RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A PROJECT ON

Data

Interpretation

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE

AWARD OF THE M.COM DEGREE OF ACCOUNTANCY

MASTER IN COMMERCE
(ACCOUNTANCY) PART II
SEMESTER 4

(2015 2016)

SUBMITTED TO
UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI,
LALA LAJPATRAI COLLEGE,MAHALAXMI,MUMBAI 400034
SUBMITTED BY
SHAIKH ZEENAT NASIR HUSAIN
ROLL NO. 14150542

SUPERVISED BY
PROF .Dr.S.V .Lasune
MARCH 2016
1

M.COM (Accountancy)
4TH

SEMESTER

2015 2016

Data Interpretation

SUBMITTED BY
SHAIKH ZEENAT NASIR
HUSAIN
ROLL NO. 14150542
2

DECLARATION
I Ms.SHAIKH ZEENAT NASIR HUSAIN the
student of M.COM (Accountancy) 4th(2015
2016), hereby declare that I have complete
the project on Data Interpretation.
The

information

submitted

is

true

&

original to the best of my knowledge.

SHAIKH ZEENAT
NASIR HUSAIN
(SINGNATURE)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to place on record my deep sense of gratitude to Prof. DR.S.V
.LASUNE Dept. of for his generous guidance, help and useful suggestions.
I express my since gratitude to Prof. DR.S.V .LASUNE, for his stimulating
guidance, continuous

encouragement

and supervision throughout the

course of present work.

I also wish to extend my thank to Prof. DR.S.V .LASUNE and other
colleagues for attending my seminars and for their insightful comments and
constructive suggestions to improve the quality of this project work.
I am extremely thankful to DR.PROF. S. V . LASUNE and PROF. NEELAM
ARORA , for providing me infrastructural facilities to work in, without which
this work would not have been possible.

Signature(s) of students

CERTIFICATE
I hereby certify that Ms SHAIKH ZEENAT NASIR HUSAIN of M.Com
(Accountancy) Semester 4th (2015 2016) has work which is being presented
in the M.Com. Internal project report entitled Data Interpretation, in
partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the Master of
Commerce in Accountancy and submitted to the Lala Lajpatrai College of
Commerce and Economics, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai 400034 is an authentic
record of my own work carried out under the supervision of Prof. Dr.S.V
.Lasune . The matter presented in this project Report has not been submitted
by me for the award of any other degree elsewhere.

Signature of Student :
Signature of Supervisor(s) :
Internal Examinar :
External Examinar :

PROF. NEELAM ARORA

College Stamp

Principal
5

Index
Sr. no.
1

Content

Page no.

1.1

Meaning.

1.2

Definition.

1.3

Methodology.

10

2.1

Why accurate data important?

11

2.2

Understanding and Interpreting data

13

3.1

Purpose

15

3.2

Procedure for the analysis of data interpretation.

17

3.3

Steps in data interpretation analysis.

17

3.4
4.1

Types of analysis.
Scope.

18
19

5.1

The importance of data interpretation.

24

6.1

Data interpretation, Preparation, and analysis.

25

2
3

Bibliography

31

1
1.1 Meaning
6

Analysis of data interpretation is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and

modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and
supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing
diverse techniques under a variety of names, in different business, science, and social science
domains.
Data mining is a particular data analysis technique that focuses on modeling and knowledge
discovery for predictive rather than purely descriptive purposes. Business covers data analysis
that relies heavily on aggregation, focusing on business information. In statistical applications,
some people divide data analysis into descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and
confirmatory (CDA). EDA focuses on discovering new features in the data and CDA on
confirming or falsifying existing hypotheses. Predictive analytics focuses on application of
statistical models for predictive forecasting or classification, while text analytics applies
statistical, linguistic, and structural techniques to extract and classify information from textual
sources, a species of unstructured. All are varieties of data analysis.
Data integration is a precursor to data analysis, and data analysis is closely linked to data
visualization and data dissemination. The term data analysis is sometimes used as a synonym
for data modeling.
Data interpretation refers to the process of critiquing and determining the significance of
important information, such as survey results, experimental findings, observations or narrative
reports. Interpreting data is an important critical thinking skill that helps you comprehend text
books, graphs and tables. Researchers use a similar but more meticulous process to gather,
analyze and interpret data. Experimental scientists base their interpretations largely on objective
data and statistical calculations. Social scientists interpret the results of written reports that are
rich in descriptive detail but may be devoid of mathematical calculations.

