by the researcher for a specific study.

Question 9

What is secondary data?

Answer 9

Secondary data is data that already exists from previous studies or sources, which is used in a new research context.

Question 10

What is an advantage of primary data?

Answer 10

Primary data is tailored to the researcher’s needs, which can increase the relevance and internal validity of the study.

Question 11

What is a limitation of primary data?

Answer 11

Primary data collection is time-consuming and resource-intensive, as researchers must design, implement, and analyse new data.

Question 12

What is an advantage of secondary data?

Answer 12

Secondary data is easy and quick to access, saving researchers time and resources in comparison to collecting primary data.

Question 13

What is a limitation of secondary data?

Answer 13

Secondary data may lack context and detail, as researchers cannot clarify responses or understand the full context behind the data, potentially reducing its validity.

Question 14

What is meta-analysis?

Answer 14

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique used to combine and analyse data from multiple studies on the same topic to provide an overall conclusion

Question 15

What is a strength of meta-analysis?

Answer 15

Meta-analysis provides a clearer overall picture by aggregating data from multiple studies, often increasing external validity.

Question 16

What is a limitation of meta-analysis?

Answer 16

Meta-analysis may suffer from low internal validity if studies included in the analysis used different research designs or had methodological weaknesses.

Question 17

What are descriptive statistics?

Answer 17

Descriptive statistics are methods used to summarize and describe the features of a data set, including measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion.

Question 18

What are measures of central tendency?

Answer 18

Measures of central tendency include the mean, median, and mode, which are used to find the central or typical value in a data set.

Question 19

What is the mean?

Answer 19

The mean is the arithmetic average, calculated by adding all the values together and dividing by the number of values in the data set.

Question 20

What is an advantage of the mean?

Answer 20

The mean uses all data points, making it a sensitive and representative measure of central tendency.

Question 21

What is a limitation of the mean?

Answer 21

The mean can be distorted by outliers, making it unrepresentative of the data if extreme values are present.

Question 22

What is the mode?

Answer 22

The mode is the most frequent value in a data set, representing the value that occurs most often.

Question 23

What is an advantage of the mode?

Answer 23

The mode is not affected by outliers, as it simply reflects the most common value in the data set.

Question 24

What is a limitation of the mode?

Answer 24

The mode does not make use of all data and can be uninformative if there are multiple modes or no clear mode.

Question 25

What is the median?

Answer 25

The median is the middle value in a data set when the values are arranged in numerical order. If there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values

Question 26

What is an advantage of the median?

Answer 26

The median is not affected by extreme values (outliers), making it useful when data is skewed

Question 27

What is a limitation of the median?

Answer 27

The median does not take into account all values in the data set, so it may not be as sensitive or representative as the mean.

Question 28

What are measures of dispersion?

Answer 28

Measures of dispersion describe the spread of data and include the range and standard deviation.

Question 29

What is the range?

Answer 29

The range is the difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set, calculated by subtracting the lowest value from the highest value.

Question 30

What is an advantage of the range?

Answer 30

The range is quick and easy to calculate, providing a simple measure of dispersion.

Question 31

What is a limitation of the range?

Answer 31

The range is heavily influenced by extreme values (outliers) and does not account for the distribution of all values.

Question 32

What is standard deviation?

Answer 32

Standard deviation is a measure of how spread out the values are around the mean, showing the variability of the data.

Question 33

What is an advantage of standard deviation?

Answer 33

Standard deviation uses all data points and is less influenced by outliers than the range, providing a more accurate measure of dispersion.

Question 34

What is a limitation of standard deviation?

Answer 34

Standard deviation can still be affected by extreme values, though not as much as the range, and can be more complex to calculate.

Question 35

How do range and standard deviation help with interpreting data?

Answer 35

A small range or standard deviation indicates that the data points are close to the mean, suggesting consistency; a large range or standard deviation indicates more variability and individual differences.