Research Tips

Qualitative Survey Data

Many people think of surveys as a purely quantitative methodology, but it’s also possible to collect good qualitative data. This is often done using open-ended questions, with the responses then being coded for analysis. The coding can be done manually when the number of observations is not too large, but there is also software available that helps to automate this task for larger data sets. Using an open-ended question within a survey has many of the benefits of more traditional qualitative techniques, but makes it possible to collect data from a larger number of people and to analyze responses in conjunction with quantitative data.