quantitative vs qualitative

Question

What are the quantitative and qualitative variables in this study.

You are conducting a study of students doing work- study jobs on campus, and you create a survey to gather data.Among the questions on your survey are the following:

1. How many hours are you scheduled to work each week?

2. How closely does your job relate to your future employment goals? respond using the following scale 1= not at all, 2= somewhat, 3= very.

Answer 1

Quantitative refers to numbers in which the data can be measured. Qualitative refers to descriptions in which the data can be observed but not measured. For instance, imagine there is a painting you are asked to give both quantitative and qualitative data about. The quotation data would be things like the dimensions of the painting (inches), how much it weighs (lbs), its surface area (Sq in) or its cost ($). The qualitative data might include a description of the imagery or texture of the painting, how it smells, or how it feels to touch it.

 

In your question, #1 asks a question that requires a measurable number for the answer so it is quantitative.

 

#2 as written is also quantitative because rating scales are used to capture estimations of magnitude. A scale like the one presented assumes equal intervals in between the points, allows for an ordering of the data from less to more - so and allows for statistical manipulation of the data. If the question were just "how closely does your job relate to your future employment goals?" and allowed the respondent to give a free - form sentence or paragraph response, it would be qualitative.