Which statement best distinguishes quantitative data from qualitative data?

• A. Qualitative data are numeric and quantitative data are categorical
• B. Qualitative data are numeric
• C. Quantitative data are categorical and qualitative data are numeric
• D. Qualitative data are categorical; quantitative data are numeric

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that data fall into two broad types: qualitative (categorical) and quantitative (numeric). Qualitative data describe categories or qualities—things like eye color, gender, or vehicle type. They tell you which group something belongs to, not how much it is. Quantitative data, on the other hand, are numeric measurements or counts—such as height, test scores, or the number of pets—that you can arithmetic with.

Because qualitative data are categorical and quantitative data are numeric, the statement that matches this distinction is the best choice. The other options swap or mislabel the roles (qualitative as numeric, or both as numeric, or quantitative as categorical), which doesn’t fit the standard definitions. Remember, even if categories are coded with numbers for analysis, the data themselves are categorized descriptions, not numeric measurements.