Qualitative Data

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

Qualitative data refers to information that is collected in written words (&/or audio & video). The purpose of gathering qualitative data is to provide a rich & detailed account of the participants’ meanings, thoughts & experiences, allowing a deeper understanding of what they mean.

Question 2

advantages

Answer 2

✓ Gives deeper insight & detailed valid description of social interaction. Qualitative data lets you find out the meanings & motives behind behaviour because deeper questions can be asked & more in-depth answers can be given. You don’t have to force people into artificial categories like in questionnaires, they can come up with their own answers & show true behaviour in their actions. The rapport & trust that can be built up between a sociologist & the respondent/participant also means they are more likely to tell the truth & explain their thoughts & actions.

Question 3

disadvantages

Answer 3

Difficult/impossible to repeat & is therefore low in reliability. Due to the level of detail & a lack of set, structured questions, etc. involved in gaining qualitative data it is practically impossible to repeat to get the same or similar results. These results also tend to be open to interpretation & are said to be too subjective by positivists. Additionally, research tends to be smaller in scale as it can be time consuming to collect & therefore the findings may not represent the whole population that could have been studied.