Data Processing, Analysis & Report Writing

• After collection, data has to be processed and analyzed in accordance with the outline laid
down in the research design.

• Generally, analysis of data in a general way involves a number of closely related operations
which are performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing
these in such a manner that they answer the research question(s).

• Technically speaking, processing implies editing, coding, classification and tabulation of

collected data so that they are amenable to analysis. [Need to do this in SPSS]

• The term analysis refers to the computation of certain measures along with searching for
patterns of relationship that exist among data-groups.

• Thus, in the process of analysis, relationships or differences supporting or conflicting with

original or new hypotheses should be subjected to statistical tests of significance to
determine with what validity data can be said to indicate any conclusions”.
 Processing Operations
Editing data is a process of examining the collected raw data (specially in
surveys) to detect errors and omissions and to correct these when possible.
• Editing is done to assure that the data are accurate, consistent with other facts
gathered, uniformly entered, as completed as possible and have been well
arranged to facilitate coding and tabulation.
Coding refers to the process of assigning numerals or other symbols to answers
so that responses can be put into a limited number of categories or classes.
• Coding is necessary for efficient analysis and through it the several replies may be
reduced to a small number of classes which contain the critical information
required for analysis.
Classification: Most research studies result in a large volume of raw data which
must be reduced into homogeneous groups if we are to get meaningful
relationships.
 Processing Operations
Tabulation : When a mass of data has been assembled, it becomes necessary for
the researcher to arrange the same in some kind of concise and logical order.
• This involves summarising raw data and displaying the same in compact form
(i.e., in the form of statistical tables) for further analysis. Why tabulation?

 It conserves space and reduces explanatory and descriptive statement to a minimum.

 It facilitates the process of comparison.
 It facilitates the summation of items and the detection of errors and omissions.
 It provides a basis for various statistical computations.
 ELEMENTS/TYPES OF ANALYSIS
• Analysis, involves estimating the values of unknown parameters of the population
and testing of hypotheses for drawing inferences.
• Analysis may, therefore, be categorized as descriptive analysis and inferential
analysis (statistical analysis).
• Descriptive analysis is largely the study of distributions of one variable. It describes
properties of an entire population, and are often based on all experiences, as such
they are exact or precise.
• This study provides us with profiles of companies, work groups, persons and other
subjects on any of a multiple of characteristics such as size, composition, efficiency,
preferences, etc.
• This sort of analysis may be in respect of one variable (Unidimensional/univariate
analysis), or in respect of two variables (bivariate analysis) or in respect of more than
two variables (described as multivariate analysis).
• In this context we work out various measures that show the size and shape of a
distribution(s) along with the study of measuring relationships between two or more
 Inferential Statistics
• Inferential analysis refers to being able to extrapolate about the experiences of a large
population based on a relatively small subset (sample) of that population.

• Inferential statistics are also known as sampling statistics and are mainly concerned with
two major type of problems: (i) the estimation of population parameters, and (ii) the
testing of statistical hypotheses.

• It is mainly on the basis of inferential analysis that the task of interpretation (i.e., the task
of drawing inferences and conclusions) is performed.

• It is concerned with the various tests of significance for testing hypotheses in order to
determine with what validity data can be said to indicate some conclusion or conclusions.

• This means that we can know about an entire population based on observation of only a
sample of that population.
 Inferential Statistics
• An inferential statistic has three main components namely: Point estimate, margin of error and confidence
interval.

• In a study that establishes that 75% of female students are likely to pass any exam, the point estimate will be
75%, while a 5% margin of error indicates the range within which the true result must lie.
• Confidence interval on the other hand will show how confident we are that the true result lies within the range
(MoE).

• Thus, 75% +/-5% (Confidence interval 95%).

Point Estimate Margin of error Confidence Level

• This means that the true value for the entire population must fall between 70% (75%-5%) and 80% (75% +5%)
with 95% confidence (19 times out of 20 the inference will be correct).
• Inferential statistics lack the precision of descriptive statistics because they are based on a subset of experiences.
Inferential statistics.

• Inferential statistics can only estimate the experience of a population within a range because its based on a
 Correlation & Causal Analysis
• Correlation analysis studies joint variation of two or more variables.
• Causal analysis is concerned with the study of how one or more variables affect
changes in another variable.

• It is thus a study of functional relationships existing between two or more

variables. This analysis can be termed as regression analysis.

• Causal analysis is considered relatively more important in experimental

researches, whereas in most social and business researches our interest lies in
understanding and controlling relationships between variables than with
determining causes per se and as such we consider correlation analysis as
relatively more important.
 Correlation & Causal Analysis
• With the availability of computer facilities, there has been a rapid development of
multivariate analyses which may be defined as “all statistical methods which
simultaneously analyze more than two variables on a sample of observations.
• The following all refer to multivariate analyses:

• Multiple regression analysis: This analysis is adopted when the researcher has one
dependent variable which is presumed to be a function of two or more independent
variables.

• The objective of this analysis is to make a prediction about the dependent variable
based on its covariance with all the concerned independent variables.

• Multivariate analysis of variance (or multi-ANOVA): This analysis is an extension of

two way ANOVA, wherein the ratio of among group variance to within group
 Statistical Measures
• The important statistical measures* that are used to summarize the
survey/research data are: Measures of central tendency, Measures of dispersion,
Measures of asymmetry (skewness); (4) measures of relationship; and (5) other
measures.
• Measures of central tendency or statistical averages such as average or mean,
median and mode.
• Measures of dispersion such as dispersion, variance, and its square root—the
standard deviation are the most often used measures. Other measures such as
mean deviation, range, etc. are also used.
• Amongst the measures of relationship, Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation is
the frequently used measure in case of statistics of variables, whereas Yule’s
coefficient of association is used in case of statistics of attributes.
• Multiple correlation coefficient, partial correlation coefficient, regression analysis,
etc., are other important measures often used by a researcher.
 REPORT WRITING
Chapter One
• Typically, a proposal will contain the following sections:
• Introduction
• Contextual Background
• Problem Statement
• Research Objectives (General & Specific)
• Research Questions/Hypotheses
• Justification of the study
• Scope of the study
• Brief literature review
• Methodology
• Consequently, when doing your final report, this becomes your chapter One,
 Chapter Two
Chapter two is mainly literature Review and should consist of the following:
• Theoretical Literature
• Empirical Literature
• Theoretical framework
• Conceptual Framework

Chapter Three
• Chapter three consist of the methods/ design adopted in writing the paper. It
includes the data collection methods, sampling methods, diagnostic tests (Pre-
estimations) performed, estimation methods, ethical considerations.
• You may also try to explain the variables being used from this section.
 Chapter Four
• In chapter four, one is giving a detailed presentation of findings. Particularly, one
analyses the findings, interpret and present these findings.
• All the tabulation/ descriptive and inferential statistics are illustrated here.
• In this chapter, there is also a section on the discussion of findings where you relate
the findings to others that have been done.
• In this regard you will be expected to continuously refer to your literature review.
• You are also trying to prove or disprove your hypothesis/ or determining whether its
true or not. Apriori expectations.
Chapter five
• This is a conclusion of your research. Here you are summarizing your study, and
indicating the summary findings of your study as well as the policy
recommendations based on your findings.
• Ideally, the conclusion should form a basis for your abstract.
• End! Good luck!