Business Research

Methods (ACFN 613)

Chapter 5: Research Design II:
Analysis

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 1

 Topics to be covered
• Data preparation:
– editing, coding and entry

• Levels of measurement

• Qualitative analysis

• Quantitative analysis

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 2

 Data Analysis
• Once we collect the necessary data using the tools
discussed, the next step is to analyze the data
collected.

• Before we start analyzing we undertake:

• Editing,

• Coding and

• Data entry

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 3

 Data Preparation: Editing

• The customary first step in analysis is to

edit the raw data.
• Editing detects errors and omissions,
corrects them when possible, and certifies
that maximum data quality standards are
achieved.

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 4

 Data Preparation: Editing
• The editor’s purpose is to guarantee
that data are:
– Accurate;
– Consistent with the intent of the question
and their information in the survey;
– Uniformly entered;
– Complete; and
– Arranged to simplify coding and
tabulation.

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 5

 Data Preparation: Field Editing
• Two types of editing are field editing and central
editing.

• Field Editing: In large projects, field editing review is

the responsibility of the field supervisor;

– When entry gaps are present from interviews, a

callback should be made rather than guessing
what the respondent “probably would have said”.

– Validating the field research is the control function

of the supervisor.

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Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Data Preparation: Central Editing
• Central Editing:

• When replies are inappropriate or missing, the

editor can sometimes detect the proper answer by
reviewing the other information in the data set.

• It may be better to contact the respondent for

correct information, if time and budget allow.

• Another alternative is for the editor to strike

out the answer if it is inappropriate. Here an
editing entry of “no answer” is called for.

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 7

 Data Preparation: Central Editing
• Another problem that editing can detect concerns
faking an interview that never took place.

• This “armchair interviewing” is difficult to spot, but

the editor is in the best position to do so.

• One approach is to check responses to open-ended

questions. These are most difficult to fake.
Distinctive response patterns in other questions will
often emerge if data falsification is occurring. To
uncover this, the editor must analyze the set of
instruments used by each interviewer.
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 Data Preparation: Missing Data
• Missing data typically occur when participants
accidentally skip, refuse to answer, or do not know
the answer to an item on the questionnaire.

• In longitudinal studies, missing data may result from

participants dropping out of the study, or being
absent for one or more data collection periods.

• Missing data also occur due to researcher error,

corrupted data files, and changes in the research or
instrument design after data were collected from
some participants
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 9
 Data Preparation: Coding
• The categorization of data sacrifices some data detail
but is necessary for efficient analysis.
• Most software programs work more efficiently in the
numeric mode;
– Instead of entering the word male or female in
response to a question that asks for the
identification of one’s gender, we would use
numeric codes, e.g., 0 for male and 1 for female

• Numeric coding simplifies the researcher’s task in

converting a nominal variable, like gender, to a
“dummy variable”
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 10
 Data Preparation: Data Entry
• Data entry converts information gathered by
secondary or primary methods to a medium for
reviewing and manipulation.

• Keyboarding remains a mainstay for researchers who

need to create a data file immediately and store it in a
minimal space on a variety of media.

• There are other efficient ways of speeding up the

research process, especially from bar coding and
optical character and mark recognition.

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 11

 Levels of Measurement
• In putting together a survey the researcher must pay
attention to the level of measurement used to collect
data on the variables in the study.

• There are four levels or scales of measurement.

• Nominal
• Ordinal
• Interval
• Ratio
• The level of measurement affects the type of
manipulation one can do
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 12
 Nominal Measurements
• In nominal measurement the numerical values just
"name" the attribute uniquely. No ordering of the
cases is implied.
• For example, jersey numbers in football are
measures at the nominal level. A player with number
30 is not more of anything than a player with
number 15, and is certainly not twice whatever
number 15 is.
• Examples include:
1. Male 2. Female
1. Caucasian 2. Indian 3. Asian
1. Married 2. Single 3. Divorced 4. Widowed

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 13

 Ordinal Measurements
• In ordinal measurement the attributes can be rank-
ordered.
• Here, distances between attributes do not have any
meaning.
• For example, you might code Educational Attainment as
0=less than H.S. 1=some H.S. 2=H.S. degree
3=some college 4=college degree 5=post college
• In this measure, higher numbers mean more education.
But is distance from 0 to 1 same as 3 to 4? Of course
not. The interval between values is not interpretable in
an ordinal measure.
• Examples include:
• Movie ratings
• Class standing – Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior
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Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Interval Measurements
• In interval measurement the distance between
attributes does have meaning. Eg. temperature

• Because the interval between values is interpretable,

we can compute an average of an interval variable,
where we cannot for ordinal scales.

