what is qualitative data

Qualitative data is non-numerical data that describes qualities or characteristics. It is collected through methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, or observations in order to gain an understanding of individuals social reality, including their attitudes, beliefs, and motivations. Qualitative data is often used to explore complex phenomena or to gain insight into people's experiences and perspectives on a particular topic. Qualitative researchers use different sources of data to understand the topic they are studying, including interview transcripts, videos of social interactions, notes, verbal reports, and artifacts such as books or works of art. Qualitative data may be difficult to precisely measure and analyze, but it can be examined for patterns or meaning through the use of coding. Qualitative data is important in determining the particular frequency of traits or characteristics and allows the statistician or the researchers to form parameters through which larger data sets can be observed. Qualitative data is often used in humanities or social science research and may be collected in descriptive studies.