Differentiate qualitative and quantitative data

Answer 1

Quantitative has a discrete value associated with it. Qualitative is relative and based on observation. For example, in the phrase "5 apples, 10 Pears," 5 and 10 are quantitative pieces of data, and apples and pears are qualitative data. While the number of something is a measurable in units, the "appleness" of something is not measurable. Something either is or is not an apple, and this is based on the comparing to other apples we may have seen in the past.

Some things that are qualitative:

Length

Temperature

Time

Number

Some things that are qualitative:

Smell

Type

Shape (although number of corners, interior angles, etc are quantitative)

Color (however, light frequency is quantitative)

In general, anything that is answered by "yes or no" or is a category is qualitative, while everything with a number is quantitative.