This does not mean that the hypothetical teacher should discount subjective data entirely. A student struggling with the basics of grammar may exhibit great creativity in his or her compositions. The teacher can see that a lack of basic knowledge, rather than a lack of enthusiasm about English is the reason for the student's poor objective results, and use those objective results to target what areas need greatest work. In the case of constructing a marketing campaign that is effective, as well as reviewing objective sales results, a McDonald's executive might want to observe customers in a store, to observe consumer behavior, to get an idea as to why consumers selected...

For example, if someone is trying to run a faster marathon, he or she is likely to take subjective data (such as a lack of pain, feeling exhilarated) into consideration when evaluating his or her training program, as well as objective data like improved times. While ultimately running a race requires an objective performance measure of speed, being overly focused on speed and failing to take into consideration subjective feedback can give insufficient weight minute improvements that eventually translate into an objectively faster time.