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Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 2: Chi-

Square and Multivariate Analysis
Bruno Scibilia 28 January, 2015
0

In my recent meetings with people from various companies in the service industries, I realized that
one of the problems they face is that they were collecting large amounts of "qualitative" data: types
of product, customer profiles, different subsidiaries, several customer requirements, etc.

As I discussed in my previous post, one way to look at qualitative data is to use different types of
charts, including pie charts, stacked bar charts, and Pareto charts. In this post, we'll cover how to
dig deeper into qualitative data with Chi-square analysis and multivariate analysis.

A Chi-Square Test with Qualitative Data

The table below shows which statistical methods can be used to analyze data according to the
nature of such data (qualitative or numeric/quantitative). Even when the output (Y) is qualitative
and the input (predictor : X) is also qualitative, at least one statistical method is relevant and can
be used : the Chi-Square test.

X\Y Numeric/quantitative Output Qualitative Output

Numeric/quantitative Input Regression Logistic Regression
ANOVA Chi-Square
Qualitative Input
T tests Proportion tests
Let's perform the Chi-square test of statistical significance on the same qualitative mistakes data
I used in my previous post:

In Minitab Statistical Software, go to Stat > Tables > Cross Tabulation and Chi-square... In
the output below, you can see that for each Employee / Error type combination, observed counts
are obtained. Below that, expected counts (based on the assumption that the distribution of types
of errors is strictly identical for each employee) are displayed. And below the expected count is
displayed that combination's contribution to the overall Chi-Square.

A low p-value (p = 0.042 <0.05), shown below the table, indicates a significant difference in the
distribution of error types according to the three employees.

We then need to consider the major contributions to the overall chi-square:

Largest contribution: 3.79 for the Mistake type: “Product” & Employee: A combination. Note
that in this case, for that particular cell, the number of observed errors for “product” (third
row) and employee A (first column of the table) is much larger than the number of expected
errors. Due to that difference the contribution for that particular combination is large : 3.79.

Second largest contribution: 2.66 for the Error type: “Address” & employee: C combination.
Note that for this particular combination (i.e., this particular cell in the table) the observed
number of address errors is much larger than the number of expected errors for Employee C (and
therefore the contribution 2.66 is quite large).

Simple Correspondence (Multivariate) Analysis for

Qualitative Data
This third approach to analyzing qualitative data is more complex and computationally intensive
but this is also a very effective and explicit statistical tool from a graphical point of view. In
Minitab, go to Stat > Multivariate > Simple Correspondence Analysis...

To do this analysis, I rearranged the data in a two way contingency table, with the addition of a
column for the employee names :

The simple correspondence symmetric plot below indicates that “Product” type errors are more
likely to be associated with employee A (see on the right part of the graph below the two points
are close to one another) whereas "Address" type errors are more likely to be associated with
employee C (the two points are visually close on the left part of the graph). This is the same
conclusion we found using the Chi-square test.
How Can You Use Qualitative Data?
Counts of qualitative data may obviously be used to provide relevant information to decision
takers, process owners, quality professionals etc., and several graphical or statistical tools are
available for that in Minitab. Our statistical software includes statistical tools that are useful
to analyze qualitative values, but that I didn't have space to present in this short blog (for
example, Kappa studies, Attribute sampling inspection, Nominal Logistic regression...).

Quantitative analysis and statistics might still be used more extensively in the service sector to
improve quality and customer satisfaction. Of course, analyses of qualitative data are also often
performed in the manufacturing industry. If you're not already using it, please download our free
30-day trial and see what you can learn from your data!

Data Analysis Government Health Care Quality Improvement Healthcare Quality Improvement
Services Statistics Stats

You Might Also Like:

 Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 1: Pareto, Pie, and Stacked Bar Charts
 Chi-Square Analysis: Powerful, Versatile, Statistically Objective
 Minitab and Excel: Which Should I Use, and When?
  Statistics and Shopping II

Comments

Who We Are

Minitab is the leading provider of software and services for quality improvement and statistics
education. More than 90% of Fortune 100 companies use Minitab Statistical Software, our
flagship product, and more students worldwide have used Minitab to learn statistics than any
other package.

Minitab Inc. is a privately owned company headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, with
subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, and Australia. Our global network of representatives
serves more than 40 countries around the world.

Visit Us at Minitab.com

Blog Map | Legal | Privacy Policy | Trademarks

Copyright ©2017 Minitab Inc. All rights Reserved.

