BRM- Module 4

Data Preparation
Data Preparation Process
 Preparing Preliminary Plan of Data Analysis
Start by answering the following:
• What data collection methods am I using?
• Survey, experiment, etc.
• What data analysis method am I using? (this is based on your collection method)
• T tests, Chi-square, ANOVA, etc.
• What are my IVs?
• What are my DVs?
• Are my IVs and DVs reflected in my hypotheses?
• How will I compare my variables?
• Cohort analysis, predictive models, etc.
• How will I code my data?
 Questionnaire Checking
Once responses begin coming in, start by checking questionnaires – this step is crucial!
A questionnaire returned from the field may be unacceptable for several reasons.
1. Parts of the questionnaire may be incomplete.
2. The pattern of responses may indicate that the respondent did not understand or
follow the instructions.
3. The responses show little variance.
4. One or more pages are missing.
5. The questionnaire is received after the pre established cutoff date.
6. The questionnaire is answered by someone who does not qualify for participation
 Editing
If we notice any issues with the questionnaires, we need to begin editing (preliminary checks)…
Treatment of Unsatisfactory Results
• Returning to the Field – The questionnaires with unsatisfactory responses may be
returned to the field, where the interviewers recontact the respondents.
• Assigning Missing Values – If returning the questionnaires to the field is not feasible, the
editor may assign missing values to unsatisfactory responses.
• Discarding Unsatisfactory Respondents – In this approach, the respondents with
unsatisfactory responses are simply discarded.
 Editing – Assigning Missing Values
Assigning Missing Values – The editor may assign missing values to unsatisfactory
responses.
• Imputation: the substitution of some value for missing data.
• “Best guess” value can be imputed.
• Average value can be imputed.
• Bootstrapping (creating a new sample, via computer, with different values but similar means
and standard deviations) can also be done.
• Imputation is a controversial technique for dealing with missing data.
 Coding
Coding means assigning a code, usually a number, to each possible response to each question. The code includes an indication of
the column position (field) and data record it will occupy.

Coding Questions

• Fixed field codes, which mean that the number of records for each respondent is the same and the same data appear in the same
column(s) for all respondents, are highly desirable.
• In questions that permit a large number of responses, each possible response option should be assigned a separate column. For
example:
• January = 1; not January = 0
• February = 1; not February = 0
• March =1; not March =0
 Coding
Guidelines for Coding Unstructured Questions:
• Category codes should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.
• All possible responses should categorized and should not overlap.
• Only a few (10% or less) of the responses should fall into the “other” category.
• These may even be deleted.
• Category codes should be assigned for critical issues even if no one has mentioned them.
• Data should be coded to retain as much detail as possible.
 Codebook
• A codebook contains coding instructions and the necessary information about variables in the data set. A
codebook generally contains the following information:
• column number
• record number
• variable number
• variable name
• question number
• instructions for coding

• Codebooks can be saved in a separate tab in Excel, or recorded under ‘Values’ in SPSS.
 Restaurant Preference
ID PREFER. QUALITY QUANTITY VALUE SERVICE INCOME
1 2 2 3 1 3 6
2 6 5 6 5 7 2
3 4 4 3 4 5 3
4 1 2 1 1 2 5
5 7 6 6 5 4 1
6 5 4 4 5 4 3
7 2 2 3 2 3 5
8 3 3 4 2 3 4
9 7 6 7 6 5 2
10 2 3 2 2 2 5
11 2 3 2 1 3 6
12 6 6 6 6 7 2
13 4 4 3 3 4 3
14 1 1 3 1 2 4
15 7 7 5 5 4 2
16 5 5 4 5 5 3
17 2 3 1 2 3 4
18 4 4 3 3 3 3
19 7 5 5 7 5 5
20 3 2 2 3 3 3
 Data Transcription
• Transcribing responses into hard data.

• With online surveys- simply download the Excel sheet.

• Hard copy surveys must be manually transcribed.

• Qualitative data must be categorized and coded, then transcribed.

 Data Cleaning Consistency Checks
After transcribing data, data cleaning (a follow-up to editing) must be conducted…
Consistency checks identify data that are out of range, logically inconsistent, or have extreme values.
• Reverse coding (changing the directionality of a question) can help identify logically inconsistent
answers.
• Often times, this means the respondent was not paying attention – throw out their responses.
• Computer packages like SPSS, SAS, EXCEL and MINITAB can be programmed to identify out-of-
range.
• Extreme values (outliers) should be closely examined.
• Sometimes, outliers are thrown out. Other times, they are kept. This depends on the study.
• Data cleaning can be time consuming!
Data Cleaning Treatment of Missing Responses
Did we find more issues with missing data?
Imputation:
• Impute a Neutral Value – A neutral value, typically the mean response to the variable, is substituted for the missing responses.
• Impute a calculated Response – The respondents' pattern of responses to other questions are used to impute or calculate a
suitable response to the missing questions.
Deletion:
• In casewise deletion, cases, or respondents, with any missing responses are discarded from the analysis.
• In pairwise deletion, instead of discarding all cases with any missing values, the researcher uses only the cases or respondents with
complete responses for each calculation.
• Keep all respondents, but don’t use them for all variables.