How can you distinguish between qualitative and quantitative fields in the LDS?

• A. Qualitative fields are numeric measurements; quantitative fields are category labels.
• B. Qualitative = category labels (e.g., location, month); quantitative = numeric measurements.
• C. Qualitative fields are boolean; quantitative fields are textual.
• D. Qualitative and quantitative fields are the same.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is to differentiate data by whether it describes categories or measures quantities. Qualitative fields store labels that describe a quality or type, not a number. Think of fields like location, month, or product type—these are categories you group by, not numbers you can arithmetic with. Quantitative fields hold numeric values that can be measured and operated on, such as counts, distances, temperatures, or prices. These can be added, averaged, or otherwise analyzed statistically.

So, a field like Location or Month is qualitative because it labels a category, while a field like Distance or Temperature is quantitative because it contains numerical measurements. This is why the correct characterization is that qualitative fields are category labels and quantitative fields are numeric measurements. The other statements mix up these ideas—numeric values aren’t qualitative, and category labels aren’t quantitative—so they don’t fit.