Introduction to qualitative and quantitative data

Covering Assessment Criterion 1.3 of 3CO02 Principles of Analytics, this video introduces the two fundamental categories of data that underpin people practice: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data — the numerical, measurable kind — is examined through workforce examples including employee turnover figures, absence rates, and training completion percentages. The video explains how this type of data supports trend identification, year-on-year comparison, and benchmarking against industry standards, as well as how it enables people professionals to set measurable targets and report progress to senior leaders.

Qualitative data forms the second half of the discussion, with the video drawing on examples such as exit interview comments, focus group feedback, open-ended survey responses, and notes from career conversations. Where quantitative data answers questions of scale and frequency, qualitative data addresses questions of meaning, motivation, and context — illustrated here through the specific scenario of rising turnover and what exit interview findings can reveal about its causes in a way that numbers alone cannot.

The video brings both types together under the concept of mixed methods, using a concrete induction and early attrition example to show how quantitative patterns and qualitative explanations interact in practice. This combined approach, and its relationship to evidence-based decision-making, is framed directly in relation to the kinds of people practice data — resourcing, absence, performance, and employee voice among them — that AC 1.3 requires learners to understand and explain.