COM 3345

Research Methodology
Data Analysis

Ms. Vilani Sachitra, PhD.

Department of Commerce
Instructions:
Refer Recommended Textbook Chapter 14, 15 and 16.
You can refer the chapters once you follow this presentation slide.

COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra

 Quantitative Data Analysis
• Purposes of quantitative analysis:
• measure
• make comparisons
• examine relationships
• make forecasts
• test hypotheses
Statistical techniques:
• Excel
• SPSS (statistical package for social science)
• SEM (structural equation modelling)
COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra
Quantitative data analysis cont’d
Major types of statistics:
• Parametric statistic
• A parameter of a population (i.e. people you are surveying) is a constant
feature that it shares with other populations
• Characteristics of sample represent as ‘bell curve’ (data are normally
distribution)
• Use for interval and ratio type data
• Non-parametric statistic
• Recognize the particular characteristics of non-curve data
• Use when sample size is small, data are collected as nominal or ordinal
scale
• Use for nominal and ordinal type data
COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra
Quantitative data analysis cont’d
Statistical test:
• Descriptive tests:
• Reveal the shape of data
• E.g: frequency, central tendency (mean, median, mode), dispersion
(range, standard deviation, standard error)
• Goodness of measures tests:
• Reliability - Cronbach’s alpha test
• Validity – Factor analysis; Correlation analysis
• Inferential tests:
• Explain results from a sample in relation to a population
• E.g: analysis of variance, correlation, multiple regression
COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra
Hypothesis Testing
• Analysis of variance – Parametric data (Refer page 303)
• Testing a hypothesis on a single mean - One sample t-test
• Testing hypotheses about two independent sample - Independent sample t-test
• Testing hypotheses about two related sample - Paired sample t-test
• Testing hypotheses about several means - One-way ANOVA
• Analysis of variance – Non-parametric data (Refer page 303)
• Testing a hypothesis on a single mean – Chi-square
• Testing hypotheses about two independent sample - Mann−Whitney U-test
• Testing hypotheses about two related sample – Wilcoxon / McNemar test
• Testing hypotheses about several means - Chi-square
• Relationship – Regression analysis

COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra

Qualitative Data Analysis
• Qualitative data are data in the form of words (interview
notes/transcripts , answers to open‐ended questions, transcriptions
of video recordings)
• The analysis of qualitative data is aimed at making valid inferences
• Three steps in qualitative data analysis:
• data reduction,
• data display, and
• drawing of conclusions.

COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra

 Qualitative Data Analysis cont.
• Data reduction:
• Process of selecting, coding and categorizing the data that appear in
written up field notes or transcriptions
• Collected data should be emphasized, minimized, or set aside
completely for the purposes of the study
• Data display:
• Organized and compressed information
• Display can be an extended piece of text or a diagram, chart, or matrix
• Conclusion drawing:
• Consider what the analyzed data mean and to assess their
implications for the research question

COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra

Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Data
• Reliability in qualitative data analysis includes category and inter-judge
reliability
• Category reliability relates to the extent to which judges are able to
use category definitions to classify the qualitative data
• Well‐defined categories will lead to higher category reliability
• Inter-judge reliability can be defined as a degree of consistency
between coders processing the same data
• Agreement rates at or above 80% are considered to be satisfactory
• Validity refers to the extent to which the research results (1) accurately
represent the collected data (internal validity) and (2) can be generalized
or transferred to other contexts or settings (external validity).
COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra
Triangulation
• The idea behind triangulation is that one can be more confident in a result if
the use of different methods or sources leads to the same results.
• Research uses mixed methods to collect and analyse data
Types of Triangulation:
• Method triangulation: using multiple methods of data collection and analysis.
• Data triangulation: collecting data from several sources and/or at different time
periods.
• Researcher triangulation: multiple researchers collect and/or analyze the data.
• Theory triangulation: multiple theories and/or perspectives are used to
interpret and explain the data.

COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra

Triangulation cont.

• If you collect quantitative data and analyse them using quantitative

data analysis techniques, you can further use qualitative data to
ensure the results of quantitative data analysis (vis a versa)
• If you collect data from survey using a questionnaire, you can take
few interviews to ensure that your survey responses are accurate

COM 3345 Online Teaching Material Prepared by Vilani Sachitra