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Turning qualitative into quantitative evidence: a well‐used method made explicit1

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  • A. W. CARUS
  • SHEILAGH OGILVIE

Abstract

Many historians reject quantitative methods as inappropriate to understanding past societies. This article argues that no sharp distinction between qualitative and quantitative concepts can be drawn, as almost any concept used to describe a past society is implicitly quantitative. Many recent advances in understanding have been achieved by deriving quantitative evidence from qualitative evidence, using the two dialectically, and indexing them against other quantitative findings from the same population. We show that this triangulation method can be extended to many apparently qualitative sources. Despite its successes, the potential of turning qualitative into quantitative evidence has only just begun to be exploited.

Suggested Citation

  • A. W. Carus & Sheilagh Ogilvie, 2009. "Turning qualitative into quantitative evidence: a well‐used method made explicit1," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 62(4), pages 893-925, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:62:y:2009:i:4:p:893-925
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00486.x
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    1. Ogilvie Sheilagh, 2004. "Women and Labour Markets in Early Modern Germany," Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, De Gruyter, vol. 45(2), pages 25-60, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. David A. Bateman & Dawn Langan Teele, 2020. "A developmental approach to historical causal inference," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 185(3), pages 253-279, December.
    2. Giuliana Freschi, 2023. "From the edge to the heart: female employment in 19th-century Italy," LEM Papers Series 2023/38, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    3. Paul Atkinson & Brian Francis & Ian Gregory & Catherine Porter, 2017. "Spatial modelling of rural infant mortality and occupation in 19th-century Britain," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(44), pages 1337-1360.
    4. Martha A. Starr, 2014. "Qualitative And Mixed-Methods Research In Economics: Surprising Growth, Promising Future," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 238-264, April.

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