QUICK GUIDE 2 - QUALITATIVE VS. QUANTITATIVE DATA QUICK GUIDE 2 - QUALITATIVE VS. QUANTITATIVE DATA Quantitative data What is quantitative data? Quantitative data collection is generally used to quantify an issue or a problem by generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into usable statistics. It can also be used to generalise results from a sample population that is representative of the whole population. Stateless populations are generally considered to be “hard-to-count” due to their frequent physical remoteness, lack of documentation, lack of awareness about their legal status, unwillingness to be enumerated and the fact that statelessness is a relatively rare phenomenon when considering society as a whole. For this reason, quantitative data collection for stateless populations can be extremely technical, resource-intensive and time-consuming. Identify the need for quantitative data on statelessness Quantitative data can be used to estimate the size of a stateless population (be it a local, regional or national population), their demographic characteristics (e.g. age, sex, place of birth, religion, ethnicity), socio-economic characteristics (e.g. poverty rates, education, labour market participation, assets, living conditions), access to services (e.g. education, health, infrastructure), vulnerabilities, protection needs, access to legal identity, and social and political inclusion. Quantitative data can also shed light on why certain groups are stateless (e.g. because they belong to a particular ethnic group which is excluded from nationality) and how they can become citizens of a country (e.g. how many stateless people have successfully been able to use provisions in the law to be recognised as citizens, or have successfully been recognised as stateless under a statelessness determination procedure and given access to facilitated naturalization). Accurate quantitative data on statelessness can serve as a powerful evidencebased advocacy tool. Reliable statistics on population sizes and living conditions are particularly important for governments, UNHCR, NGOs and others attempting to improve the situation of stateless persons in multiple contexts. Ensuring that “hardto-count” populations, such as stateless persons, are enumerated is important for ensuring accurate demographic estimates and efficient allocation of public and private resources. Quantitative data can also facilitate evidence-informed advocacy to address statelessness. When to collect quantitative data on statelessness? To obtain estimates of the size of a stateless population and its demographic characteristics; When a need for primary data collection has been identified and the appropriate resources (human and financial) exist; To establish a baseline on size, demographic characteristics or living conditions of a stateless population, and to track changes in quantitative indicators over time; If there is a suspected significant stateless population and there is an upcoming national census; To assist with development planning and resource allocation; To facilitate evidence-informed advocacy for legislative or policy change to promote solutions to statelessness; To contribute to improved statistical data on the number of stateless people worldwide. 16 U N H C R > R E S E A R C H I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S - Q U I C K G U I D E S U N H C R > R E S E A R C H I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S - Q U I C K G U I D E S 17