Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of having qualitative data in psychological research.

An advantage of using qualitative data in psychological research is that it creates a richer and more detailed understanding of behaviours so that we can understand why people may act in certain ways and how they feel about their actions. In psychological research, this is often necessary as human behaviour is very complex and cannot be reduced purely to numerical findings. A disadvantage of using qualitative data is that it tends to require individual interviews with participants and is therefore much more time consuming to gather than quantitative data and requires the attention of multiple psychologists.

OB

Related Psychology A Level answers

All answers ▸

What are the limitations of the cognitive approach to psychology?


What are type 1 and type 2 errors? (Research methods- statistics)


Explain the importance of following the ethical guidelines set out by the British Psychological Society


How can I critically evaluate a study?