The state of the game...

"ScummerAntilles;c-2041683" wrote:

All data is qualitative.

Ok, this just isn't true. A lot of it is, to be sure, but that is just as foolish as saying all data is quantitative, there is such a thing as objectivity. As for the rest of it:

"ScummerAntilles;c-2041683" wrote:

This is one of the first rules of data. A question like health of a community or an ongoing shared experience is not a quantitative question, and attempts to make it so require a qualitative evaluation of what health even means before you can try to (and why you would add this step, I don't know - I mean you could if you think numbers help answer the specific question... but do you need this step for *this* question?) take human experience, translate that into a quantitive measure, and then re-translate that into a qualitative conclusion that answers the question.

I don't know - do you just totally dismiss the findings when the methods are surveys, interviews, or anything that can't go through the alchemy of translation to numbers then retranslation back to qualitative assessment?

BTW a long direct relationship with 300+ gamers from a position to assess the experience of those gamers is significant.

I mostly agree with you, but quantitative data can be a component in helping answer this question as it will have qualitative connotations, just as the qualitative data does. Also I will believe research properly carried out, one person saying they have been told by a few people that a lot of people are unhappy and so everyone must be is not research. That's hearsay and confirmation bias and you should know that.