Quantitative and Qualitative Data

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.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page. AQA AS Psychology students sit this topic in the first year.

• Quantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniquesWhat separates numerical data from rich descriptive data, which techniques collect each, and the strengths and limitations that follow.Open →
• Primary and secondary data, including meta-analysisData gathered first-hand against data already collected by someone else, what a meta-analysis does with existing studies, and the file drawer problem.Open →
• Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersionThe mean, median and mode and when each suits the data, and the range and standard deviation as measures of spread.Open →
• Presentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar chartsScattergrams, bar charts, histograms and tables, what each is used to show, and the conventions for setting out axes.Open →
• Distributions: normal and skewed distributionsThe shape of a normal distribution and the proportion of scores within each standard deviation, positive and negative skew, and which tests assume normality.Open →
• Introduction to statistical testing; the sign testWhen the sign test applies, how the observed value of S is calculated, how it is compared against a critical value, and the significance level conventionally used in psychology.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Quantitative and Qualitative Data revision questions

Is Quantitative and Qualitative Data examined at AS in AQA Psychology?

Yes. It sits in Paper 2, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does Quantitative and Qualitative Data cover in AQA AS-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.