King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
Department of Management and Marketing
MKT 345 Marketing Research
Dr. Alhassan G. Abdul-Muhmin
Editing and Coding
Reference: Zikmund, Chapter 19
Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
At the end of this discussion you should be
able to:
Explain the concepts of editing and coding
List the important considerations in editing
and coding
List and explain the key issues in errorchecking and data transformation
Explain the contents and uses of a code book
Edit and code completed questionnaires
Overview of the Stages of Data Analysis
EDITING
The process of checking and adjusting
responses in the completed
questionnaires for omissions, legibility,
and consistency and readying them for
coding and storage
Types of Editing
1. Field Editing
Preliminary editing by a field supervisor
on the same day as the interview to catch
technical omissions, check legibility of
handwriting, and clarify responses that
are logically or conceptually inconsistent.
2. In-house Editing
Editing performed by a central office staff;
often dome more rigorously than field
editing
Purpose of Editing
1.
2.
3.
4.
For consistency between and among
responses
For completeness in responses to
reduce effects of item non-response
To better utilize questions answered
out of order
To facilitate the coding process
Editing for Completeness
Item Nonresponse
Plug Value
The technical term for an unanswered question
on an otherwise complete questionnaire
resulting in missing data.
An answer that an editor plugs in to replace
blanks or missing values so as to permit data
analysis; choice of value is based on a
predetermined decision rule.
Impute
To fill in a missing data point through the use of
a statistical algorithm that provides a best guess
for the missing response based on available
information.
Facilitating the Coding Process
Data Clean-up
Checking written responses for any stray
marks
Editing And Tabulating Dont Know
Answers
Legitimate dont know (no opinion)
Reluctant dont know (refusal to answer)
Confused dont know (does not
understand)
Editing (contd)
Pitfalls of Editing
Allowing subjectivity to enter into the editing
process.
Failing to have a systematic procedure for
assessing the questionnaires developed by the
research analyst
Data editors should be intelligent, experienced,
and objective.
An editor should have clearly defined decision
rules to follow.
Pretesting Edit
Editing during the pretest stage can prove very
valuable for improving questionnaire format,
identifying poor instructions or inappropriate
question wording.
CODING
The process of identifying and
classifying each answer with a
numerical score or other character
symbol
The numerical score or symbol is called a
code, and serves as a rule for interpreting,
classifying, and recording data
Identifying responses with codes is
necessary if data is to be processed by
computer
Coding - Continued
Coded data is often stored electronically in the
form of a data matrix - a rectangular
arrangement of the data into rows (representing
cases) and columns (representing variables)
The data matrix is organized into fields, records,
and files:
Field: A collection of characters that represents a
single type of data
Record: A collection of related fields, i.e., fields
related to the same case (or respondent)
File: A collection of related records, i.e. records
related to the same sample
Key Issues in Coding
1.
2.
Pre-Coding Fixed-Alternative Questions
(FAQs) -Writing codes for FAQs on the
questionnaire before the data collection
Coding Open-Ended Questions - A 3stage process:
(a) Perform a test tabulation, (b) Devise a
coding scheme, (c) Code all responses
Two Rules For Code Construction are:
a)
Coding categories should be exhaustive
b)
Coding categories should be mutually exclusive
and independent
Issues in Coding - Continued
3.
Maintaining a Code Book - A book
that identifies each variable in a study, the
variables description, code name, and
position in the data matrix
4.
Production Coding - The physical
activity of transferring the data from the
questionnaire or data collection form [to the
computer] after the data has been collected.
Sometimes done through a coding sheet
ruled paper drawn to mimic the data matrix
5.
Combining Editing and Coding
AFTER CODING ..
1.
Data Entry - The transfer of codes from
questionnaires (or coding sheets) to a
computer. Often accomplished in one of three
ways:
a)
b)
c)
On-line direct data entry e.g. as for CATI
systems
Optical scanning for highly structured
questionnaires
Keyboarding data entry via a computer
keyboard; often requires verification
After Coding - Continued
2.
Error Checking Verifying the
accuracy of data entry and checking
for some kinds of obvious errors made
during the data entry. Often
accomplished through frequency
analysis.
After Coding - Continued
3.
Data Transformation Converting some
of the data from the format in which they
were entered to a format most suitable for
particular statistical analysis.
Often accomplished through re-coding, to:
reverse-score negative (or positive)
statements into positive (or negative)
statements;
collapse the number of categories of a
variable