Processing and
Presentation of Data
MODULE 5
Processing of Data
The collected data in research is processed and analyzed to come to
some conclusions or to verify the hypothesis made.
Processing of data is important as it makes further analysis of data
easier and efficient.
Processing of data technically means
Editing of the data
Coding of data
Classification of data
Tabulation of data.
Editing
Data editing is a process by which collected data is
examined to detect any errors or omissions and
further these are corrected as much as possible
before proceeding further.
Editing is of two types:
• Field Editing
• Central Editing.
Field Editing
Thisis a type of editing that relates to
abbreviated or illegible written form of
gathered data. Such editing is more
effective when done on same day or the
very next day after the interview. The
investigator must not jump to
conclusion while doing field editing.
Central Editing
Such type of editing relates to the time when
all data collection process has been
completed. Here a single or common editor
corrects the errors like entry in the wrong
place, entry in wrong unit etc. As a rule all the
wrong answers should be dropped from the
final results.
Editing requires some careful
consideration
Editor must be familiar with the interviewer’s mind set,
objectives and everything related to the study.
Different colors should be used when editors make entry in the
data collected.
They should initial all answers or changes they make to the
data.
The editors name and date of editing should be placed on the
data sheet.
Coding
Classification of responses may be done on the basis of one or more common
concepts.
In coding a particular numeral or symbol is assigned to the answers in order to put
the responses in some definite categories or classes.
The classes of responses determined by the researcher should be appropriate and
suitable to the study.
Coding enables efficient and effective analysis as the responses are categorized
into meaningful classes.
Coding decisions are considered while developing or designing the questionnaire
or any other data collection tool.
Coding can be done manually or through computer.
Classification of Data
Classification of the data implies that the collected raw data is
categorized into common group having common feature.
Data having common characteristics are placed in a common group.
The entire data collected is categorized into various groups or classes,
which convey a meaning to the researcher.
Classification is done in two ways:
Classification according to attributes.
Classification according to the class intervals.
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING THE ATTRI
BUTES
Here the data is classified on the basis of
common characteristics that can be descriptive
like literacy, sex, honesty, marital status e.t.c. or
numeral like weight, height, income etc.
Descriptive features are qualitative in nature and
cannot be measured quantitatively but are kindly
considered while making an analysis.
Analysis used for such classified data is known
as statistics of attributes and the classification is
known as the classification according to the
attributes.
CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF THE IN
TERVAL
The numerical feature of data can be measured
quantitatively and analyzed with the help of some
statistical unit like the data relating to income, production,
age, weight etc. come under this category. This type of
data is known as statistics of variables and the data is
classified by way of intervals.
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO THE CLASS INTERVAL
USUALLY INVOLVES THE FOLLOWING THREE MAIN
PROBLEMS:
Number of Classes.
How to select class limits.
How to determine the frequency of each class.
Tabulation
The mass of data collected has to be arranged in some
kind of concise and logical order.
Tabulation summarizes the raw data and displays data in
form of some statistical tables.
Tabulation is an orderly arrangement of data in rows and
columns.
OBJECTIVE OF TABULATION:
Conserves space & minimizes explanation and descriptive
statements.
Facilitates process of comparison and summarization.
Facilitates detection of errors and omissions.
Establish the basis of various statistical computations.
Cross Tabulation
Crosstabulation is used to compare two different
categories of variables. For example, cross-
tabulation can be used to compare the likelihood
that men and women will take on gardening as a
hobby.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TABULATIO
N
Tables should be clear, concise & adequately titled.
Every table should be distinctly numbered for easy reference.
Column headings & row headings of the table should be clear &
brief.
Units of measurement should be specified at appropriate
places.
Explanatory footnotes concerning the table should be placed at
appropriate places.
Source of information of data should be clearly indicated.
Contd……
The columns and rows should be clearly separated with dark lines.
Demarcation should also be made between data of one class and that
of another.
Comparable data should be put side by side.
The figures in percentage should be approximated before tabulation.
The alignment of the figures, symbols etc. should be properly aligned
and adequately spaced to enhance the readability of the same.
Abbreviations should be avoided.
Graphical Representation
Graphs help to understand the data easily.
Most common graphs are bar charts and pie charts.
How to present Data
Organise the data
Identify the audience
Choose a presentation type
Label the data
Introduce the research
Focus on main data point
Summarise
Presentation of Data using relevant
Software
Software packages can be used to analyse and
present data. The most widely used ones are SPSS
and NVivo.
SPSS
SPSS is a statistical-analysis and data-management package for quantitative
data analysis. SPSS can perform a wide variety of statistical procedures. Some
examples are:
• Data management (i.e. creating subsets of data or transforming data).
• Summarising, describing or presenting data (i.e. mean, median and frequency).
• Looking at the distribution of data (i.e. standard deviation).
• Comparing groups for significant differences using parametric (i.e. t-test) and
non-parametric (i.e. Chi-square) tests.
• Identifying significant relationships between variables (i.e. correlation).
NVivo
NVivo can be used for qualitative data analysis. It is suitable for use with a wide range of
methodologies. NVivo supports grounded theory, survey data, case studies, focus
groups, phenomenology, field research and action research.
NVivo can:
• Process data such as interview transcripts, literature or media extracts, and historical
documents.
• Code data on screen and explore all coding and documents interactively.
• Rearrange, restructure, extend and edit text, coding and coding relationships.
• Search imported text for words, phrases or patterns, and automatically code the results.
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