Which type of data is primarily qualitative?

Nominal data is considered primarily qualitative because it categorizes information without a specific order or ranking among the categories. For instance, data representing different types of cancer diagnoses (like breast cancer, lung cancer, etc.) is nominal; it classifies patients into distinct groups based on the type of cancer they have, but there is no inherent ranking or ordering to these groups.

In contrast, ordinal data involves categories that do have a meaningful order or rank, such as stages of cancer (Stage I, Stage II, etc.), which is a more complex level of information than what nominal data provides. Continuous data refers to numerical values that can take on an infinite number of possibilities and is primarily quantitative in nature, such as measurements of tumor size. Categorical data is a broader term that includes both nominal and ordinal data, but since the question specifically calls for the type that is primarily qualitative, nominal data best fits that criteria.