There are a number of philosophical issues, relating to the questions of objectivity and subjectivity of a statement, judgement, information, point of view or anything else. A statement is said to be objective when it is based on facts, and it can be proved easily and is impossible to deny.
Although in the absence of facts on a matter, then the statement becomes subjective, as the speaker presents his/her opinion, which is always biased. Subjective perspective is based on personal feelings, likes, interest, dislikes, and the like. So, the actual difference between objective and subjective piece of information lies in the facts and opinion.
Content: Objective Vs Subjective
Comparison Chart
| Basis for Comparison | Objective | Subjective |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Objective refers to neutral statement which is completely true, unbiased and balanced. | Subjective means something which does not shows clear picture or it is just a person's outlook or expression of opinion. |
| Based on | Facts and observations | Assumptions, beliefs, opinions. |
| Truth | Provable | Subject relative. |
| Verification | Verified | Non-verified |
| Reporting | Same | Varies to a great extent, from person to person, day to day. |
| Decision making | Yes | No |
| Used in | Textbooks and encyclopedias | Blogs, comments on social media and biographies. |
Definition of Objective
Objective refers to an unbiased and balanced statement that represents facts about something. The statement is not coloured by the past experiences, prejudices, perceptions, desires or knowledge of the speaker. Therefore, they are independent and external to the mind of the specific person.
As the information is entirely facts based, it can be is observable, quantifiable and provable. It can be counted, described and imitated. It presents complete truth and is free from individual influences, so it proves helpful in rational decision making.
Definition of Subjective
Subjective means those ideas or statements which are dominated by the personal feelings, opinion, preferences of the speaker. It is an interpretation of truth or reality, from the speaker’s angle, that informs and affects the judgement of people and is always biased. It can be a belief, opinion, rumour, assumption, suspicion, that is influenced by the speaker’s standpoint.
A subjective point of view is characterised by the past experiences, knowledge, perceptions, understanding and desires of the specific person. These statements are exclusively based on the ideas or opinion of the person making it, as there is no universal truth.
Key Differences Objective and Subjective
The fundamental differences between objective and subjective are discussed in the given below points:
- A neutral statement, which is completely true and real, unbiased and balanced, is an objective one. Subjective means something which does not show the clear picture or it is just a person’s outlook or expression of opinion.
- An objective statement is based on facts and observations. On the other hand, a subjective statement relies on assumptions, beliefs, opinions and influenced by emotions and personal feelings.
- Objective information is provable, measurable and observable. In contrast, subjective information is relative to the subject, i.e. the person making it.
- The objective statement can be checked and verified. Unlike subjective statement or a series of balanced opinions, so they can’t be checked and verified.
- When a piece of information is objective, it remains same, irrespective of the person reporting it. Conversely, a subjective statement differs from individual to individual.
- An objective statement is appropriate for decision making, which is not in the case of a subjective statement.
- You can find the objective statement in hard science, textbooks and encyclopaedias, but a subjective statement is used in blogs, biographies, and comments on social media.
Conclusion
At the end of the discussion, objective information is one that produces the complete truth, i.e. it presents a story from all the angles in a systematic way. It is a fact, which is provably true. On the contrary, subjective information is coloured by the character of the person providing it. It is a great interpretation or analysis of the facts based on personal beliefs, opinion, perspective, feelings, etc.
Sajid Mahmood says
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Patrick says
This site is very amazing. There full of fact ..easy to understand…and motivated
Real congratulations to all participants in this
Please can you give us the difference between qualitative research and quantitative research
Surbhi S says
Thanks a lot, you can find the differences here. https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-qualitative-and-quantitative-research.html
Akbar Hussain says
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BELLENS MOTEBEJANE says
so factual! what a great job you are doing. You making things to be easy for research students. Big up on that .
can I get the a clear explanation on how to draw a research problem ,research title and research question
Moin Davis says
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