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7.2: Quantitative or Qualitative Information

  • Page ID
    168261
    • Ohio State University Libraries

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    One of the most obvious ways to categorize information is by whether it is quantitative or qualitative. Some sources contain either quantitative information or qualitative information, but sources often contain both.

    Many people first think of information as something like what’s in a table or spreadsheet of numbers and words. But information can be conveyed in more ways than textually or numerically.

    Quantitative Information – Involves a measurable quantity—numbers are used. Some examples are length, mass, temperature, and time. Quantitative information is often called data, but can also be things other than numbers.

    Qualitative Information – Involves a descriptive judgment using concept words instead of numbers. Gender, country name, animal species, and emotional state are examples of qualitative information.

    Take a quick look at the example table below. Another way we could display the table’s numerical information is in a graphic format —listing the students’ ages or GPAs on a bar chart, for example, rather than in a list of numbers. Or, all the information in the table could be displayed instead as a video of each student giving those details about themselves.

    Example: Data Table with Quantitative and Qualitative Data

    This table illustrates that information can include a range of formats, including pictures.

    Last Name First Name Age Rank Major Gender Current GPA Photo
    Adams Grace 19 Sophomore English Female 3.78 woman with long brown hair holding a microphone
    Bloomfield Erika 21 Junior Physics Female 3.89 student talking
    Chow Kimmie 20 Senior Political Science Female 3.77 student holding a book in a library
    Crutchfield Seth 23 Senior Psychology Male 3.58 student looking at a book in a library
    Fitch Fredrick 18 Freshman Art Male 4.0 student in suit standing outside
    Grover Oscar 26 Junior Biology Male 3.32 student outside with folded arms

    Increasingly, other formats such as images, sound, and video may be used as information or used to convey information. Some examples:


    This page titled 7.2: Quantitative or Qualitative Information is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ohio State University Libraries via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.