Qualitative Data and Design: Understanding the Experiential Qualities of Place
Abstract
Data come in many forms. They can be numbers, images, sto- Qualitative Data and ries, sounds, and feelings; they can be biological tissue samples, colors on a digital screen, or blips on a radar. Each form of data Design: Understanding can offer unique and important insights to help us understand the world around us. For those interested in the social dimen- the Experiential sions of architectural design, or what I call the human experience of place, useful data can be found in place-based social science Qualities of Place and design-based research. This research offers insights into how people respond to their physical surroundings, particularly in terms of how they behave and feel, as well as how people actively shape the environments around them to meet their needs. A Tale of Two Paradigms Within this body of place-based social research (and all social sci- ence research, for that matter), there are two broad paradigms— the quantitative and qualitative (Tuli 2010). These paradigms are distinguished by different beliefs about what constitutes valid knowledge, and what kind of data should be generated to pro- duce that knowledge (Bryman 1984; Punch 2013). The quan- titative paradigm, for example, grounds validity in objectivity, maintains