Final answer:
Qualitative data encompasses nonnumerical information such as personal opinions and observations, and cannot be easily quantified. Researchers might prefer quantitative data for ease of analysis, but qualitative data offers in-depth insights despite being time-consuming to review and analyze.
Step-by-step explanation:
Data that can't be quantified is known as qualitative data. These are nonnumerical data such as language, feelings, or impressions, which are usually collected when the researcher is present at the research site. Qualitative data include things that are expressed through words or described by characteristics rather than numbers, making it much harder to organize and tabulate.
Examples of qualitative data can be observations made by teachers, anecdotal evidence, and responses to open questions on questionnaires that may touch upon personal information such as religious beliefs, political views, or morals. This type of information often comprises subjective views and can be influenced by the settings in which it is collected. Unlike quantitative data, which is preferred by researchers for its ease of mathematical analysis, qualitative data provides rich insight but is time consuming to analyze because it doesn't lend itself easily to statistical manipulation.