Authors

 Eston Martz
 Michelle Paret
 Bonnie K. Stone
 Marilyn Wheatley
 Bruno Scibilia

The Minitab Blog

 Data Analysis
 Quality Improvement
 Project Tools
 Industries keyboard_arrow_down
 Minitab.com
Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 2: Chi-
Square and Multivariate Analysis
Bruno Scibilia 28 January, 2015
0

In my recent meetings with people from various companies in the service industries, I realized that
one of the problems they face is that they were collecting large amounts of "qualitative" data: types
of product, customer profiles, different subsidiaries, several customer requirements, etc.

As I discussed in my previous post, one way to look at qualitative data is to use different types of
charts, including pie charts, stacked bar charts, and Pareto charts. In this post, we'll cover how to
dig deeper into qualitative data with Chi-square analysis and multivariate analysis.

A Chi-Square Test with Qualitative Data

The table below shows which statistical methods can be used to analyze data according to the
nature of such data (qualitative or numeric/quantitative). Even when the output (Y) is qualitative
and the input (predictor : X) is also qualitative, at least one statistical method is relevant and can
be used : the Chi-Square test.

X\Y Numeric/quantitative Output Qualitative Output

Numeric/quantitative Input Regression Logistic Regression
ANOVA Chi-Square
Qualitative Input
T tests Proportion tests

Let's perform the Chi-square test of statistical significance on the same qualitative mistakes data
I used in my previous post:

In Minitab Statistical Software, go to Stat > Tables > Cross Tabulation and Chi-square... In
the output below, you can see that for each Employee / Error type combination, observed counts
are obtained. Below that, expected counts (based on the assumption that the distribution of types
of errors is strictly identical for each employee) are displayed. And below the expected count is
displayed that combination's contribution to the overall Chi-Square.
A low p-value (p = 0.042 <0.05), shown below the table, indicates a significant difference in the
distribution of error types according to the three employees.

We then need to consider the major contributions to the overall chi-square:

Largest contribution: 3.79 for the Mistake type: “Product” & Employee: A combination. Note
that in this case, for that particular cell, the number of observed errors for “product” (third
row) and employee A (first column of the table) is much larger than the number of expected
errors. Due to that difference the contribution for that particular combination is large : 3.79.

Second largest contribution: 2.66 for the Error type: “Address” & employee: C combination.
Note that for this particular combination (i.e., this particular cell in the table) the observed
number of address errors is much larger than the number of expected errors for Employee C (and
therefore the contribution 2.66 is quite large).
Simple Correspondence (Multivariate) Analysis for
Qualitative Data
This third approach to analyzing qualitative data is more complex and computationally intensive
but this is also a very effective and explicit statistical tool from a graphical point of view. In
Minitab, go to Stat > Multivariate > Simple Correspondence Analysis...

To do this analysis, I rearranged the data in a two way contingency table, with the addition of a
column for the employee names :

The simple correspondence symmetric plot below indicates that “Product” type errors are more
likely to be associated with employee A (see on the right part of the graph below the two points
are close to one another) whereas "Address" type errors are more likely to be associated with
employee C (the two points are visually close on the left part of the graph). This is the same
conclusion we found using the Chi-square test.
How Can You Use Qualitative Data?
Counts of qualitative data may obviously be used to provide relevant information to decision
takers, process owners, quality professionals etc., and several graphical or statistical tools are
available for that in Minitab. Our statistical software includes statistical tools that are useful
to analyze qualitative values, but that I didn't have space to present in this short blog (for
example, Kappa studies, Attribute sampling inspection, Nominal Logistic regression...).

Quantitative analysis and statistics might still be used more extensively in the service sector to
improve quality and customer satisfaction. Of course, analyses of qualitative data are also often
performed in the manufacturing industry. If you're not already using it, please download our free
30-day trial and see what you can learn from your data!

Data Analysis Government Health Care Quality Improvement Healthcare Quality Improvement
Services Statistics Stats

You Might Also Like:

 Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 1: Pareto, Pie, and Stacked Bar Charts
 Chi-Square Analysis: Powerful, Versatile, Statistically Objective
 Minitab and Excel: Which Should I Use, and When?
 Statistics and Shopping II

Comments

Who We Are

Minitab is the leading provider of software and services for quality improvement and statistics
education. More than 90% of Fortune 100 companies use Minitab Statistical Software, our
flagship product, and more students worldwide have used Minitab to learn statistics than any
other package.

Minitab Inc. is a privately owned company headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, with
subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, and Australia. Our global network of representatives
serves more than 40 countries around the world.

Visit Us at Minitab.com

Blog Map | Legal | Privacy Policy | Trademarks

Copyright ©2017 Minitab Inc. All rights Reserved.

