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3.what Is Data-1

The document discusses different types of data including qualitative, quantitative, nominal, ordinal, discrete and continuous data. It also discusses primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data is collected directly through surveys, experiments, interviews or observations. Secondary data is data that has already been collected and analyzed.

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Zubair Ansari
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35 views3 pages

3.what Is Data-1

The document discusses different types of data including qualitative, quantitative, nominal, ordinal, discrete and continuous data. It also discusses primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data is collected directly through surveys, experiments, interviews or observations. Secondary data is data that has already been collected and analyzed.

Uploaded by

Zubair Ansari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Data-

Data is a collection of information gathered by observations, measurements, research or


analysis. They may consist of facts, numbers, names, figures or even description of things. Data
is organized in the form of graphs, charts or tables. There exist data scientist who does data
mining and with the help of that data analyse our world.
Types of data
1. Qualitative or Categorical Data
Qualitative data, also known as the categorical data, describes the data that fit into the
categories. Qualitative data are not numerical. The categorical information involves
categorical variables that describe the features such as a person’s gender, home town
etc.
Categorical measures are defined in terms of natural language specifications, but not in
terms of numbers. Sometimes categorical data can hold numerical values (quantitative
value), but those values do not have a mathematical sense. Examples of the categorical
data are birthdate, favourite sport, school postcode. Here, the birthdate and school
postcode hold the quantitative value, but it does not give numerical meaning.

A. Nominal Data
Nominal data is one of the types of qualitative information which helps to label the
variables without providing the numerical value. Nominal data is also called the
nominal scale. It cannot be ordered and measured. But sometimes, the data can be
qualitative and quantitative. Examples of nominal data are letters, symbols, words,
gender etc.
The nominal data are examined using the grouping method. In this method, the data are
grouped into categories, and then the frequency or the percentage of the data can be
calculated. These data are visually represented using the pie charts.

B. Ordinal Data
Ordinal data/variable is a type of data that follows a natural order. The significant
feature of the nominal data is that the difference between the data values is not
determined. This variable is mostly found in surveys, finance, economics,
questionnaires, and so on. The ordinal data is commonly represented using a bar chart.
These data are investigated and interpreted through many visualisation tools. The
information may be expressed using tables in which each row in the table shows the
distinct category.

2. Quantitative or Numerical Data


Quantitative data is also known as numerical data which represents the numerical value
(i.e., how much, how often, how many). Numerical data gives information about the
quantities of a specific thing. Some examples of numerical data are height, length, size,
weight, and so on. The quantitative data can be classified into two different types based

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on the data sets. The two different classifications of numerical data are discrete data and
continuous data.
A. Discrete Data
Discrete data can take only discrete values. Discrete information contains only a
finite number of possible values. Those values cannot be subdivided meaningfully.
Here, things can be counted in whole numbers. Example: Number of students in
the class
B. Continuous Data
Continuous data is data that can be calculated. It has an infinite number of probable
values that can be selected within a given specific range.

Source of data
1.Primary Data
Data which is considered as first-hand information collected by a surveyor, investigator, etc. is
defined as Primary Data. The sources from which such data is collected is termed as the primary
source of data collection for the concerned information.
some examples of sources of primary data collection.
 Experiments can be conducted in laboratories or in real-world (or 'field') settings. The
point of experiments is to establish correlation and/or causation between multiple
variables.
 Social surveys are a popular method of data collection both within and outside
sociology. They involve systematically collecting data from a large sample in order to
gather information and establish relationships between multiple variables.
 A questionnaire is a list of questions, and it is the main way of collecting data in social
surveys. They can either be administered online or in-person, in the form of pen-and-
paper tasks or structured interviews.
 Interviews are also a valuable research tool in the social sciences, because they allow
researchers to gain insight into social issues, as well as how research subjects
themselves perceive those issues. Interviews can be structured, semi-
structured or unstructured. They are also sometimes conducted in groups.

 Observations allow the researcher to be immersed in the environment that they are
studying. Whether they are conducting a participant observation or non-
participant observation, the researcher can also decide whether they want their
presence to be known or not (i.e. whether they conduct an overt or covert observation).

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2. Secondary Data

Data that has already been collected, analyzed, published, and has undergone statistical
treatment can be defined as Secondary data. Such type of data is tailored from primary data
sources.
There are many popular sources of secondary data used in sociology. Some examples include:
I. Official statistics
II. Documents (such as historical documents or government reports), which can be
analysed using:
i) content analysis,
ii) thematic analysis,
iii) textual analysis
III. Diaries
IV. Autobiographies
V. Novels
VI. Newspapers
VII. Recorded music
VIII. Films and other artwork

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