Objective Data Vs. Subjective Data: What’s The Difference? - Zippia (2024)

Both subjective data and objective data are used in many different fields, most often in statistical analysis. But it can be used in medicine, particularly nursing, sociology, and many other sciences.

That being said, you may be wondering what exactly the difference between the two is and what counts as which. The differences between subjective data and objective data are all in the difference between subjective and objective.

If you go to the dictionary, then subjective is defined as “peculiar to a particular individual” or “modified or affected by personal views, experience, or background.” Objective, on the other hand, is defined as “expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations.”

In the simplest terms, objective data is data that you can measure. This would include measurements like temperature, age, and weight. Subjective data, in contrast, are data that are not measurable. So this would be observations like color, feel, and, in medicine, pain levels.

Key Takeaways:

What Is Objective Data?

The easiest way to describe objective data is that it is quantitative; it’s something that can be measured or counted. Due to the fact that it can be measured, it also isn’t a matter of debate or personal preference or observations.

Things like the temperature and time can’t be argued – they’re objective facts. They can also be confirmed and corroborated and won’t differ no matter who the person taking the measurements is.

As objective data isn’t subject to personal preferences or being different depending on who observes it, it’s generally considered more reliable than subjective data. This is true in medicine, certainly, but also in other fields.

For example, if you wanted to categorize the cars in a parking lot, you’d look at several different features. What type of car is it? For example, is it a sedan, SUV, coupe, or truck? What color are they? What year are they? And how many are there?

The quantitative questions would be objective data. The age of the car – or what year they were made is objective, as well as how many cars they are in the lot and the number of each type. These things can be measured and confirmed. However, the color of the car is objective; there’s no reasonable way to measure how blue a car is.

Objective data in medicine is a large part of what allows medical professionals to make a diagnosis and decide on a treatment plan. Objective nursing data is going to be information that can be measured and confirmed. This will include information such as heart rate, blood oxygen level, lab results, and body temperature.

What Is Subjective Data?

Subjective data are qualitative information. As the definition of subjective says, subjective data can vary on who the person taking the observations are. These can include things like color, attractiveness, and how interested a person is in a subject or taste.

As subjective data are harder to corroborate, it’s usually considered less reliable than objective data. That isn’t to say that subjective data isn’t useful or important, but it has to be considered in a different way than objective data is.

Subjective data are just as important in medicine for diagnoses and treatment plans. Subjective nursing data are going to largely consist of information obtained from the patient. These are going to be symptoms and reports that the nurse is unlikely to be able to confirm with numbers. Some of them aren’t even possible to confirm at all, such as a change in taste perception.

This type of data is most commonly gathered and made use of in surveys. So it’s extremely important in sociology, policy decisions, medicine, and psychology. Survey questions are based on qualitative data, such as how the subject perceived something.

Many will ask how strongly you feel about something (very subjective) and how you would rate something, such as interest, attractiveness, or importance (also qualitative and subjective).

Therefore, subjective data drive many studies in psychology and medicine. Surveys are also an inexpensive and non-intrusive way to collect data, which makes them a popular study tool. The issues with subjective data remain, but they can still give you a good picture of a situation.

Objective Data vs. Subjective Data FAQ

1. Is subjective data qualitative or quantitative?

   Subjective data is qualitative. Subjective data is data that can’t be measured or backed up by hard evidence. Qualitative means “of, relating to, or involving quality or kind.”

   This includes observations such as color, feel taste, or interest. In general, subjective data is subjective, meaning that it can vary depending on who’s doing the observing.

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2. What are some examples of objective data?

   Objective data is data that can be measured. Examples include the age of a person, the weight of a car, the exact time that an event occurred, or the temperature of a container of water. All of these are measurable and won’t vary depending on who’s doing the measuring.

3. What are some examples of subjective data?

   Subjective data is data that can’t be measured and is therefore based on personal observation. This can include symptoms of a disease that aren’t observable by another person, such as nausea, dizziness, or chills.

   It can also include observations such as whether a surface feels hot or cold (not backed up by a temperature measurement), how attractive someone or something is, or a person’s favorite animal.

4. Which is preferable, subjective data or objective data?

   In most circ*mstances, objective data is preferred. This is because objective data is more reliable due to its ability to be independently confirmed by a neutral third party. The recorded observations are also easier to recreate, as they’re marked down by hard measurements.

   That isn’t to say that subjective data isn’t useful, however. It’s an important part of creating a treatment plan in medicine, and there are some observations that are inherently qualitative that can be a tremendous help in research.