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Inquiry vs Qualitative - What's the difference?

inquiry | qualitative |

As nouns the difference between inquiry and qualitative

is that inquiry is the act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning while qualitative is something qualitative.

As an adjective qualitative is

of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quantity.

inquiry

English

(wikipedia inquiry)

Alternative forms

* enquiry

Noun

(inquiries)
  • The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning.
  • Search for truth, information, or knowledge; examination of facts or principles; research; investigation; as, physical inquiries.

    • Usage notes

    According to Fowler's Modern English Usage'' (1926), ''inquiry'' should be used in relation to a formal inquest, and ''enquiry'' to the act of questioning. Many (though not all) British writers maintain this distinction; the Oxford English Dictionary, in its entry not updated since 1900, lists ''inquiry'' and ''enquiry'' as equal alternatives, in that order. Some British dictionaries, such as ''Chambers 21st Century Dictionary'' [http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=inquiry], present the two spellings as interchangeable variants in the general sense, but prefer ''inquiry'' for the "formal inquest" sense. In Australian English, ''inquiry'' represents a formal inquest (such as a government investigation) while ''enquiry'' is used in the act of questioning (eg: the customer enquired about the status of his loan application). Both spellings are current in Canadian English, where ''enquiry'' is often associated with scholarly or intellectual research. (See Pam Peters, ''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage , p. 282.) American English usually uses inquiry .

    References

    *

    qualitative

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • of descriptions or distinctions based on some quality rather than on some quantity
  • (chemistry) of a form of analysis that yields the identity of a compound

    • Related terms

    * quality

    Derived terms

    * qualitativeness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something qualitative.

    • See also

    * quantitative ----