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Minitab Blog
Understanding Qualitative, Quantitative,
Attribute, Discrete, and Continuous Data
Types
Minitab Blog Editor | 28 April, 2017
Topics: Data Analysis
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"Data! Data! Data! I can't make bricks without clay."
— Sherlock Holmes, in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
Whether you're the world's greatest detective trying to crack a case or a person trying to
solve a problem at work, you're going to need information. Facts. Data, as Sherlock Holmes
says.
But not all data is created equal, especially if you plan to analyze as part of a quality
improvement project.
If you're using Minitab Statistical Software, you can access the Assistant to guide you through
your analysis step-by-step, and help identify the type of data you have.
But it's still important to have at least a basic understanding of the different types of data, and
the kinds of questions you can use them to answer.
In this post, I'll provide a basic overview of the types of data you're likely to encounter, and
we'll use a box of my favorite candy—Jujubes—to illustrate how we can gather these different
kinds of data, and what types of analysis we might use it for.
THE TWO MAIN FLAVORS OF DATA: QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
By using this
At the site youlevel,
highest agree two
to thekinds
use ofof
cookies for analytics
data exist: and personalized
quantitative content .
and qualitative OK
in accordance with our Policy.
, Quantitative data deals with numbers and things you can measure objectively: dimensions
such as height, width, and length. Temperature and humidity. Prices. Area and volume.
Qualitative data deals with characteristics and descriptors that can't be easily measured, but
can be observed subjectively—such as smells, tastes, textures, attractiveness, and color.
Broadly speaking, when you measure something and give it a number value, you create
quantitative data. When you classify or judge something, you create qualitative data. So far, so
good. But this is just the highest level of data: there are also different types of quantitative
and qualitative data.
QUANTITATIVE FLAVORS: CONTINUOUS DATA AND DISCRETE DATA
There are two types of quantitative data, which is also referred to as numeric data: continuous
and discrete. As a general rule, counts are discrete and measurements are continuous.
Discrete data is a count that can't be made more precise. Typically it involves integers. For
instance, the number of children (or adults, or pets) in your family is discrete data, because
you are counting whole, indivisible entities: you can't have 2.5 kids, or 1.3 pets.
Continuous data, on the other hand, could be divided and reduced to finer and finer levels. For
example, you can measure the height of your kids at progressively more precise scales—
meters, centimeters, millimeters, and beyond—so height is continuous data.
If I tally the number of individual Jujubes in a box, that number is a piece of discrete data.
If I use a scale to measure the weight of each Jujube, or the weight of the entire box, that's
continuous data.
By using this site you agree to the use of cookies for analytics and personalized content
OK
in accordance with our Policy.
Minitab Blog
Understanding Qualitative, Quantitative,
Attribute, Discrete, and Continuous Data
Types
Minitab Blog Editor | 28 April, 2017
Topics: Data Analysis
Tweet Share Share
"Data! Data! Data! I can't make bricks without clay."
— Sherlock Holmes, in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
Whether you're the world's greatest detective trying to crack a case or a person trying to
solve a problem at work, you're going to need information. Facts. Data, as Sherlock Holmes
says.
But not all data is created equal, especially if you plan to analyze as part of a quality
improvement project.
If you're using Minitab Statistical Software, you can access the Assistant to guide you through
your analysis step-by-step, and help identify the type of data you have.
But it's still important to have at least a basic understanding of the different types of data, and
the kinds of questions you can use them to answer.
In this post, I'll provide a basic overview of the types of data you're likely to encounter, and
we'll use a box of my favorite candy—Jujubes—to illustrate how we can gather these different
kinds of data, and what types of analysis we might use it for.
THE TWO MAIN FLAVORS OF DATA: QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
By using this
At the site youlevel,
highest agree two
to thekinds
use ofof
cookies for analytics
data exist: and personalized
quantitative content .
and qualitative OK
in accordance with our Policy.
, Quantitative data deals with numbers and things you can measure objectively: dimensions
such as height, width, and length. Temperature and humidity. Prices. Area and volume.
Qualitative data deals with characteristics and descriptors that can't be easily measured, but
can be observed subjectively—such as smells, tastes, textures, attractiveness, and color.
Broadly speaking, when you measure something and give it a number value, you create
quantitative data. When you classify or judge something, you create qualitative data. So far, so
good. But this is just the highest level of data: there are also different types of quantitative
and qualitative data.
QUANTITATIVE FLAVORS: CONTINUOUS DATA AND DISCRETE DATA
There are two types of quantitative data, which is also referred to as numeric data: continuous
and discrete. As a general rule, counts are discrete and measurements are continuous.
Discrete data is a count that can't be made more precise. Typically it involves integers. For
instance, the number of children (or adults, or pets) in your family is discrete data, because
you are counting whole, indivisible entities: you can't have 2.5 kids, or 1.3 pets.
Continuous data, on the other hand, could be divided and reduced to finer and finer levels. For
example, you can measure the height of your kids at progressively more precise scales—
meters, centimeters, millimeters, and beyond—so height is continuous data.
If I tally the number of individual Jujubes in a box, that number is a piece of discrete data.
If I use a scale to measure the weight of each Jujube, or the weight of the entire box, that's
continuous data.
By using this site you agree to the use of cookies for analytics and personalized content
OK
in accordance with our Policy.