• Note that in interval measurement ratios don't make

sense - 80 degrees is not twice as hot as 40 degrees.

• Examples include measures where 0 (zero) does not

mean the absence of the attribute.
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 15
 Ratio Measurements
• In ratio measurement there is always an absolute zero
that is meaningful. This means that you can construct
a meaningful fraction (or ratio) with a ratio variable.

• Weight is a ratio variable.

• In applied social research most "count" variables are

ratio, for example, the number of clients in past six
months.

• Examples include: annual income in dollars, length or

distance in inches, feet, miles, etc.
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 16
 The Likert Scale
• The scale is named after Rensis Likert, who first
developed it.
• The Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly used
in questionnaires, and is the most widely used scale in
survey research.
• When responding to a Likert questionnaire item,
respondents specify their level of agreement to a
statement.
• Likert scales can be used to evaluate subjective criteria.
• They are bipolar scales in that generally some level of
agreement or disagreement is measured.
A Seven Level Likert Scale

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 The Likert Scale…
• Likert scale values should always be accompanied
by item labels.

• Without labels a mean result with a scale value of

1.9 would be reported as 1.9 on a scale of 1 to 7.

• With labels a mean result of 1.9 can additionally be

reported as ‘Dissatisfied’. This adds meaning to the
interpretation of the results.
A Seven Level Likert Scale

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Very Dissatisfied Somewhat Neither Somewhat Satisfied Very
Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Satisfied
or Satisfied

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 18

 The Likert Scale
• Some researchers object to the middle item indicating
the absence of satisfaction (or absence of agreement or
disagreement).
• They suggest that participants should be forced to
respond or to select a no response option.
• Moving the no response option out of the scale adds to
the meaningfulness of measures of central tendency
(mean, median, mode)
• It also allows data to be interpreted in two groups.
– The researcher can indicate the number of
participants responding as neither satisfied or
dissatisfied.
– And, when the calculations are made they are based
on participants with an opinion about satisfaction.
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Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
Overview of Qualitative Analysis

Data Data display

Collection

Data
reduction Conclusion
s: drawing /
verifying

(Miles & Huberman, 1984; 1994)

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Interactive Nature of the Qualitative Process
• Data collection, data analysis, development,
verification of relationships and conclusion are all
interrelated and interactive set of processes

• Allows researcher to recognise important themes,

patterns and relationships as they collect data

• Allows you to re-categorise existing data to see

whether themes and patterns and relationships exist
in the data already collected

• Allows you to adjust your future data collection

approach to see whether they exist in other cases
21
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Processes in qualitative data
analysis
1. Reading / Data immersion
– Read for content
• Are you obtaining the types of information
you intended to collect?

• Identify emergent themes and develop

tentative explanations

• Note (new / surprising) topics that need to be

explored in further fieldwork/data collection
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 22
 Processes in qualitative data
analysis…
1. Reading / Data immersion

– Read noting the quality of the data

• Have you obtained superficial or rich and deep responses?

• How vivid and detailed are the descriptions of

observations?

• Is there sufficient contextual detail?

• Develop a system to identify problems in the data

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 23

 Processes in qualitative data
analysis…
1. Reading / Data immersion

– Read identifying patterns: after identifying themes,

examine how these are patterned

• Do the themes occur in all or some of the data?

• Are their relationships between themes?

• Are there contradictory responses?

• Are there gaps in understanding – these require

further exploration?
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 24
 Processes in qualitative data
2. Coding –
analysis…
• No standard rules of coding
• Record coding decisions
– Record codes, definitions, and revisions
• Usually - insert codes / labels into the margins
• Building theme related files
– Cut and paste together into one file similarly
coded blocks of text
– Footnote identifiers that help you to identify
the original source
• Identify sub-themes and explore them in greater
depth
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 25
 Processes in qualitative data
analysis…
3. Displaying data
• Capture the variation or richness of each theme

• Note differences between individuals and sub-

groups

• Return to the data and examine evidence that

supports each sub-theme

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 26

Processes in qualitative data analysis…
4. Developing hypotheses, questioning and verification

• Extract meaning from the data

• Do the categories developed make sense?
• What pieces of information contradict my
emerging ideas?
• What pieces of information are missing or
underdeveloped?
• What other opinions should be taken into
account?
• How do my own biases influence the data
collection and analysis process?

