Final answer:
Qualitative data is descriptive and nonnumerical, encompassing behaviors, language, feelings, and impressions. It is typically used in social studies to capture nuanced information about a population's attributes and can be collected through methods like interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Despite being time-consuming and difficult to organize, it is essential for understanding complex social phenomena.
Step-by-step explanation:
Qualitative data refers to nonnumerical information that is collected through descriptive research methods. This type of data captures the qualities of a phenomenon, which includes nuances of behavior, language, feelings, or impressions. Since qualitative data is typically textual or descriptive, it reflects the attributes that are not quantifiable. Examples of qualitative data include hair color, ethnic group, or a person's opinions and experiences. This data can be very rich and detailed, offering insights into the subject's behavior and attitudes that quantitative data may miss.
Observational studies, for example, are a form of nonexperimental investigation where researchers measure characteristics without attempting to influence the study's variables. Methods used to collect qualitative data may include in-depth interviews, focus groups, surveys, and content analysis. It is crucial to note that while qualitative data provides a deep understanding of the subject, it can be time-consuming to collect and difficult to organize. Nevertheless, in social sciences, which focus on society and human behavior, qualitative assessments are invaluable for driving investigations and forming findings.
Despite its challenges, qualitative research offers unique insights into human behaviors and social phenomena that quantitative data alone cannot fully capture. It records how people behave in their natural environments, although it does not directly reveal what they think or believe, requiring researchers to interpret the data to identify patterns, themes, and meanings.