adjective

qualitative

KWOL-i-tuh-tiv

Qualitative (adjective) means Concerned with the nature, character or quality of something rather than with amounts that can be counted or measured. Example: “The report found a qualitative improvement in care that the waiting-time figures never captured.”

adjective

Concerned with the nature, character or quality of something rather than with amounts that can be counted or measured.

"The report found a qualitative improvement in care that the waiting-time figures never captured."

"There is a qualitative difference between reading a poem and summarising it."

technical Of research: based on interviews, observation, open-ended responses and other non-numerical evidence, analysed for themes and meaning.

"We ran a qualitative study with thirty in-depth interviews."

"Her thesis combines qualitative fieldwork with survey data."

How to Use Qualitative

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishAbout what something is like, not how much of it there is.

When to use it

Standard in academic, market-research and business writing.

Memory tip

Remember qualiTAtive = quality, quanTItative = quantity.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

quantitative → qualifying quality →

Common pairings

qualitative research qualitative data qualitative analysis qualitative difference

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Fill the Gap

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The report found a _____ improvement in care that the waiting-time figures never captured.

Etymology

From Latin qualitas 'quality', formed from qualis 'of what kind'.

Origin: Latin

Synonyms

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descriptive interpretive non-numerical ethnographic exploratory

Antonyms

quantitative numerical

Related Words

description experimental statistical mathematical investigative numerical descriptive exploratory

Rhymes for qualitative

five give dive live olive drive alive strive derive active arrive native

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative?

Quantitative deals with how much or how many, producing numbers you can count, measure and run statistics on. Qualitative deals with what something is like, producing words, images and descriptions analysed for meaning. Most serious research programmes use both, because numbers show the pattern and qualitative work explains why it exists.

What are examples of qualitative data?

Interview transcripts, focus-group recordings, open-ended survey answers, field notes, diary entries, photographs and product reviews. Anything recorded as description rather than as a value on a scale.

Can qualitative research be objective?

It can be systematic and rigorous — with sampling logic, coding frameworks and checks between coders — but it does not claim the statistical generalisability of quantitative work. Its strength is depth and explanation rather than measurement across a population.

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