A rating and a rant
A user fills in a help desk survey. They tick 2 out of 5 for speed. Then they type a long message about how rude the call felt.
The 2 is easy to add up with a thousand others. The message is harder. Both are data, but they are different kinds. This lesson shows how to tell them apart.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can say if data is a number or a description, and if it has a fixed layout.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative data | Data that is a number you can count or measure. | 2 out of 5 |
| Qualitative data | Data that describes something in words or pictures. | The call felt rude. |
| Structured data | Data kept in a fixed layout of fields. | A table of tickets |
| Unstructured data | Data with no fixed layout. | An email or a photo |
| Field | One named box in a record. | Room |
| Codify | To turn a description into a fixed code or category. | "Printer jam" becomes PRINTER |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Two categories of data
Quantitative data is a number. You can count it or measure it: 40 tickets, 12 minutes, 3 servers.
Qualitative data describes something with words, pictures or sound. "The call felt rude" and a photo of a broken cable are qualitative.
Use quantitative data to compare and total. Use qualitative data to find out why.
Structured or not?
Structured data sits in a fixed layout: rows and columns, each with named fields. A table of tickets is structured. It is easy to search and total. All quantitative data is structured.
Unstructured data has no fixed layout. An email, a voice recording and a photo are unstructured. All qualitative data is unstructured.
Worked example: one ticket, two kinds
| Item | Kind | Layout |
|---|---|---|
| Speed rating: 2 | Quantitative | Structured: a field called speed |
| Minutes waiting: 35 | Quantitative | Structured: a field called wait |
| "Nobody explained what they were doing" | Qualitative | Unstructured: free words |
| A screenshot of the error | Qualitative | Unstructured: a picture |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check: which kind?
Have a go
Check: which kind?
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.