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 27

Processes in qualitative data analysis
5. Data reduction
• Distill the information to make visible the most
essential concepts and relationships

• Get an overall sense of the data

• Distinguish primary/main and

secondary/sub- themes

• Separate essential from non-essential data

• Use visual devices – e.g. matrices, diagrams

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 28

 Processes in qualitative data analysis
6. Interpretation
• Identifying the core meaning of the data, remaining
faithful to the perspectives of the study participants
but with wider social and theoretical relevance

– Credibility of attributed meaning

• Consistent with data collected

• Verified with respondents

• Present multiple perspectives (convergent and

divergent views)

• Did you go beyond what you expected to find?29

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
Validating the Accuracy of Findings
• At the end, the qualitative researcher validates the
finding by determining the accuracy or credibility of the
findings.

• Methods include:
– Prolonged engagement & persistent observation in the field

– Triangulation

– Peer Review

– Clarifying researcher bias

– Member Checking

– Rich, thick description

30
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Reliability or Dependability
• From a quantitative perspective, reliability refers to
the extent to which findings can be replicated

• From a qualitative perspective, dependability,

(reliability) in qualitative research is not based on
outsiders getting the same results, but that
outsiders concur that, given the data collected, the
results make sense.

• In other words, the results are dependable and

consistent with the data
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 31
 External Validity
• Concerned with the extent to which the findings of
one study can be applied to other situations

• External validity is problematic in qualitative

research because

• In qualitative research, a single case or small

nonrandom sample is selected precisely because the
researcher wishes to understand the particular issue
in depth, not to find out what is generally true of the
many

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 32

 Quantitative Analysis
• Uses the syntax of mathematical or statistical
operations to investigate the properties of data.

• The use of statistics is paramount.

• Statistical methods deal purely with quantitative

data, OR qualitative data which are expressed in
numeric terms.

• Inferential Statistics:

– Enable predictions to be made about the qualities

of the total population on the basis of the qualities
of the observed/measured sample. 33
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Quantitative Research
• Issues concerning quantitative research design:

• What are the variables for the study?

• How will these variables be measured?

• How will the sample be selected?

• How will the data be collected?

• How many participants are needed?

• How will the data be analyzed?

34
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Quantitative data analysis
• Descriptive statistics: statistical summary of the
data in the sample.
• Inferential statistics: inference, or generalisation,
of the statistics from the sample to the population
• Correlation: strength and direction of a linear
relationship between two variables.
• Regression: relation of a dependent variable
(response variable) to specified independent
variables (explanatory variables).

35
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Correlation
Positively correlated Negatively correlated

100 120

80 100
Variable 2

Variable 2
80
60
60
40
40
20 20
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Variable 1 Variable 1

Uncorrelated Perfectly correlated

120 120
100 100
Variable 2

Variable 2
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Variable 1 Variable 1

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 36

 Correlation
• Hinkle provides a table used by many social
science researchers to describe the level of
correlation present in their data.
Interpretation Size of Direction Size of Direction
Correlation Correlation
Very High .90 to 1.00 Positive -.90 to -1.00 Negative
High .70 to .89 Positive -.70 to -.89 Negative
Moderate .50 to .69 Positive -.50 to -.69 Negative
Low .30 to .49 Positive -.30 to -.49 Negative
Little if any .00 to .29 Positive -.00 to -.29 Negative

• Hinkle, Wiersma, & Jurs (2003). Applied Statistics for

the Behavioral Sciences (5th ed.).

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Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
 Correlation, example

• The Impact Of Reward And Recognition Programs On Employee’s

Motivation And Satisfaction: An Empirical Study International
Review of Business Research Papers Vol. 5 No. 4 June 2009
Pp.270-279
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 38
 Bivariate Regression
• A measure of linear association that investigates
a straight line relationship
• Useful in forecasting
• A measure of linear association that investigates
a straight-line relationship
Y = a + bX
• where
– Y is the dependent variable
– X is the independent variable
– a and b are two constants to be estimated

39
Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD)
Simple linear regression finds the
best straight line through data

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 40

 Multiple Regression
• Extension of Bivariate Regression

• Multidimensional when three or more

variables are involved

• Simultaneously investigates the effect of two

or more variables on a single dependent
variable

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 41

Multiple Regression Analysis

Y  a  1 X 1   2 X 2
  3 X 3  .....   n X n

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 42

 Multiple regression, example

“Determinants of Bank Staff Motivation in the Cape Coast Metropolis”

International Business and Management Vol. 4, No. 1, 2012, pp. 121-125

Zenegnaw Abiy (PhD) 43

END OF CHAPTER V