PROCESSING AND ANALYIS OF DATA

AND REPORT WRITING

UNIT 4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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Processing of Data

The data collected through surveys need to be processed in order to make them suitable for statistical
analysis and interpretations. The processing of data includes editing, coding, classification and
tabulation. Processing of data is an intermediate stage between the collection of data and their analysis
and interpretation. A brief discussion of some of the processing techniques is given below;

1. EDITING

The process of examining the collected data is called editing. It includes inspection of data, its correction
and modification. Therefore, editing means scrutiny of the questionnaire and schedule. There is
possibility of error and omission on the part of investigator while collecting data. Hence, the editing
helps us to minimize such incorrectness.

Editing may be defined as the process of scrutinizing the data to improve its quality.

According to Wales and Taylor, editing is the process of inspecting, correcting and modifying the
information submitted on each questionnaire, so that it is stated correctly, adequately and on a basis
common to all similar categories of reply.

The basic objectives of editing is to ensure that the data are (a) accurate,(b) consistent with other data,
(c)uniformly entered, (d)complete in every aspect, (e) suitable for tabulation and (f) facilitates coding
and tabulation.

The editing can be conducted at two stages, one at the field level and another at central level.

A) Field Editing.

Field editing is done when the data collection is going on. In the field editing completeness of forms
should be checked by the persons who collect the data, immediately after collecting data. If any
inaccuracy is found in the data collected, the investigator can approach the respondents and can check
the accuracy of information or can correct any answer which is found to be contradictory in nature. Field
editing is very useful to locate errors on the spot and improve the quality of data.

If the survey is conducted on a large scale and involves groups of enumerators, the supervisor of each
team also edits the data. The supervisor may randomly verify the information contained in the

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questionnaires and if any discrepancies found, it will be immediately brought to the notice of the
enumerators and direct them to approach the respondents to rectify the answers,

B) Central Editing (Office Editing)

Central editing is done after the data collection is over and all the forms are submitted to the central
office. Under this process, all the forms are edited by a single editor in case of small studies and a team
of editors incase of large studies.

At central level, the editor corrects the mistakes of the investigators. If it is impossible to correct the
information or the information provided are grossly incorrect or contradictory in nature, such answers
should be dropped from the final questionnaires.

Objectives of editing

1. Editing for consistency. Contradictory answers need to be edited, so that the information contained
in the answer sheets are consistent, for e.g., age and date of birth may not agree, so it may be
corrected.

2. Editing for Completeness. Incomplete answers and unanswered questions need to be edited;
otherwise the analysis of the problem under investigation is not possible. If it is not possible to correct
or get answers, then such questionnaire to be dropped from the selected list.

3. Editing for accuracy. Accuracy of the information must be checked before accepting the answers. In
case any doubt about the accuracy of information provided, then clarification must be sought from the
enumerator or f possible from the respondents.

4. Editing for uniformity. Uniformity of answers means whether all questions are interpreted in the
same sense by all informants or not. If the questions are interpreted in different ways by different
informants, then such data should not be included for analysis.

5. Editing for deciphering. It is possible that the enumerator or the respondents may enter the
information in an illegible handwriting. In such cases, it should be deciphered with the help of the
enumerators.

2. CODING

After editing the collected data, the next step is coding of answers for tabulation purpose. Coding refers
to assigning of numbers or letters or both to each questions and its responses. Coding transforms data
into symbols or numbers which can be counted. Take for example letters like ‘M’ for male and ‘F’ for
female. The purpose of coding is to classify the answers to a question into meaningful categories. Coding
provides basis for analysis. It can be simplified if use of pre coded questionnaire is made.

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Coding is defined as the process by which data are organized into categories and some symbols, letters
or numbers (or a combination of numbers or letters or symbols) are given to each questions and
answers that fall under a particular class.

Coding may be done at two stages- (1) Pre coding i.e., at the time of preparing the questionnaire. In this
method code numbers or symbols are assigned on the questionnaire itself. Pre coding helps to analyze
the data speedily and minimizes the coding errors. (2) Post coding, where coding is done after editing.

