In: Finance
Question 3 How can you identify the difference between quantitative and qualitative question? Conduct an internet search citing your references of respected authorities on this subject. Refer to Week 3 slides and recordings for further information (Must provide 2 references, there should be at least one academic reference and one non-academic). (At least 200 words).
There are two main categories of question types: quantitative and qualitative. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the data they yield, and which you choose will depend on what kind of data you are hoping to collect.
Basically, quantitive data will tell you what your respondents are doing, while qualitative data offers deeper insight into why.
Getting the Facts with Quantitative Questions:
Quantitative data is easier to measure using statistical analysis, because you can (usually) assign numeric values and directly compare different answers to the same questions.
Examples of quantitative questions include:
While the word “quantity” has the connotation of being just about numbers, that is not always the case.
In the above examples, the first two questions would be answered with a numerical value. The second two questions, however, would require a written response.
All of the above are quantitative. This is because the answers are objective, telling the basic story of the respondent’s coffee consumption and preferences. These data points are objective.
I like to think of quantitative questions as providing the kind of basic insight that you would find in a survey similar to a census.
As a survey creator asking these kinds of questions, you are really just looking for the basic data points that will enable you to perform a statistical analysis of your respondents.
The Best Question Types for Collecting Quantitative Data
There are a wide variety of options for question types that collect quantitative data, which answer your questions of “what,” “when,” and “how.”
These include, but are not limited to:
Asking “Why” With Qualitative Questions
In contrast to quantitative questions. qualitative questions, ask “why” in a way that is open-ended, giving respondents the space to provide greater detail about their motivations and reasoning in their own words.
These responses are more difficult to analyze because, for the most part, the answers cannot be quantified using hard numbers. Instead, when analyzing qualitative data, you must be able to think flexibly and creatively to identify important trends and findings.
Examples of qualitative questions include:
Why Ask “Why?” with Qualitative Questions
If qualitative questions are so difficult to analyze, then why bother asking them?
Qualitative data gives you insight into why particular trends exist in your quantitative data, and could reveal input that you may not have anticipated.
In the above examples, you could discover that the quality of customer service is more important than the location for café patrons when it comes to determining which coffee shop is their favorite.
Or you might find that while patrons love the quality of the coffee at their favorite shop, they would spend more time there if the shop updated their interiors with more comfortable seating.
When analyzing your qualitative question results, keep in mind your own biases.
Because numbers cannot be easily assigned to qualitative feedback, your own perceptions can make if difficult to interpret the data accurately. That said, sometimes the greatest insights into respondent behavior will be collected via qualitative, not quantitative, means.
The Best Question Types for Qualitative Data
The types of questions you can use to collect qualitative data are a bit more limited, but there is still a lot that can be done with them.
Common qualitative questions include open text questions, like:
In addition to open text questions, two new question types in Alchemer allow for a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data.
When Quantitative Questions and Qualitative Questions Work Together
As you design your survey, consider how you want to use the data you collect. Chances are, you will want a mixture of quantitative and qualitative question types.
Both categories have their strengths: quantitative data gives you the facts, and qualitative data can illuminate the story behind the numbers.
But, both have their weaknesses too.
Quantitative data can be limited in its insight, but qualitative responses are difficult to analyze.
For a successful, actionable, insightful survey, chances are you will need to tap into the power of both quantitative and qualitative question types.