Discuss the strengths and limitations of quantitative and qualitative data in supporting knowledge claims in the human sciences.

International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge

T.O.K human sciences essay.

Human sciences (such as psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, etc.) attempt to understand human behavior and learn more about human nature but our behaviors are often unpredictable and difficult to interpret due to our language, reason, and creativity. So how can we expect to apply scientific principles to discover more about human actions? Also how accurate can we say our conclusions are which we make based upon the data we collect? To endeavor into the understanding of the human mind we must ask these questions which relate to our understanding of the degree at which quantitative and qualitative data can be deemed reliable.

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Quantitative data is defined as data which is expressed in a numerical form and traditionally this data has been considered more trust worthy because it seems to supply us with hard facts and values which we are easily able to interpret. Within the human sciences quantitative data has it’s limits, this is because of the nature of humans being so unpredictable and therefore very difficult to place exact theories upon. The exception of this is of course Economics, in Economics quantitative data is recorded because it is commonly believed that within this field we act rationally. Therefore we are able to place expectations using the quantitative data recorded from experiments. If these assumptions that have been made in Economics become proved to be incorrect or not entirely correct to all situations limits and conditions are placed upon these rules and theories such as; that the consumer has full and complete knowledge of the market.

Qualitative data is defined as data that is expressed not in numerical terms such as; how safe one feels in their home. In the traditional sense this type of data is not as trusted as quantitative data because of it’s seemingly lack of clarity upon a subject. However this data does have it’s uses within the human sciences, if it is considered in psychology a reaction to a certain circumstance can be recorded and then interpreted to find the reason behind this reaction e.g. a person is asked how they feel when placed in certain situations, when placed in a crowd of people a response was, alert, self conscious, etc this data can be then interpreted if it is repeated to reveal that when in large groups the human reaction is to be on guard and wary of this situation. These reactions are extremely important in the field of psychology as they allow experts to understand how to increase the lifestyle of people and this information can’t be recorded quantitatively only qualitatively.

In conclusion both of these types are to an extent useful to the human science. Quantitative data can allow us to foresee the reactions people with conditioned theorems and equations but is limited because the nature of the human sciences doesn’t normally allow for this type of data to be recorded. Qualitative data is traditionally less reliable as it seems to be unclear or precise. However within the human sciences qualitative data is able to be interpreted so as to predict the majority of reactions that will take place when humans are placed within a situation. Finally the relevance of these two types of information is solely based upon the ability of the human society to be unique.

By Daniel Sanchez.