Rules of Coding

1. It should be done by such persons who are familiar with the work of coding.

2. Use of alphabets and symbols can be possible in manual data processing and numbers in mechanical
data processing,

3. As far as possible pre coding is preferable over post coding.

4. Coding involves the deciding of categories to be used. Categories may be all inclusive and mutually
exclusive. The all inclusive categories may be termed as “Not applicable”, “Other”, “None of the above”,
etc.

5. Give code numbers for ach questions and answers.

3. CLASSIFICATION

Classification is the process of arranging data into groups or classes according to certain characteristics
or to class intervals. It may be defined as the process of arranging data into sequences and groups
according to their common characteristics or separating them into different but related parts.

According to Tuttle. A. M, a classification is a scheme for breaking a category into a set of parts, called
classes, according to some precisely defined characteristics possessed by all the elements of the
category.

Thus classification means the arrangement of data into different classes based on the nature, objective
and scope of the study. For example, the number of students’ admitted in Rajarshi Shahu
Mahavidyalaya, Latur during the academic year 2021-22may be classified on the basis of any of the
following criterion;

• Sex
• Age
• Religion
• Caste
• Districts to which they belong
• Faculties like arts, commerce, science, etc.

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 Take another example, the data relating to expenditure pattern of people under study on different
items may be classified under the following heads;

• Food
• Clothing
• Fuel and lighting
• Education
• Medical expenses
• Entertainment
• Miscellaneous (like gifts, news paper, etc.)

Each of the above groups may be further divided into sub groups or sub classes, for example food may
be subdivided into cereals, vegetables, milk and milk products, fruits, oil, etc.

Objects of classification

1. To present the data in simple form.

Classification process eliminates unnecessary details and makes the mass of complex data, simple, brief,
logical and understandable. For example the data collected in a population census is huge and it is not
possible to draw any conclusion from them. But when these figures are classified according to sex,
education, marital status, occupation, income level, etc. then the structure and nature of population can
be easily understood.

2. To point out similarity and dissimilarity of data.

Classification brings out the points of similarity and dissimilarity of the data. Facts having similar
characteristics are placed in class, such as educated, uneducated, employed, unemployed, etc.

3. To facilitate comparison.

Classification of data enables one to make comparison, draw inference and locate facts. This is not
possible in an unorganized and unclassified data. If marks obtained by B.Com students of two colleges
are given, no comparison can be made of their performance. But classification of students’ results into
first, second, third and failure on the basis of marks will make such comparison possible.

4. To bring out relationship.

Classification helps in finding out cause and effect relationship, if there is in any data. For e.g., data of
covid patients can help in finding out whether covid cases occurred more in unvaccinated people as
compared to vaccinated people

5. To present a mental picture.

The classification of data enables one to form a mental picture of objects and can help in perception.
Classified and summarized data can easily be understood and remembered.

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6. To prepare the basis for tabulation.

Classification of data helps in tabulation of data for statistical analysis.

TYPES OF CLASSIFICATION

There are limitless ways in which data can e classified. Following are some of the types of classification
of data;

1. Qualitative classification

It is also called as classification based on differences in Kind and classes are set out on the basis of
qualitative differences. The data are classified on the basis of certain attributes or characteristics such as
sex, religion, intelligence, honesty, punctuality, obedience, etc. Here the attributes cannot be directly
expressed numerically; therefore one has to find out whether the attribute is present or not in a
population under study.

2. Quantitative classification

The classification based on the differences in characteristics which can be expressed in numbers is
termed as quantitative classification, for e.g. height is measured in inches, weight in Kilograms, income
in rupee, land area in hectors, etc.

3. Geographical classification

Under this type of classification the data are classified on the basis of area or geographical location such
as continents, countries, states, districts or other subdivisions.

For example, a business organization can classify the sales data of a particular period on the basis of
region wise, state wise, district wise, city wise, etc.

4. Chronological classification

When the given data are classified on the basis of time or period, it is called chronological classification.
Under this type of classification the data may be classified on the basis of differences in time .i.e., years,
months, weeks, days or hours, etc.