Data interpretation is part of daily life for most people. Interpretation is the process of making
sense of numerical data that has been collected, analyzed, and presented. People interpret data
when they turn on the television and hear the news anchor reporting on a poll, when they read
advertisements claiming that one product is better than another, or when they choose grocery
store items that claim they are more effective than other leading brands.
A common method of assessing numerical data is known as statistical analysis, and the activity
of analyzing and interpreting data in order to make predictions is known as inferentialstatistics.
Informed consumers recognize the importance of judging the reasonableness of data
interpretations and predictions by considering sources of bias such as sampling procedures or
misleading questions, margins of error, confidence intervals , and incomplete interpretations.

The collection of the data is followed by the analization of the data, which further is followed by
the interpretation of the data. This step enables the researcher to interpret the results which have
been obtained from the analization of the data.
According to C. William Emory, Interpretation has two major aspects namely establishing
continuity in the research through linking the results of a given study with those of another and
the establishment of some relationship with the collected data. Interpretation can be defined as
the device through which the factors, which seem to explain what has been observed by the
researcher in the course of the study, can be better understood. Interpretation provides a
theoretical conception which can serve as a guide for the further research work.
Interpretation of the data has become a very important and essential process, mainly because of
some of the following factors
1. Enables the researcher to have an in depth knowledge about the abstract principle behind his
own findings.
2. The researcher is able to understand his findings and the reasons behind their existence.
3. More understanding and knowledge can be obtained with the help of the further research.
4. Provides a very good guidance in the studies relating to the research work.
5. Sometimes may result in the formation of the hypothesis.
After collecting the data, the method of converting raw data into meaningful statement; includes
data processing, data analysis, and data interpretation and presentation. Data interpretation
involves main stages such as editing, classification, tabulation and graphic presentation of data.

Data interpretation is intermediary stage between data collection and data analysis. The
completed instrument of data collection, such as interview questionnaire, data sheet, and field
note contain a vast mass of data. The collected data are raw material and therefore, there is a
need for skilful manipulation of data, i.e., data interpretation.

1.2 Definition
8

According to C. William Emory, Interpretation has two major aspects namely establishing
continuity in the research through linking the results of a given study with those of another and
the establishment of some relationship with the collected data. Interpretation can be defined as
the device through which the factors, which seem to explain what has been observed by the
researcher in the course of the study, can be better understood.
Data interpretation is the process of skillfully organizing of data for the purpose of data analysis
and interpretation. Data collection is done manually when the data collected is limited or it can
be done mechanically when the collected data involve huge quantities.
Data interpretation needs to be planned at stage of research design. Most of researcher thinks of
data interpretation only after the completion data collection. The researchers may be confronted
with certain unexpected problem which can be avoided if carefully planning for data
interpretation is undertaken at research design stage. The advance planning may cover such
aspect like coding of data, tabulation of data etc.

1.3 Methodology

The methodology adapted by to category.

Primary Data.
Secondary Data.
Mostly Data Collected by Secondary Method of Data Collection. This study does not involve
Primary Data. Data Collected from following sources.
Book.
Reports.
Journals.
Magazine.
Internet.

10

2.1 Why Is Accurate Data Collection Important?

The repercussions of inaccurate or improperly interpreted data are wide-ranging. For example,
every 10 years a major census is done in the United States. The results are used to help determine
the number of congressional seats that are assigned to each district; where new roads will be
built; where new schools and libraries are needed; where new nursing homes, hospitals, and day
care centers will be located; where new parks and recreational centers will be built; and the sizes
of police and fire departments.
In the past 30 years there has been a major shift in the U.S. population. People have migrated
from the northern states toward the southern states, and the result has been a major shift in
congressional representation. With a net change of nearly 30 percent South has gone from a
position of less influence to one of greater influence in Congress as a result of populationbasedreapportionment. This is just one of many possible examples that reveal how data
gathering and interpretation related to population can have a marked affect on the whole country.

Gathering Reliable Data

The process of data interpretation begins by gathering data. Because it is often difficult, or even
impossible, to look at all the data
Data are generally obtained from a smaller unit, a subset of the population known as a sample .
Then data from the sample are used to predict (or infer) what the characteristics of the population
as a whole may be. For example, a telephone survey of one thousand car owners in the United
States might be conducted to predict the popularity of various cars among all U.S. car owners.
The one thousand U.S. car owners who are surveyed are the sample and all car owners in the
United States are the population.But there both an art and science to collecting high-quality data.
Several key elements must be considered: bias, sample size, question design, margin of error, and
interpretation.
Avoiding Bias. In order for data interpretation to be reliable, a number of factors must be in
place. First and perhaps foremost, an unbiased sample must be used. In other words, every
person (or item) in the population should have an equal chance of being in the sample.
For example, what if only Ford owners were surveyed in the telephone survey? The survey
would be quite likely to show that Fords were more popular. A biased sample is likely
to skew the data, thus making data interpretation unreliable. If we want to know what sorts of
cars are preferred by U.S. car owners, we need to be sure that our sample of car owners is
representative of the entire car owner population.
One way of ensuring an unbiased sample is to choose randomly from the population. However, it
is often difficult to design a study that will produce a truly unbiased sample. For example,
11

