Abstract
We describe how the IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) was the cradle of the qualitative method in Brazil, through its National Study of Family Spending. This study analyzed the living conditions of the people of Brazil, sampling 55,311 individuals in the 1970s and merging quantitative and qualitative data. The effects of social inequality on malnutrition, infant mortality and life expectancy stood out: 62.7% of families had caloric deficit; 40% suffered from shortage of food; there were 115 deaths per 1,000 live births and the life expectancy was 59 years. The IBGE coined the term “unstructured information” for the data, and the qualitative study shone light on and humanized the data collected. However, the military dictatorship prohibited its publication during the time of the so-called “Brazilian miracle.”
Brazil; Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE; history; military regime; qualitative method