For example the sales performance of a company can be classified, for performance evaluation, on the
basis of year wise, month wise, etc.

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5. Classification based on series

When the data is presented in a table on the basis of some logical order, it is known as statistical series.
A statistical series refers to some logical arrangements of data by size, magnitudes, and characteristics
as the case may be.

TYPES OF SERIES

1. Individual series.

When the measurement of individual items is arranged either in ascending or descending order or any
other scientific or logical order, it is known as individual series. For example the marks obtained by the
students in a test paper are written as: 0, 2, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 9, 10, and so on.

2. Discrete series

The discrete series consists of two columns, i.e.(i) the size or measurement of variable, and the
(ii) frequency. The frequencies are counted through the technique of tally marks or tally bars. Take for
example, the marks scored by the students in an examination can be presented as in the first column as
“marks scored” and the second column contains the “number of students” i.e. known as frequencies.

Marks No. of students

in
English (Frequency)

10 2

11 5

12 7

13 3

14 2

15 1

3. Continuous series

When the data is presented in a continuous series, having class interval, along with the corresponding
frequencies, then it is known as continuous series. Classification of data in continuous series is becoming
necessary when the discrete series is too long or when variables involve fractional values.

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The basic components of a continuous series are;

i) Class interval: When large number of observations is classified into several groups according to the
size of value, then these groups are called class intervals. For, e.g., Income of employees are classified as
5000 - 10000, 10000 -15000, 15000 - 20000, 20000 - 25000, and so on. The class interval here is 5000.

ii) Class Limits: In a class, the lower value is called lower limit and the larger value is called upper limit
for example in the above series 5000-10000, 10000-15000, etc., the lower limit in the first class is 5000
and upper limit is 10000. The class limits may be of two types- inclusive types and exclusive types.

a) Inclusive series; in such series over lapping of class limits is avoided. Both lower and upper limits are
included in the class intervals. For e.g., 0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-9 and so on

b) Exclusive series; in such series, the value equal to the upper limit is excluded from the series. For
example in a series of 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, etc, the value equal to 10 is included in the series 10-20
but not in 0-10 and similarly, value equal to 20 is included in the series 20-30. All the values below the
upper limit of the series are included in that series, for e.g., value of 9.9 is included in the series 0-10.

4. TABULATION

After the data has been classified, the next step is to arrange them in the form of tables. Tabulation is
regarded as the last stage in the processing of data and forms the gate way for further statistical
treatment.

Tabulation is a systematic and logical representation of numeric data in rows and columns to facilitate
comparison and statistical analysis. In other words, the method of placing organized data into a tabular
form is known as tabulation. It may be a simple, double or complex form depending up on the nature of
categorization.

Objects of Tabulation

1. To simplify the complex data. Tabulation reduces the bulk of information i.e. the raw data , in a
simplified and meaningful form

2. To facilitate comparison. The presentation of data in table facilitates comparison on the basis of
several parameters.

3. To bring out essential features of data. A table presents the data clearly and concisely, eliminating the
need for textual explanation.

4. To save space. A table presents facts in a better way than the textual form. It saves space without
compromising the quality and quantity of data.

5. To facilitate statistical analysis. The statistical analysis of data becomes possible only the data is
presented in a table. The task of computing mean, dispersion, correlation, etc., becomes easier if data is
presented in the form of table.

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Components of a table

There are set rules for tabulation, but generally the following aspects are included in a table;

1. Number. Each table should be numbered, so that it may be identified and helps in reference.

2. Title. Every table should have an appropriate title and it must be self-explanatory.

3. Stub. The stub refers to the heading of rows. This is the extreme left part of the table, giving a
description of the matter presented in rows.

4. Caption. The heading of the column is called caption. It consists of one or more column heads. It is the
upper part of the table, giving a description of the data presented in columns.

5. Body. The body of the table contains the numerical information classified under caption and stub.

6. Source. The source, from which the data collected, is placed below the body of the table at the left
side.

7. Foot- note. The foot note is used to explain some specific items in the table. A letter or some other
non numerical symbol should be used to indicate a foot note. It may be placed above the source.

