Everday terms such as white and Black actually have little empirical meaning, except in the most stereotypical way. In qualitative research, to construct meanings of whiteness or Blackness is to interpret interview or observational data, usually drawn from subjects who have been well socialized into the racial norms of society. One norm is the assumption that everyone in American has a racial identity. If we are studying the transformation of society we can make empirical observations . Humans are differentiated from the natural world by reflexivity, cogitation.
Humans collect and learn and act on information and thus change.
Humans are Reflexive and Reactive, atoms do not think they just react. Whereas in Quantitative you observe a group in a lab. Not necessary to predict, describe and uncover the layers of meaning of this thing called culture. Concepts in usage today have been inherited from the past. What are we going to use or reject.