Qualitative and Quantitative Data Collection
A stopwatch tells you the sprinter got slower. Only a coach's eye tells you why. Two kinds of data, what each one is good for, and how to collect both properly.
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Two kinds of evidence 📋
A coach watching a squad collects two completely different sorts of information, often in the same session. One is **counted or measured**: times, distances, scores, heart rates. The other is **described**: how the technique looked, what the player said, whether the team seemed to give up in the last ten minutes. Both are data. Knowing which is which, and what each one can and cannot tell you, is the whole of this topic.
Numbers or words? ⚖️
This is the definition the exam wants, and the easiest way to hold it is by what the data looks like when you write it down.
Match each method to what it produces
- Timing a 30 metre sprint with a stopwatch
- A coach writing notes while watching a swimmer's stroke
- A sit-and-reach test
- An open questionnaire asking players how they felt about training
- A time in seconds
- A written description of technique
- A distance in centimetres
- Opinions in the players' own words
Which are quantitative? 🔢
Select the TWO pieces of quantitative data.
- The distance a runner covers in a Cooper 12-minute run
- A performer's resting heart rate in beats per minute
- A coach's judgement that a shot looked rushed
- A player saying they enjoyed the new training session
Subjective does not mean useless 👁️
Quantitative data is usually **objective**: the stopwatch does not care who is holding it. Qualitative data is usually **subjective**: it depends on the judgement of the person collecting it. Students often conclude from that that qualitative data is the weaker kind. It is not. A stopwatch can tell a coach that a sprinter is two tenths slower than last month. **Only a trained eye can say that her arm action has shortened.** The number finds the problem; the description explains it. A good analysis uses both.
Which data do you need? 🤔
A sprinter's 100 metre times have got worse over six weeks. The coach wants to know WHY. What should they collect?
- Qualitative data, such as filmed observation and notes on her technique
- More quantitative data: keep timing her every session
- Normative data for sprinters of her age
- Nothing: a run of bad times is just natural variation
How it gets collected 🧰
The methods you would name in an answer, and what each one gives you:
Collect it properly 🔀
An interactive activity.
Plan the season 🏐
An interactive activity.
The summary 📝
Data that is counted or measured is _____, and it is usually _____, meaning two people recording it should agree. Data that is described in words is _____, and it is usually _____. Numbers tell you WHAT has happened; descriptions help explain _____.
Plan the collection ✍️
An interactive activity.