Skip to Main Content

Secondary Data Sets

Think Out of the Box about Qualitative Data

When seeking qualitative data, it's crucial to broaden your understanding beyond just interviews and open-ended survey responses. Qualitative data encompasses any content that captures the rich, nuanced expressions of human thought, belief, perception, or experience. This can include a wide variety of sources such as social media posts, public comments, strategic plans, legal documents, policy statements, legislative hearings, podcast transcripts, personal narratives, or even creative works. The key is to identify sources where individuals or groups communicate their perspectives, stories, or understandings in a non-numerical format. By creatively considering these diverse forms of content, you can unearth unique and valuable qualitative data sets that provide deep insights into your research topic.