suppose a surveyor decides to choose car owners at random to participate in a phone interview
about car preferences. This may sound like a good plan, but car owners who do not have
telephones or whose telephone numbers are unavailable will not have a chance to participate in
the survey. Maybe car owners with unlisted telephone numbers have very different car
preferences than the broader population, but we will never know if they are not included in the
sample.
Biased sampling continues to challenge census takers. In 1990, nearly 35 percent of the
households that were mailed census forms did not mail them back. If a form is not returned, the
Census Bureau must send someone to the person's house. Even with census takers visiting homes
door to door, the Census Bureau was still unable to contact one out of every five of the families
who did not return their census form.
Although this may not sound like a lot, consider that in 1990 there were approximately 250
million people in the United States. If a household contains an average of four people that means
that there were 62.5 million forms mailed out. Multiplying that figure by 35 percent (the number
of households that did not return the forms) gives the staggering figure of 21.875 million forms
that were not returned. Of the 21.875 million households that did not return forms, census takers
were unable to track down 20 percent, or 4.375 million households.
Why is this biased sampling? It is believed that of the more than 4 million households not
counted, the overwhelming majority was from poorer sections of large cities. This implies that
certain parts of the country may be over-represented in Congress and are the recipients of more
federal funds than may be deserved.
Achieving a Large Enough Sample. A second important factor in data collection is whether the
chosen sample is large enough. Are one thousand car owners a sufficient number of car owners
from which to infer the opinion of all car owners? In order to answer this question, the margin of
error needs to be calculated.
The margin of error is a statistic that represents a range in which the surveyor feels confident that
the population as a whole will fall. A sufficient sample size needs to have a small margin of error,
usually around 5 percent. To determine the margin of error, divide one by the square root of the
sample size Therefore, the sample of one thousand car owners gives us a margin of error of about
3 percent, an allowable margin of error.
Asking the Proper Questions. Informed citizens who are assessing survey results must consider
the type of questions that are asked when a survey is conducted. Were the questions leading?
Were they easy or difficult to understand? For example, suppose a study carried out by a local ice
cream manufacturer states that 75 percent of Americans prefer ice cream. It seems self-evident
that an ice cream company would not report a study that showed Americans do not like ice
cream. So perhaps the question in the study was leading: for example, "Do you prefer ice cream
12

or spinach?" It is therefore important to find out exactly what questions were asked and of
whom.
Giving a Proper Interpretation. Data are often interpreted with a bias, and the results can
therefore be misleading or incomplete. For example, a bath soap company claims that its soap is
99 percent pure. This statement is misleading because the soap manufacturer does not explain
what "pure" is. When reading an unqualified percentage such as in the previous example, one
needs to ask such questions. An example of another incomplete or misleading interpretation is
that the average child watches approximately 5 hours of television a day. The reader should
question what an "average child" is.
Considering Margin of Error. Margin of error is important to consider when statistics are
reported. For example, we might read that the high school dropout rate declined from 18 percent
to 16 percent with a margin of error of 3 percent. Because the 2-percentage point decline is
smaller than the margin of error (3 percent), the new dropout rate may fall between 13 percent to
19 percent. We cannot be entirely sure that the high school dropout rate actually declined at all.
Confidence intervals, a term usually employed by statisticians, and related to margins of error, is
reported by a percentage and is constructed to relay how confident one can be that the sample is
representative of the population. The producers of this survey may only be 95 percent confident
that their sample is representative of the population. If this is the case then there is a 5 percent
chance that this sample data does not typify or carry over to the population of the United States.
The margin of error represents the range of this 95-percent confidence interval

2.2 Understanding and Interpreting Data

Figuring out what data means is just as important as collecting it. Even if the data collection
process is sound, data can be misinterpreted. When interpreting data, the data user must not only
attempt to discern the differences between causality and coincidence, but also must consider all
possible factors that may have led to a result.
After considering the design of a survey, consumers should look at the reported data
interpretation. Suppose a report states that 52 percent of all Americans prefer Chevrolet to other
car manufacturers. The surveyors want you to think that more than half of all Americans prefer
Chevrolet, but is this really the case? Perhaps not all those surveyed were Americans. Also, the
52 percent comes from the sample, so it is important to ask if the sample was large enough,
unbiased, and randomly chosen. One also needs to be aware of margins of error and confidence
intervals. If the margin of error for this survey is 5 percent than this means that the percentage of
car owners in the United States who prefer Chevrolet could actually be between 47 and 57
percent .

