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Chapter7 Methods of Research Module
Chapter7 Methods of Research Module
Objectives:
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MODULE IN METHODS OF RESEARCH
Analysis and Interpretation
Data analysis
Data analysis a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming and modeling data with the
goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.
Data mining
Data mining is a particular data analysis technique that focuses on statistical
modeling and knowledge discovery for predictive rather than purely descriptive purposes,
while business intelligence covers data analysis that relies heavily on aggregation,
focusing mainly on business information.
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Data requirements
• The data are necessary as inputs to the analysis, which is specified based upon
the requirements of those directing the analysis or customers (who will use the
finished product of the analysis).
Data collection
• Data are collected from a variety of sources.
Data processing
• Data initially obtained must be processed or organised for analysis. For instance,
these may involve placing data into rows and columns in a table format (i.e.,
structured data) for further analysis, such as within a spreadsheet or statistical
software.
Data cleaning
• Once processed and organized, the data may be incomplete, contain duplicates,
or contain errors. The need for data cleaning will arise from problems in the way
that data are entered and stored. Data cleaning is the process of preventing and
correcting these errors. Common tasks include record matching, identifying
inaccuracy of data, overall quality of existing data, deduplication, and column
segmentation.
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Data product
• A data product is a computer application that takes data inputs and generates
outputs, feeding them back into the environment. It may be based on a model or
algorithm. An example is an application that analyzes data about customer
purchasing history and recommends other purchases the customer might enjoy.
Communication
• Once the data are analyzed, it may be reported in many formats to the users of the
analysis to support their requirements. The users may have feedback, which
results in additional analysis. As such, much of the analytical cycle is iterative.
Cognitive biases
• There are a variety of cognitive biases that can adversely affect analysis. For
example, confirmation bias is the tendency to search for or interpret information in
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a way that confirms one's preconceptions. In addition, individuals may discredit
information that does not support their views
Innumeracy
• Effective analysts are generally adept with a variety of numerical techniques.
However, audiences may not have such literacy with numbers or numeracy; they
are said to be innumerate. Persons communicating the data may also be
attempting to mislead or misinform, deliberately using bad numerical techniques.
Data Interpretation
Before any serious data analysis can begin, the scale of measurement must be
decided for the data as this will have a long-term impact on data interpretation ROI.
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2. Ordinal Scale: exclusive categories that are exclusive and exhaustive but with
a logical order. Quality ratings and agreement ratings are examples of ordinal
scales (i.e., good, very good, fair, etc., OR agree, strongly agree, disagree, etc.).
The interpretation of data is designed to help people make sense of numerical data
that has been collected, analyzed and presented. Having a baseline method (or methods)
for interpreting data will provide your analyst teams a structure and consistent foundation.
Indeed, if several departments have different approaches to interpret the same data, while
sharing the same goals, some mismatched objectives can result. Disparate methods will
lead to duplicated efforts, inconsistent solutions, wasted energy and inevitably – time and
money. In this part, we will look at the two main methods of interpretation of data: with a
qualitative and a quantitative analysis.
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• Documents: much like how patterns of behavior can be observed, different types
of documentation resources can be coded and divided based on the type of
material they contain.
• Interviews: one of the best collection methods for narrative data. Enquiry
responses can be grouped by theme, topic or category. The interview approach
allows for highly-focused data segmentation.
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distribution has the capability of determining the number of times a specific ordinal
scale response appears (i.e., agree, strongly agree, disagree, etc.). Frequency
distribution is extremely keen in determining the degree of consensus among data
points.
• Regression analysis
• Cohort analysis
• Predictive and prescriptive analysis
Data analysis and interpretation are critical to develop sound conclusions and
make better informed decisions. As we have seen all along this article, there is an art and
science to the interpretation of data.
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• Take a step back: and think about your data from various perspectives, and what
it means for various participants or actors of the project.
• Reflect on your own thinking and reasoning: and be aware of the many pitfalls
data analysis and interpretation carries. Correlation versus causation, subjective
bias, false information and inaccurate data, etc.
Video links:
Reference:
• https://www.datapine.com/blog/data-interpretation-
methods-benefits-problems/
• Xia, B. S., & Gong, P. (2015). Review of business
intelligence through data
analysis. Benchmarking, 21(2), 300-311.
doi:10.1108/BIJ-08-2012-0050
• Judd, Charles and, McCleland, Gary (1989). Data
Analysis. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Schutt,
Rachel; O'Neil, Cathy (2013). Doing Data
Science. O'Reilly Media
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