Authors

 Eston Martz
 Michelle Paret
 Bonnie K. Stone
 Marilyn Wheatley
 Bruno Scibilia

ShareThis Copy and Paste

The Minitab Blog Data Analysis Quality Improvement Project Tools Industries
keyboard_arrow_down Minitab.com Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 2: Chi-Square and
Multivariate Analysis Bruno Scibilia 28 January, 2015 0 In my recent meetings with people from
various companies in the service industries, I realized that one of the problems they face is that
they were collecting large amounts of "qualitative" data: types of product, customer profiles,
different subsidiaries, several customer requirements, etc. As I discussed in my previous post,
one way to look at qualitative data is to use different types of charts, including pie charts, stacked
bar charts, and Pareto charts. In this post, we'll cover how to dig deeper into qualitative data with
Chi-square analysis and multivariate analysis. A Chi-Square Test with Qualitative Data The table
below shows which statistical methods can be used to analyze data according to the nature of
such data (qualitative or numeric/quantitative). Even when the output (Y) is qualitative and the
input (predictor : X) is also qualitative, at least one statistical method is relevant and can be used
: the Chi-Square test. X \ Y Numeric/quantitative Output Qualitative Output
Numeric/quantitative Input Regression Logistic Regression Qualitative Input ANOVA T tests
Chi-Square Proportion tests Let's perform the Chi-square test of statistical significance on the
same qualitative mistakes data I used in my previous post: data In Minitab Statistical Software,
go to Stat > Tables > Cross Tabulation and Chi-square... In the output below, you can see that for
each Employee / Error type combination, observed counts are obtained. Below that, expected
counts (based on the assumption that the distribution of types of errors is strictly identical for
each employee) are displayed. And below the expected count is displayed that combination's
contribution to the overall Chi-Square. A low p-value (p = 0.042 <0.05), shown below the table,
indicates a significant difference in the distribution of error types according to the three
employees. We then need to consider the major contributions to the overall chi-square: Largest
contribution: 3.79 for the Mistake type: “Product” & Employee: A combination. Note that in this
case, for that particular cell, the number of observed errors for “product” (third row) and
employee A (first column of the table) is much larger than the number of expected errors. Due to
that difference the contribution for that particular combination is large : 3.79. Second largest
contribution: 2.66 for the Error type: “Address” & employee: C combination. Note that for this
particular combination (i.e., this particular cell in the table) the observed number of address
errors is much larger than the number of expected errors for Employee C (and therefore the
contribution 2.66 is quite large). Simple Correspondence (Multivariate) Analysis for Qualitative
Data This third approach to analyzing qualitative data is more complex and computationally
intensive but this is also a very effective and explicit statistical tool from a graphical point of
view. In Minitab, go to Stat > Multivariate > Simple Correspondence Analysis... To do this
analysis, I rearranged the data in a two way contingency table, with the addition of a column for
the employee names : The simple correspondence symmetric plot below indicates that “Product”
type errors are more likely to be associated with employee A (see on the right part of the graph
below the two points are close to one another) whereas "Address" type errors are more likely to
be associated with employee C (the two points are visually close on the left part of the graph).
This is the same conclusion we found using the Chi-square test. How Can You Use Qualitative
Data? Counts of qualitative data may obviously be used to provide relevant information to
decision takers, process owners, quality professionals etc., and several graphical or statistical
tools are available for that in Minitab. Our statistical software includes statistical tools that are
useful to analyze qualitative values, but that I didn't have space to present in this short blog (for
example, Kappa studies, Attribute sampling inspection, Nominal Logistic regression...).
Quantitative analysis and statistics might still be used more extensively in the service sector to
improve quality and customer satisfaction. Of course, analyses of qualitative data are also often
performed in the manufacturing industry. If you're not already using it, please download our free
30-day trial and see what you can learn from your data! Data Analysis Government Health Care
Quality Improvement Healthcare Quality Improvement Services Statistics Stats You Might Also
Like: Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 1: Pareto, Pie, and Stacked Bar Charts Chi-Square
Analysis: Powerful, Versatile, Statistically Objective Minitab and Excel: Which Should I Use,
and When? Statistics and Shopping II Comments Who We Are Minitab is the leading provider of
software and services for quality improvement and statistics education. More than 90% of
Fortune 100 companies use Minitab Statistical Software, our flagship product, and more students
worldwide have used Minitab to learn statistics than any other package. Minitab Inc. is a
privately owned company headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, with subsidiaries in the
United Kingdom, France, and Australia. Our global network of representatives serves more than
40 countries around the world. Visit Us at Minitab.com Blog Map | Legal | Privacy Policy |
Trademarks Copyright ©2017 Minitab Inc. All rights Reserved. Authors Eston Martz Michelle
