types of data Flashcards
what is quantitative data?
data that is numerical or can be turned into numerical / statistical form
what are the strengths of quantitative data?
● easy to analyse, put into graphs and identify patterns / trends in results
● more objective and less open to bias
what are the limitations of quantitative data?
● limited detail in responses
● decreasing insight into results, which lowers internal validity
what is qualitative data?
data that is descriptive, in depth and detailed
what are the strengths of qualitative data?
● detail in responses
● increasing insight into results, which increases internal validity
what are the limitations of qualitative data?
● hard to analyse, put into graphs and identify patterns / trends in results
● less objective and more open to bias
what is primary data?
info that has been obtained first hand by a researcher for the purpose of a research project
what are the strengths of primary data?
● type of data is exactly what research wants - it is fit for purpose
● collected by researcher in way that they want for study that they have designed
what are the limitations of primary data?
● time consuming for the researcher
● have to first design their study before they can collect any data - takes time
what is secondary data?
info that has already been collected by someone else - pre-dates current research project
what are the strengths of secondary data?
● less time consuming for researcher as they are not collecting results themselves
● data already exists - using data another researcher has already collected
what are the limitations of secondary data?
● might be outdated, incomplete or may not quite match researcher’s needs
what is meta-analysis?
● form of research method that uses secondary data
● number of studies identified which have investigated same aims / hypotheses
● result of studies can be pooled together and a joint conclusion produced
what are the strengths of meta-analysis?
allows researcher to create larger, more varied sample and results can be generalised across much larger target populations
what are the limitations of meta-analysis?
prone to publication bias: researcher may not select all relevant studies, leaving out studies with negative or non-significant results. therefore, conclusions from the meta-analysis will be biased because only represents some of the relevant data
