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Data and Statistics

Use this guide to learn about types of data, where to find data, considerations, and campus resources.

Introduction

Data can be categorized in different ways. This section introduces several types of data categorizations. It is not meant to be exhaustive.

Primary and Secondary Data

Primary data are data that researchers collect or create themselves, such as:

  • Conducting interviews or surveys
  • Observing an event or phenomena
  • Conducting experiments

Secondary data are data that were collected or created by someone else. Researchers may use secondary data in ways such as:

  • Using data collected by a government agency (ex. census data)
  • Replicating a study or experiment conducted by another researcher
  • Using historical data to supplement current research

Additional Resources:

Quantitative and Qualitative Data

Quantitative data are data that can be represented numerically, including counts and measurements:

  • Discrete data can be counted in whole numbers (ex. the number of cars in a parking lot)
  • Continuous data can take any value in a range (ex. elevation or temperature)

Qualitative data are concepts and information that cannot be represented by numbers:

  • Text (diaries, notebooks, transcripts)
  • Audio (interviews, sounds)
  • Other media (maps, photographs)

Mixed methods approaches to research use both quantitative and qualitative data.

Additional Resources:​

Additional Data Categorization

Data can also be categorized in the following ways:

  • Observational data such as real-time information from sensors or samples.
  • Experimental data such as results from a study that seeks to determine if a specific treatment influences an outcome.
  • Simulations such as climate, geologic or economic models.
  • Derived or compiled data are assembled or aggregated (ex. for a text and data mining project).

Additional Resources:

Tags: Data, statistics
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