HOME > WordMaster® > QUALITATIVE | 質的な、定性的な
2007.06.12(Review of 2004.11.05 edition)
Hello again!
We posed a question at the end of yesterday's edition. We hope you didn't lose too much sleep trying to come up with the answer. But if you did, read on ... then rest easy!
QUALITATIVE 質的な、定性的な
- A study, technique, description, etc. is qualitative if it uses or deals with characteristics or relative comparison, rather than exact measurement of amounts.
A property, difference, change, etc. is qualitative if it is not - or cannot be - measured or expressed as a number. - 調査や技術、記述などにおいて qualitative と言うと、厳密に計測された数値ではなく、特徴や相対的な比較による、つまり、質的な、という意味になります。
また、性質や差異、変化などにおいて qualitative と言うと、数値として測定したり、表現していない（または、できない）ことを表す、つまり、定性的な、という意味になります。
- He's a management consultant who has made a name for himself with a brilliant piece of qualitative research on factors affecting worker morale.
- I've never had a head for numbers. I guess that's why I've always preferred to take a qualitative approach to problem solving.
- Focus group interviewing is a popular qualitative technique for learning consumer preferences.
- “It's white, round, and hard” is a qualitative description of a baseball. “It's 23 centimeters across and weighs 142 grams” is a quantitative description.
- Our automobiles don't just last longer and break down less frequently. There's also a qualitative difference in the driving experience that's hard to measure.
- The sheer quantity of information instantly available on the Internet has brought about a qualitative change in the way people retrieve information.
You see, even the most complicated business vocabulary can be mastered - one word at a time!