Researchers wanted to investigate whether different types of messaging would influence hand-sanitising compliance at a busy hospital entrance.
Over the course of five days, 200 visitors were observed as they entered the hospital foyer. During the first two days, a sign next to the sanitiser station read "Protect yourself from infection!" (personal safety message). During the next two days, the sign was changed to "Protect vulnerable patients!" (prosocial message).
The researchers recorded binary quantitative data: whether each visitor sanitised their hands (yes) or did not (no). They also noted the time of day and estimated group size of the visitors.
Explain one weakness of using quantitative data in this hand-sanitising compliance study.
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