Rules for Tabulation

1, Captions and stubs should be arranged in systematic order.

2. Measurement of units must be clearly defined.

3. Table should be logically arranged.

4. Avoid overloading of table with data.

5. Avoid the use of abbreviations.

6. If any information is not available, indicate it in the column as (N A) i.e., Not Available or can use a
‘dash’ mark.

7. The data may be arranged according to chronological or on ascending or descending or alphabetical

order.

8. Table must be suitable to the requirement of the study.

9. Table should be simple to understand and be self explanatory.

10. Miscellaneous items, if any, are placed in the last row of the table.

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ANALYSIS OF STATISTICAL DATA

After processing the data, the next step is analysis of the data collected to test the hypotheses and
thereafter generalization of research findings. In social research, huge amount of data are collected,
which require statistical analysis for its understanding. Now a day’s such statistical analysis is done with
the help of application based software programmes like SSPS, SAS, STATPAK, EXCEL, Etc,.

In analysis of data, various measures of central tendencies such as arithmetic man, median, mode,
dispersion, skewness, correlation and other measures are used according to the nature of study.

Measures of central tendency describe how the data cluster together around a central point. There are
three main measures of central tendencies- the mean, median and mode. In addition to these, harmonic
mean and geometric mean are also applied, wherever necessary.

In measures of dispersion -variance and its square root (the standard deviation) are most often used
statistical techniques.

In measure of skewness, mostly use first measure of skewness based on mean, mode and median, and
second measure of skewness and quartiles.

From among the measure of relationship, Karl Person’s coefficient of correlation is used in case of
variables and Yule’s coefficient of association is used in case of attributes.

In other measures, multiple correlation coefficient, partial correlation coefficient, regression analysis are
commonly used. Similarly index numbers, aliases of time series and coefficient of contingency are also
used as other measures.

Types of Analysis

Analysis of survey or experimental data involves estimating the values of unknown parameters of the
population and testing of hypotheses for drawing inferences. Following are some of the types of
analysis;

1. Descriptive analysis. It is largely a study of distribution of one or more variables. Such study may deal
with profile of business group, work group, persons or other subjects on any of multitude of
characteristics such as size, composition, efficiency, preferences, etc,.

2. Inferential analysis. It is concerned with various tests of significance for testing hypotheses in order to
determine its validity.

3. Correlation analysis. It studies the variation of two or more variable for determining the degree of
correlation between two or more variables.

4. Casual analysis. It is concerned with the study of how one (or more) variables affect change in another
variable. It is the study of functional relationship exists in between two or more variables.

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5. Multivariate analysis. With the advancement of computer applications, there is a development of
multivariate analysis, in which statistical methods simultaneously analyze more than two variables on
sample of observations. Multiple regression analysis, discriminate analysis and multivariate analysis of
variance (Multi-ANOVA) are commonly used for this type of analysis.

RESEARCH REPORT

The last stage in the research process is the preparation of the Research Report. After the data has been
analyzed and interpreted and generalization of the study is made, the research report is drafted. Thus,
the research is a statement that contains in brief the procedure adopted and findings arrived at by the
researcher. It is not a complete description of what has been done during the period of survey. It is only
a summary of the most significant facts that are necessary for understanding the generalization drawn
by the investigator. In short a research report is a formal statement of research process and its results.

Definitions

1. Research report is a statement that contains the procedure adopted and findings arrived at by the
investigator of a problem.

2. Research project is a brief statement of most significant facts that are necessary for understanding
the generalization drawn by the researcher.

3. A research report is a formal stamen of the research process and its results. It narrates the problem
studied, methods used for studying it and the findings and conclusions of the study.

The purpose of a research report is to communicate to interested persons the methodology and the
results of the study in such a manner as to enable them to understand the research process and to
determine the validity of the conclusions. In other words, the purpose of research report is to
dissipation of knowledge drawn from the study so as to ensure its wider use.

