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Most analysis we’ve considered this term has been quantitative. It has collected numbers in the form of number of items recalled, times taken and numbers of people suffering from various effects of privation etc. Not all information collected during research has to include numbers. Researchers may collect quotations, record interviews and get in depth material about people’s attitudes, feelings and beliefs. This section looks at how researchers deal with this kind of data.

Quantitative data (numbers) is typically collected during experiments, correlations, structured questionnaires (particularly using closed questions) and occasionally during observations and case studies.

Qualitative data (quotations etc) is typically the result of unstructured questionnaires and interviews, open questions, content analyses, case studies and naturalistic observations. More unusually it could be collected as follow-ups to experiments.

Usually researchers will record information such as interviews using either video or audio recording equipment. There may be many hours of such recordings. Collating this data is not easy.

Usually the researchers look for categories that the information can be broken into. For example if they had recorded aggressive behaviour in a primary school playground they would sift through and look for appropriate categories. These are more likely to emerge during the study than have been planned for in advance. It could be that they chose to split the behaviours into verbal and physical or male and female, provoked and unprovoked etc. Each of these could then be further subdivided. Physical: pinching, biting, pushing etc.

Evidence for each of these sub-categories could then be illustrated using quotations provided or by video evidence.

NB: quantitative data may be collected at the same time. For example the number of such incidents occurring and the age ranges involved etc.

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Abrahamsson et al (2002) recorded hour long interviews with dental phobics. They analysed the data collected but with no particular hypothesis in mind.

Dental Fear and Dental Phobia Nature and Treatment

They categorised the collected data as follows:

Threat to self respect and well-being

Avoidance

Readiness to act

Ambivalence in coping

Each of these categories was then further sub-divided (a favourite ploy in analyses of this sort and in qualitative analysis in general. For example, threat to self-respect and well-being was split into threat to own health and threat to social life.

Having sub-divided they then provided real examples of each category; quotations ‘I’m worried my teeth will fall out’ would be evidence for threat to well-being.

Evaluation of qualitative data

Quantitative data generally paints a broader picture and overview whereas qualitative provides a better feel for the experience of being involved in such behaviour. Neither is better than the other, both have their place in psychological research!

Qualitative data

Strengths	Weaknesses
Gives a good feel for the complex nature of human behaviour, emotions, disorders etc.	The data may be difficult and time-consuming to analyse simply because of the huge amount of information that can be collected.
Because people are encouraged to talk at length or are observed naturally we are given access to thoughts and behaviours that may be difficult to study in any other way.	Analysis may be less objective since the researchers opinions and prior-expectations, for example in choosing the categories, may drastically effect the results. In fact quantitative data can be influenced in this way too.
	Because of the lack of numbers, levels of statistical significance cannot be calculated. Researchers cannot be certain that their results are fluke or genuine.

Other research methods

As already stated, many research studies use a combination of techniques. We saw this with case studies but as Cardwell and Flanagan point out, Schaffer and Emerson’s Glasgow babies study used natural observation, interviews and even occasionally experiments when mothers recorded how the children responded to a series of everyday events.

Meta analysis

The results of a number of studies (usually buy a variety of researchers) in a related area are combined to see if overall trends are visible. This can increase reliability since contradictory findings may be uncovered. However, different studies may be difficult to compare because of different sampling, design and methods used. Examples seen so far: van Ijzendoorn and Krooneberg’s research into cross-cultural variations in attachment and Deffenbacher’s research into anxiety and EWT.

Longitudinal studies

The very kindly looking Professor Sir Michael Rutter

A favourite with developmental psychologists since they allow changes in participants to be measured over time. The big disadvantage is attrition. People move to different areas or become impossible to contact. Examples seen so far include Hodges and Tizard’s research into privation and Rutter’s work on the Romanian orphans.