Paret Bonnie K. Stone Marilyn Wheatley Bruno Scibilia The Minitab Blog Data Analysis
Quality Improvement Project Tools Industries keyboard_arrow_down Minitab.com Analyzing
Qualitative Data, part 2: Chi-Square and Multivariate Analysis Bruno Scibilia 28 January, 2015
0 In my recent meetings with people from various companies in the service industries, I realized
that one of the problems they face is that they were collecting large amounts of "qualitative"
data: types of product, customer profiles, different subsidiaries, several customer requirements,
etc. As I discussed in my previous post, one way to look at qualitative data is to use different
types of charts, including pie charts, stacked bar charts, and Pareto charts. In this post, we'll
cover how to dig deeper into qualitative data with Chi-square analysis and multivariate analysis.
A Chi-Square Test with Qualitative Data The table below shows which statistical methods can be
used to analyze data according to the nature of such data (qualitative or numeric/quantitative).
Even when the output (Y) is qualitative and the input (predictor : X) is also qualitative, at least
one statistical method is relevant and can be used : the Chi-Square test. X \ Y
Numeric/quantitative Output Qualitative Output Numeric/quantitative Input Regression Logistic
Regression Qualitative Input ANOVA T tests Chi-Square Proportion tests Let's perform the Chi-
square test of statistical significance on the same qualitative mistakes data I used in my previous
post: data In Minitab Statistical Software, go to Stat > Tables > Cross Tabulation and Chi-
square... In the output below, you can see that for each Employee / Error type combination,
observed counts are obtained. Below that, expected counts (based on the assumption that the
distribution of types of errors is strictly identical for each employee) are displayed. And below
the expected count is displayed that combination's contribution to the overall Chi-Square. A low
p-value (p = 0.042 <0.05), shown below the table, indicates a significant difference in the
distribution of error types according to the three employees. We then need to consider the major
contributions to the overall chi-square: Largest contribution: 3.79 for the Mistake type:
“Product” & Employee: A combination. Note that in this case, for that particular cell, the number
of observed errors for “product” (third row) and employee A (first column of the table) is much
larger than the number of expected errors. Due to that difference the contribution for that
particular combination is large : 3.79. Second largest contribution: 2.66 for the Error type:
“Address” & employee: C combination. Note that for this particular combination (i.e., this
particular cell in the table) the observed number of address errors is much larger than the number
of expected errors for Employee C (and therefore the contribution 2.66 is quite large). Simple
Correspondence (Multivariate) Analysis for Qualitative Data This third approach to analyzing
qualitative data is more complex and computationally intensive but this is also a very effective
and explicit statistical tool from a graphical point of view. In Minitab, go to Stat > Multivariate >
Simple Correspondence Analysis... To do this analysis, I rearranged the data in a two way
contingency table, with the addition of a column for the employee names : The simple
correspondence symmetric plot below indicates that “Product” type errors are more likely to be
associated with employee A (see on the right part of the graph below the two points are close to
one another) whereas "Address" type errors are more likely to be associated with employee C
(the two points are visually close on the left part of the graph). This is the same conclusion we
found using the Chi-square test. How Can You Use Qualitative Data? Counts of qualitative data
may obviously be used to provide relevant information to decision takers, process owners,
quality professionals etc., and several graphical or statistical tools are available for that in
Minitab. Our statistical software includes statistical tools that are useful to analyze qualitative
values, but that I didn't have space to present in this short blog (for example, Kappa studies,
Attribute sampling inspection, Nominal Logistic regression...). Quantitative analysis and
statistics might still be used more extensively in the service sector to improve quality and
customer satisfaction. Of course, analyses of qualitative data are also often performed in the
manufacturing industry. If you're not already using it, please download our free 30-day trial and
see what you can learn from your data! Data Analysis Government Health Care Quality
Improvement Healthcare Quality Improvement Services Statistics Stats You Might Also Like:
Analyzing Qualitative Data, part 1: Pareto, Pie, and Stacked Bar Charts Chi-Square Analysis:
Powerful, Versatile, Statistically Objective Minitab and Excel: Which Should I Use, and When?
Statistics and Shopping II Comments Who We Are Minitab is the leading provider of software
and services for quality improvement and statistics education. More than 90% of Fortune 100
companies use Minitab Statistical Software, our flagship product, and more students worldwide
have used Minitab to learn statistics than any other package. Minitab Inc. is a privately owned
company headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, with subsidiaries in the United
Kingdom, France, and Australia. Our global network of representatives serves more than 40
countries around the world. Visit Us at Minitab.com Blog Map | Legal | Privacy Policy |
Trademarks Copyright ©2017 Minitab Inc. All rights Reserved. Authors Eston Martz Michelle
Paret Bonnie K. Stone Marilyn Wheatley Bruno Scibilia ShareThis Copy and Paste