STATISTICS AT THE HEART OF

RESEARCH.
By Aderonke S. Ogunsakin
ronky4success@gmail.com
Pan Atlantic University
Lagos, Nigeria
March 2014

Definitions and Overviews

Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation and presentation of
data. It deals with all aspects of data, including the planning of data collection in terms of the
design of surveys and experiments.
Statistics is a useful branch of mathematics that is adopted by researchers in many fields to
organize, analyze, and summarize data. (Dodge, 2006).
Research is a process of: gathering data in a strictly organised manner.
OR
testing a stated idea or assertion (the hypothesis) to see if the evidence supports it or not. It
may involve putting in place experimental practices and comparing them with other controlled or
current practices, but can also employ simple data-gathering procedures.
OR
engaging in planned or unplanned interactions with or interventions in parts of the real
world, and reporting on what happens and what they seem to mean.
[Source: Davies, 2007, p. 17.]
Research is a systematic and methodical process of enquiry and investigation with the aim of
increasing knowledge.

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It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or
existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. (Jill Collis and Roger Hussey,
2009)
Research usually aims at reviewing existing body of knowledge, investigating and proffering
solution to existing problems, exploring and analyzing more general issues, explaining new
phenomenon, which altogether leads to the generation of new knowledge, or a combination of
any of these. In getting knowledge, there is the process of inquiry (getting of data), these data
needs to be presented analyzed and interpreted in such a way that it will be comprehensible for
others. This is where statistical analysis come to play, without which research could not been
said to have taken place.
Whatever that has to do with data in research is taken care of through the use of statistics.
Frequently, scientists make use of statistics to analyze their results. Data analysis is the process
of evaluating data using analytical and logical reasoning to examine each component of the data
that has been gathered (BusinessDictionary.com). This is one of the crucial steps that have to be
completed when conducting a research. Data sourced directly (primary data), or indirectly
(secondary data), stands to be reviewed and then analyzed to form some kind of finding or
conclusion. Among the varieties of data analysis method include text analytics, business
intelligence, data mining and data visualizations.
In the case of studies that requires theoretical illustration and insights; analysis provides
credibility to a theory and is central to the general acceptance of most statements. Statistics helps
condense the data and present it in a manner understandable by everybody. Statistics today is
central to almost any research area of interest.
Statistical analysis provides credibility to a theory and is central to the general acceptance of
most statements. It is also used in validating existing theories, critiquing a theory and making
alternative statements. Statistics also helps condense the data collected and present it in a manner
understandable by the consumers of such research.
Statistics today is central to almost all scientific disciplines, financial, marketing, social and even
the art. It can be applied to various problems but the underling concept remains the same.
An understanding of statistics is important for researchers because of the diverse applications of
statistics from social science experiments to physical science experiments.
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Statistics is an integral part of physical sciences and social sciences. Most social phenomena are
statistical in nature.
For example, if a social scientist concludes women spend more time watching television
compared to men, it does not apply to all women; it simply means that on the average, a woman
will spend more time watching the television than a man.
The research process is very important and a very good way to illustrate the relationship between
statistics and research.
Forms of Statistics
In general term, statistics can be classified into two broad forms;

Descriptive and

Inductive (Inferential statistics)

This is discussed more elaborately in the next section. Further forms of statistics deal with
quantity and variables. These include single variables studies which use null & alternative
hypothesis and the multiple variables concerned with how one quantity affects the other or
whether there is a difference among similar quantities, and this uses the Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA); this can be used in analyzing for example teenage pregnancy and educational levels
among different states of Nigeria. ANOVA is usually the purview for linear regression, which
shows the extent of impact of the subject matter.
One keyword that resonates in the definition of both research and statistics is organize, and it
relates to how data is organized systematically for easy analysis and reporting. Data is usually
organized using frequency distributions and graphs. To illustrate this further, lets take the
JAMB UME exam score for 37 students spread across all the Nigerian states and FCT for
example, taking a typical community school and an average age of 18 years (see Table 1.1).
This raw data does not look meaningful as there is no pattern, in order to organize properly, it
can be rearrange from lowest to highest or vice versa, after wich it can be condensed into a
frequency distribution, a table in which all of the scores are listed with the frequency of
occurrence.

