Quantitative Data Analysis and Data Presentation

Dr. Nishara Fernando

Senior Lecturer
Department of Sociology, University of Colombo
E-mail-nishara.fernando@gmail.com
 The Research Process : An eight-step model

12/3/2014
 Steps in data processing
Raw Data _________Editing_______Coding ____

Interviews Developing a code book

Questionnaires Pre-testing the code book
Observations Coding the data
Interview guides Verifying the coded data
Secondary sources

Analysis --------- Developing a frame of analysis

Analysis
Computer or Manual
 Data Editing
• Editing consist of scrutinizing the completed
research instruments to identify and minimize, as
far as possible, errors, incompleteness,
misclassification and gaps in the information
obtained from the respondents
• There are two ways of editing the data
1. Examine answers to one question or variable at a
time; and
2. Examine answers to all questions at the same
time, that is, examine the responses given by a
respondent
 Coding data
• Having ‘cleaned’ the data, the next step is to code
it. The method of coding is largely dictated by two
considerations:
1. The way variable has been measured
(measurement scale) in your research instrument;
and
2. The way you want to communicate the findings
about a variable to your readers.
 Developing a Frame of Analysis

A frame of analysis should specify:

1. Which variables you are planning to analyzed

2. How they should be analyzed (univariate, bivariate
or multivariate analysis)
3. What cross tabulation you need to work out
 Levels of Measurement in Statistics
• 1. Nominal scale level

• 2. Ordinal scale level

• 3. Interval scale level

• 4. Ratio scale level

• A nominal scale of measurement only
indicates the category that a case falls into
with respect to a variable.
• Ex: Hindu, Christianity, Buddhist

• An ordinal scale, in addition to the function

of classification, allows cases to be ordered
by degree according to measurements of a
variable
• Ex: Very poor, poor, ok, good, excellent
• An interval scale has units measuring
intervals of equal distance between
values on the scale
• A ratio scale of measurement has a
value of zero indicating cases where
no quantity of the variable is present.
 Levels of measurements

LEVELS EXAMPLES

Nominal Gender, Religion,

Marital Status
Ordinal Social class attitude
and opinion scales

Interval/Ratio Age, Number of

children, income
 Coding
• For pre-coded question

• What is the solution for ongoing ethnic

conflict?

• 1. Military solution 2. Political solution

• 3. Both 4. other
Marital status of the main respondent

• 1 Never married
• 2. Married
• 3. Widowed
• 4. Deserted

Gender of the main respondent

• 1. Male
• 2. Female
 Why did you leave the previous
residence ? (open question)

1. Lack of facilities
2. Unfavorable
environment
3. Transport difficulties
4. Personal reasons
5. Other
•Missing values
• Errors in data entry

• Re-coding

• How to handle Multiple Response

Questions