Both Marianne and Bill examined the same set of qualitative data collected from couples in a study designed to understand relationship stress. Interestingly, the themes that emerged from the data were not consistent across the two researchers. Of the following, which is the most likely reason for the discrepancy?
A) The data were not valid.
B) The data were not reliable.
C) Qualitative analysis is interpretive.
D) Qualitative analysis is deductive.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Qualitative analysis is interpretive, meaning that different researchers can interpret the same data in different ways. Therefore, it is not surprising that Marianne and Bill found different themes in the data. Option A (invalid data) and Option D (deductive analysis) are not relevant to the discrepancy between researchers, and Option B (unreliable data) is less likely than the interpretive nature of qualitative analysis to cause different results.

Both Marianne and Bill Examined the Same Set of Qualitative