Qualitative And Quantitative Flashcards
What is quantitative data?
Numerical data, quantity based on numbers and statistical analysis
What is qualitative data?
Data that gives you a valid picture if what is really happening, mainly based on non statistical data and normally requires long answers
What are the 3 main methods of obtaining qualitative data?
Unstructured observations
Unstructured interviews
Structured observations
What level of external validity does qualitative date have?
High
What level of internal validity does qualitative date have?
Low
What level of reliability does qualitative data have?
Low
Why does qualitative data have high external validity?
Because it’s true to real life
Why does qualitative data have low internal validity?
Because observers could miss things
Why does qualitative data have low reliability?
It’s hard to replicate
What type of data does central tendency and standard deviation deal with?
Quantitative data
What do measures of central tendency inform us about?
The middles values of a set of data-averages
What are 3 ways averages can be worked out?
Mode
Mean
Medium
If you were asked to calculate the central tendency, what would it mean?
Mode
Mean
Medium
How is the mean calculated?
By adding up all the numbers and dividing by how many numbers their are
How can the medium be worked out?
The middle value in the ordered list
How do you work out the mode?
The most common number
What is an advantage of working out the mean?
It makes use of all the values
What is a disadvantage of using the mean?
Can be misrepresentative if their are extreme values
What is an advantage of working out the medium?
Not affected by extreme scores
What is a disadvantage of working out the median?
Not as ‘sensitive’ as the mean because not all values are reflected in the median
What is an advantage of working out the mode
Useful when data is in categories
What is a disadvantage of working out the mode?
When there are several modes it’s not as useful
What is the ease measure of dispersion?
Range
What is the range 0?
The difference between the highest and the lowest
What is standard deviation?
Measure of the spread of the data around the mean
What are 2 strength of working out the range?
Provides you with direct information
Easy to calculate
What is a strength of standard deviation?
More precise measure of dispersion because all values are taken into account
What is 2 limitations of the range
Affected by extreme values
Doesn’t take into account the number of observations in the data set
What is a limitation of the standard deviation?
May hide some of the characteristics of the data set e.g. Extreme values
When would you use a scattergram?
When doing correlational analysis
What do the bars represent in a bar chart?
Frequency
