Numerical data is data

Data

The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...

 measured or identified on a numerical scale. Numerical data can be analyzed using statistical methods, and results can be displayed using table

Table (information)

A table is a means of arranging data in rows and columns.Production % of goalNorth 4087102%South 4093110% The use of tables is pervasive throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural...

s, charts, histogram

Histogram

In statistics, a histogram is a graphical representation showing a visual impression of the distribution of data. It is an estimate of the probability distribution of a continuous variable and was first introduced by Karl Pearson...

s and graphs

Graph (mathematics)

In mathematics, a graph is an abstract representation of a set of objects where some pairs of the objects are connected by links. The interconnected objects are represented by mathematical abstractions called vertices, and the links that connect some pairs of vertices are called edges...

. For example, a researcher will ask a questions to a participant that include words how often, how many or percentage. The answers from the questions will be numerical.

Examples of quantitative data would be:

• Counts
  • 'there are 643 dots on the ceiling'
  • 'there are 25 pieces of bubble gum'
  • 'there are 8 planets in the solar system'
• Measurements
  • 'the length of this table is 1.892m'
  • 'the temperature at 12:00 p.m. was 18.9° Celsius'
  • 'the average flow yesterday in this river was 25 mph (miles per hour)'

After the data is collected the researcher will make an analysis of the quantitative data and produce statistics

Statistics

Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....

.

See also

• Level of measurement
  Level of measurement
  The "levels of measurement", or scales of measure are expressions that typically refer to the theory of scale types developed by the psychologist Stanley Smith Stevens. Stevens proposed his theory in a 1946 Science article titled "On the theory of scales of measurement"...
  
  
• Quantitative property
  Quantitative property
  A quantitative property is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measured with a number. Measurements of any particular quantitative property are expressed as a specific quantity, referred to as a unit, multiplied by a number. Examples of physical quantities are distance,...
  
  
• Qualitative data