Unit Analyzing the Meaning of the

Data and Drawing Conclusions

VII

Using a certain method of collecting and analyzing data, you get to gather varied world perceptions
from different people. Through all these diverse opinions coming from set of people, you are able
to discover a certain idea or pattern governing the entire data collected. Geared toward a common
theme, idea, or pattern, the collected facts and information are capable of guaranteeing evidence-
based conclusion. Factual data and logically collected ones are meaningful data to yield valid and
credible conclusions.

LESSON 14 Data Analysis

 DATA ANALYSIS

Nature
Data Analysis is a process of understanding data or known facts or assumptions serving as the basis of any claims or conclusions
you have about something. You collect these data in many ways: observation, interview, documentary analysis, and research
instruments like questionnaires,

tests, etc. Your primary aim in analyzing recorded raised prior to your acts of collecting them.

In analyzing data, you go though coding and collating. Coding is your act of using symbols like letters or words to
represent arbitrary or subjective data (emotion, opinions, attitudes) to ensure secrecy or privacy of the data.
Collating, on the other appearance is putting them in a graph, specifically a table of responses.

Data Matrix
The term ‘’data matrix’’ is also used to name this table of responses that consists of table of cases and their associated
variables. This data matrix is of two types: the profile matrix that shows measurements of variables or factors for a set of
cases or respondents and the proximity matrix that indicates measurements of similarities and differences between
items. Under proximity matrix, if the measurements show how alike things are, it is called dissimilarity matrix. If they
show how different they are, it is called dissimilarity matrix. (Denzin 203)
Qualitative Data Analysis
In a qualitative research, you analyze or study data that reflect that respondent’ thought, feelings, attitudes, or
views about something. These are subjective data that expressed in words, and these words serve as the unit of
analysis in a qualitative type of research. You examine these subjective data to understand how related or
relevant they are to your research problem or specific research question.

You collect qualitative data thought, interviews, observations, or content analysis and then subject them to
data analysis. In your data collecting activities, you indispensably experience a lot of things vis-à-vis the sources of
data, such are their sizes, shapes, ideas, feelings, attitudes, and so on. If you record these data through verbal
language or graphic analysis, for the latter deals with data expressed in numerical forms. (Layder 2013)

Qualitative data analysis is a time-consuming process. It makes you deal with data coming from wide sources
of information. It is good if all data you collected from varied sources of knowledge work favorably for you
research study, but, ironically, some of these may not have strong relation to your research questions. Data
analysis in a qualitative research is a rigorous act of thematic or theoretical organization of ideas or information
into a certain format that is capable of presenting groups of responses. Analyzing of data and synthesizing them
based on one principal idea, theory, or pattern demand a lot of time and effort, let alone, the methodical ways
you have to adhere to in presenting the results as long written discussions containing verbal or graphical
explanations of your findings. (Letherby 2012; Silverman 2013; Litchman 2013)
Transforming Learned Competencies

Considering your time and abilities, think of one research problem for a doable qualitative research. Formulate research questions to
guide you in the kind of data you want to collect. Choose one data collection technique that’s fits your chosen topic. Use a sampling
method in selecting your respondents. Subject the collected data to analysis and find out if the data analysis results answer your
research questions,. Present the results of your data analysis through a composition , with the first part giving the descriptions of
data and the second part, the interpretations of data, Give your teacher a copy of your written work.

Lesson 15 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

Meaning of Conclusion

Conclusion is a type of inferential or interpretative thinking that derives its validity, truthfulness, or reasonableness from your
sensory experience. Touching, seeing, hearing, tasting, and smelling things around you lead to particular conclusion about
each of those experiences. The results of your sensory experience are factual data to support the truthfulness of your
conclusions.

Drawing Conclusions

IN your research work, your next move after analyzing the data you have gathered is drawing conclusions. This makes you
form conclusions that arise from the factual data you encountered and analyzed. Any conclusions drawn or deduced by you
form facts or statements resulting from logical thinking rather than from another assumptions, predictions, or generalizations
are the only ones included in the conclusion sections of your research paper. (Decilo 2014)

Any conclusion that you give about what you found out through your analysis of the data you collected is a “warranted
conclusions,’’ which explains how you evidence or finding resulting from your data analysis stands to prove or disprove your
conclusions. And, by and large, the best kind of proof to back up your conclusion is one that is factual and logical or given by
correct reasoning. Downplaying, much less, excluding warrants from this section of your paper reserved specifically for stating
conclusions about your findings makes your readers cast doubts about the credibility or genuineness of your conclusions.
 Research is about discovering things and engaging yourself in an exchange of theoretically supported ideas with those in the
academic world. And you state all your