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UME Exams score fof 37

students across every
state of Nigeria
34
15
55
38
62
52
30
44
15
23
24
11
32
58
20
64
14
63
15
34
55
35
65
72
67
41
39
58
40
54
62
34
34
21
22
23
56

UME Exams score fof 37

students across every
state of Nigeria
34
15
55
38
62
52
30
44
15
23
24
11
32
58
20
64
14
63
15
34
55
35
65
72
67
41
39
58
40
54
62
34
34
21
22
23
56
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Frequency

and

Relative

Frequency

Distribution of Exam Data

Score
34
55
62
30
15
24
32
20
14
65
67
39
40
22
38
52
44
23
11
58
64
63
35
72
41
54
21
56
1151

Frequency
4
2
2
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
N=37

Relative
Frequency
0.029539531
0.047784535
0.053866203
0.026064292
0.013032146
0.020851434
0.027801911
0.017376195
0.012163336
0.056472632
0.058210252
0.033883579
0.034752389
0.019113814
0.03301477
0.045178106
0.038227628
0.019982624
0.009556907
0.050390964
0.055603823
0.054735013
0.030408341
0.062554301
0.035621199
0.046915725
0.018245004
0.048653345
1

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We can also distribute based on interval, usually, for ease of representation, intervals of 5, 10, 15
or 20 are typical. This will further condense this table to fewer rows.
Graphs can also be used to represent data. There are several kinds of graph; type of graph in use
will depend on kinds of data to be represented. There is pie chart, bar chart, line chart, polygon,
histogram and many others.

Research Methodology

The starting point of any research is the research philosophy which on the one extreme can be
Interpretivism (Social Constructionism) and on the other extreme, might be positivism (natural
scientist philosophy). In the balance is realism (Shares social constructionism perspective BUT
further believes that there is a shared interpretation of the social constructed environment).
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Research strategies that can be adopted includes;

1. Theory BEFORE Research
2. Research BEFORE Theory
And there is rationale that helps in deciding the choice between these two strategies.
RATIONALE
Use existing knowledge (Context
justification)
Exact Research Question
Known relevant factors (variables)
Appropriate data collection technique
Appropriate Analyses techniques

of Context of discovery AND NOT Context of

justification
Identification of relevant factors
Develop theory(ies)

Research Approaches
Research-Before-Theory
Inductive Research [Theory Building]
Theory-Before-Research
Deductive Research [Model/Theory Validation]
Mixed Methods
Inductive Research followed by
Deductive Research
OR Deductive Research followed by
Inductive Research
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Data collection method used will depend on type of data namely;

Qualitative
Quantitative

Qualitative data Tends to be for Small samples + Not amenable to statistical analysis
o Textual descriptions/reported findings
o Qualitative graphical presentation
o Counts
o Cross Tabulations
o Descriptive statistics

Quantitative data Used to analyse statistically [For Large samples]

o Hypothesis Testing
o Model fitting/validation
o Parameter estimation

Quantitative data makes use of statistics more extensively, usually data samples are large. There
is no way to test these

Research Methodologies for Research Philosophy

Positivism

Interpretivism

Experimental Studies
Hermeneutics
Surveys (Primary data OR Secondary
Ethnography
data)
Cross-sectional Studies
Participative Enquiry
Longitudinal Studies
Action Research
Case studies
Grounded Theory
Feminist, Gender and
Studies

Ethnicity

The research problem determines the approach, the strategy and the research philosophy, all of
which determines the soft systems model, and help in the hypothesis testing using statistics.
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Systematic Approach for Addressing Research Problems

Approach to addressing research problems includes;

Answered by doing a thorough literature review

Addressed by searching directories, databases, a literature review, research knowledge,
[colleagues for purposive/convenience], Pilot
Answered by searching directories, databases, a literature review, research knowledge

Sequence of Stages
1. Planning Stage
2. Data Collection Stage
3. Data Analysis Stage
4. Write-up Stage
[Source: Davies, 2007]
Figure below shows the process of identifying the research question(s) which are important in
progressing to the planning stage of a research.

Statistics no doubt is central to research; for validation or establishing new theories.

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References
Dodge, Y. (2006). The Oxford Dictionary of Statistical Terms, OUP. ISBN 0-19-920613-9.
Jill Collis and Roger Hussey. (2009) Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate and
Postgraduate Students (3rd).
Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill (2003). Research Methods for Business Students.
Martin Brett Davies (2007). Doing a Successful Research Project: Using Qualitative or Quantitative
Methods
Sherri L. Jackson (2009). Research Methods and Statistics. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

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