Teaching Activity: Whose Data Is It Anyway?

This resource helps students to identify the differences between quantitative and qualitative data and also can then be used to develop evaluation of each type of data.

Give the students individually or pairs/groups the set of cards and ask them to sort them into a statement that describes qualitative data or a statement that describes quantitative data. This can then be checked using the teacher version which can be displayed or read out.

Students can then go on to split the statements into strengths or limitations of the method or as an extension could have to write one strength and one limitation of each card e.g. for quantitative “Experiments where variables are strictly measured for high levels of control” a strength is high internal validity (content) as you are measuring what you think you are measuring as all other variable are controlled. A weakness would be that it lacks external validity (ecological) as it is unrepresentative of everyday life as it is such a controlled environment. This will help students to build up evaluation of the different types of data and you could ask them to then apply this to a study or an approach that uses these methods to help build evaluation elsewhere.