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Quantitative and Qualitative Data

  • 6 subtopics
  • 24 things to know
  • Paper 2

What Quantitative and Qualitative Data covers

Quantitative and Qualitative Data covers the kinds of data psychologists collect and how they are summarised and displayed, from the distinction between numbers and description through to the first statistical test on the specification. It sits within research methods and can be assessed on any of the three papers.

Where it is assessed

Paper 2

Psychology in Context.

Check the AQA specification ↗

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is quantitative data?

Key term

What is qualitative data?

Key term

Which techniques collect numerical data?

Key term

Which techniques gather rich descriptive data?

Evaluation

Give a strength and a limitation of quantitative measurement.

Key term

What is secondary data?

Evaluation

Give one strength and one weakness of primary data.

Key term

What does a meta-analysis do, and why is it secondary?

Evaluation

What is the file drawer problem?

Process

How is the mean calculated?

Key term

Define the median.

Key term

What is the mode, and which data suits it?

Evaluation

Why is standard deviation more representative than the range?

Key term

What does a scattergram show?

Key term

How does a bar chart differ from a histogram?

Process

How should the axes of a graph be set out?

Key term

Describe a normal distribution.

Numbers

What proportion of scores lies within one, two and three standard deviations?

Key term

Describe a positively skewed distribution.

Key term

Which tests assume a normal distribution, and which do not?

Key term

When is the sign test the appropriate test?

Process

How is the observed value of S calculated?

Process

How do you decide whether a sign test result is significant?

Numbers

What level of significance is conventionally used in psychology?

Take Quantitative and Qualitative Data further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

  • Quantitative data vs Qualitative data

    Quantitative data: numerical information that can be counted and analysed statistically. Qualitative data: descriptive information in words about meanings and experiences.

  • Primary data vs Secondary data

    Primary data: information the researcher gathers first-hand for their own aims. Secondary data: information gathered by someone else for a different purpose.

  • Positive skew vs Negative skew

    Positive skew: a long tail towards higher values, with most scores low. Negative skew: a long tail towards lower values, with most scores high.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is quantitative data?

    Model answer

    Numerical information that can be measured and expressed in numbers, allowing for statistical analysis.

  2. 2

    What is qualitative data?

    Model answer

    Non-numerical information that describes qualities, characteristics, meanings, or experiences, typically expressed in words, images, or observations.

  3. 3

    How do structured questionnaires with closed questions collect quantitative data?

    Model answer

    They provide fixed response options (e.g., rating scales, yes/no) that produce numerical data which can be counted and statistically analysed.

  4. 4

    How do experiments serve as a quantitative data collection technique?

    Model answer

    Experiments measure variables numerically (e.g., reaction times, test scores), producing data that can be statistically analysed to identify cause-and-effect relationships.

  5. 5

    What is systematic observation with numerical recording as a quantitative technique?

    Model answer

    A method where observers count or measure specific behaviours using predetermined categories, producing numerical data such as frequency counts or duration measurements.

  6. 6

    How do unstructured or semi-structured interviews collect qualitative data?

    Model answer

    They allow participants to respond freely in their own words, with flexible questioning that explores meanings and experiences in depth, producing rich descriptive data.

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AThe mean is the arithmetic average of a data set.
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Quantitative and Qualitative Data revision questions

What does Quantitative and Qualitative Data cover in AQA A-Level Psychology?
6 subtopics: quantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques, primary and secondary data, including meta-analysis, descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion, presentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar charts, distributions: normal and skewed distributions and introduction to statistical testing; the sign test. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Quantitative and Qualitative Data organised?
By the AQA 7182 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

Every question in Quantitative and Qualitative Data, on a schedule.

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