Experimental data in science is data produced by a measurement, test method, experimental design or quasi-experimental design. In clinical research any data produced as a result of clinical trial. Experimental data may be qualitative or quantitative, each being appropriate for different investigations.
Generally speaking, qualitative data is considered more descriptive and can be subjective in comparison to having a continuous measurement scale that produces numbers. Whereas quantitative data is gathered in a manner that is normally experimentally repeatable, qualitative information is usually more closely related to phenomenal meaning and is, therefore, subject to interpretation by individual observers.
Experimental data can be reproduced by a variety of different investigators and lends itself to mathematical analysis.
Famous quotes containing the words experimental and/or data:
“Philosophers of science constantly discuss theories and representation of reality, but say almost nothing about experiment, technology, or the use of knowledge to alter the world. This is odd, because ‘experimental method’ used to be just another name for scientific method.... I hope [to] initiate a Back-to-Bacon movement, in which we attend more seriously to experimental science. Experimentation has a life of its own.”
—Ian Hacking (b. 1936)
“Mental health data from the 1950’s on middle-aged women showed them to be a particularly distressed group, vulnerable to depression and feelings of uselessness. This isn’t surprising. If society tells you that your main role is to be attractive to men and you are getting crow’s feet, and to be a mother to children and yours are leaving home, no wonder you are distressed.”
—Grace Baruch (20th century)