Qualitative evidence

Qualitative evidence gathers information that is not in numerical form.
It tends to be more subjective and can include things like participant observations, interviews, and case studies.
This evidence usually comes in the form of descriptive data and may tell you more about “what”, “how” or “why” a certain phenomenon is happening.
An example of qualitative data in human biology might be a patient’s description of their symptoms, or a nurse’s observations of a patient’s behaviour.

Qualitative evidence can be gathered through a variety of methods. These can include interviews, observations, case studies, document analysis and more.
Essentially, any method that offers a detailed, rich description of a phenomenon can fall under qualitative evidence.
In the context of human biology, a researcher might observe patient behaviour or interview doctors and nurses about their experiences.

When analysing qualitative data, one can use different techniques, like theming, coding or using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software.
Thematic analysis involves identifying patterns or themes in the data that were collected.
Coding is assigning labels or categories to pieces of the data, making it easier to identify trends, patterns, and relationships.

Evaluating qualitative data can be challenging due to its subjective nature.
Check its credibility (is it believable and trustable), dependability (are the findings consistent and could they be replicated) and transferability (is the information relevant beyond the specific research context).
The possibility for personal bias in both the collection and analysis of qualitative data needs to be considered and mitigated where possible.
The more detailed and rich the qualitative data, the more valuable it can be in providing insight into complex issues.