Functions of research report

1. It serves as a means for presenting the problem studied, methods and techniques used for collecting
and analyzing data, the findings, conclusions and recommendations, if any, I an organized manner.

2. It serves as a reference material for further studies in the related area.

3. It serves as a means for judging the quality of the research work.

4. It provides factual base for formulating policies and strategies of the sponsored organization or
government.

5. It helps I n dissemination of knowledge among the people who are interested in it.

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Types of Research Report

1. Technical Report.

It is a comprehensive full report of the research process and igs outcomes. It is primarily meant for
academic community i.e., the scientists of the discipline and other researchers. It covers all the aspects
of the research process, such as the description of the research problem, objectives of the study,
methods and technique used, techniques of sampling, tools of data collection, methods and techniques
used in data analysis and interpretation, detailed findings and conclusions and also suggestions.

The technical report is essentially drafted in a technical language and may contain methodological
details, so that the findings can be verified by others.

2. Popular Report

It is designed for executives (administrators) and other non technical users. The reader of this type of
report is less concerned with technical details, but interested in knowing the major findings and
conclusions.

Popular report should be clear, brief and straight forward. It is better to avoid the use of complicated
statistical tables and other technical aspects of the study in a popular research report; instead the facts
are presented in charts, graphs, diagrams, etc. Generally, in such report, after a brief introduction and
stating the objectives of the study, the researcher may present findings of the study, conclusion drawn
and suggestions, if any, to solve the problem.

3. Interim Report.

When there is a long time gap between data collection and the presentation of results, the interim
report is prepared. It is generally prepared in case of sponsored projects. It helps the sponsoring agency
to take corrective actions on the basis of the interim report without waiting for the final report. The
interim report may contain a narration of what has been done so far and what are the findings. In short,
an interim report contains the findings of that part of the study which has been completed by the
researcher. This will help the sponsoring organization to take immediate action on the basis of the
findings of the interim report.

4. Summary report

A summary report of the research is generally meant for the general public or lay audience. Preparation
of such report is expected when the findings of the study are of general interest. It is written in non
technical and simple language and may contain charts and graphs.

When a research report is prepared for publication in daily news papers, summary report is prepared.
Generally, it will be summarized in such a manner to suit publication in newspapers.

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5. Research Abstract

It is a short summary of the technical report. Generally, such report is prepared by the research students
pursuing academic studies for e.g., PhD, MPhil, MBA, or medical students as a part of their curriculum.
Research abstract is prepared by the students before submitting the thesis for evaluation. Research
abstract is send to the University for approval, to get consent from examiners, for evaluating the thesis.
It usually contains a brief statement of the research problem, methodology of study, techniques used in
collection and analysis of data, hypothesis testing and major findings and conclusions.

6. Research Article

Generally, research article is prepared for publication of the findings of the study in research journals.
When a study contains two or more aspects, it will be desirable to publish the findings independently
and in the form of a research article. The nature and format of the publication will depend up on the
policy of the journal.

Format of Research Report or Outline of Research Report

In the following section, a broad outline of the format of a technical research report or thesis prepared
for academic purpose is presented. A technical report has a number of clearly defined sections, but it
may be presented in such a format which is most suitable for the purpose and nature of study. Following
is a broad sequence of contents of an academic research report;

A) Prefatory items;

1. Title Page

2. Researcher’s declaration

3. Certificate of research supervisor

4. Acknowledgements

5. Table of contents

6. List of tables.

7. List of graphs and charts

8. Abstract or synopsis

B) Body of the report

1. Introduction

a) Theoretical background of the topic

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 b) Statement of the problem.

c) Review of literature.

d) Scope and limitations of the study.

e) Objectives of the study.

f) Hypotheses of the study.

g) Definition of concepts used in the study.

2. The design of the study

a) Methodology of study.

d) Sampling design.

c) Data collection methodology

d) Analysis and interpretation

3. Results of the study i.e., findings and discussion.

4. Summary of conclusions and suggestions.

C) Terminal Items

1. Bibliography

2. Appendices;

a) Copy of questionnaire used in collection of data.

b) Complex tables.

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