13

Similar questions are important to consider when we try to understand polls. During the 2000
presidential race, the evening news and newspapers were often filled with poll reports. For
example, one poll stated 51 percent of Americans preferred George W. Bush, 46 percent
preferred Al Gore, and 3 percent were undecided, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5
percent.
As another example, consider census data that shows a radical increase in the number of people
living in Florida and Arizona along with a decrease in the number of people living in New York.
One could easily (and falsely) conclude that the data "proves" that people are finding New York
to be a less desirable place to live and therefore are moving away.
But this hasty conclusion could be missing the big picture. What if the data also reveals that the
average age of New Yorkers has dropped since 1990? Further interpretation of the data may
reveal that when New Yorkers grow older, they move to warmer climates to retire. This
illustrates why data must be thoroughly interpreted before any conclusions can be drawn.
A Data Checklist. When reading any survey, listening to an advertisement, or hearing about poll
results, informed consumers should ask questions about the soundness of the data interpretation.
A recap of key points follows.
Was the sample unbiased (representative of the whole population)?
Was the sample large enough for the purpose of the survey (margin of error of the sample)?
What type of questions did the surveyor ask? Were they simple and unambiguous? Were they
leading (constructed in such a way to get the desired response)?
Can the conclusions drawn be justified based on the information gathered?
How was the survey done (mail, phone, and interview)? Does the survey report mention margins
of error or confidence intervals, and, if so, are these such that the conclusions drawn are
warranted?
By using these checkpoints and learning to think critically about data collection and
interpretation, individuals can become more savvy consumers of information.

14

3
3.1 Purpose
In the beginning the data is raw in nature but after it is arranged in a certain format or a
meaningful order this raw data takes the form of the information. The most critical and essential
supporting pillars of the research are the analization and the interpretation of the data.
Both these aspects of the research methodology are very sensitive in nature and hence it is
required that both these concepts are conducted by the researcher himself or under his very
careful and planned supervision. With the help of the interpretation step one is able to achieve a
conclusion from the set of the gathered data.
Analysis of the data can be best explained as computing some of the measures supported by the
search for relationship patterns, existing among the group of the data.
The purpose of the scientific analysis was first explained by Leon Fastener and Daniel Katz and
according to both of them; the purpose of the analysis of the data can be explained as follows
1. Should be very productive in nature, with high significance for some systematic theory.
2. Should be readily disposed to the quantitative treatment.
The purpose of the data analysis and interpretation phase is to transform the data collected into
credible evidence about the development of the intervention and its performance.
Interpretation can help answer some key questions:

Has the program made a difference?

How big is this difference or change in knowledge, attitudes, or behavior?

This process usually includes the following steps:

Organizing the data for analysis (data preparation)

Describing the data

Interpreting the data (assessing the findings against the adopted evaluation criteria)

Where quantitative data have been collected, statistical analysis can:

help measure the degree of change that has taken place

allow an assessment to be made about the consistency of data

15

Where qualitative data have been collected, interpretation is more difficult.

Here, it is important to group similar responses into categories and identify common
patterns that can help derive meaning from what may seem unrelated and diffuse responses.

This is particularly important when trying to assess the outcomes of focus groups and
interviews.
It may be helpful to use several of the following 5 evaluation criteria as the basis for organizing
and analyzing data:

Relevance: Does the intervention address an existing need? (Were the outcomes achieved
aligned to current priorities in prevention? Is the outcome the best one for the target groupe.g.,
did the program takes place in the area or the kind of setting where exposure is the greatest?)

Effectiveness: Did the intervention achieve what it was set out to achieve?

Efficiency: Did the intervention achieve maximum results with given resources?

Results/Impact: Have there been any changes in the target group as a result of the
intervention?
Sustainability: Will the outcomes continue after the intervention has ceased?
Particularly in outcomes-based and impact-based evaluations, the focus on impact and
sustainability can be further refined by aligning data around the interventions.

Extent: How many of the key stakeholders identified were eventually covered, and to
what degree have they absorbed the outcome of the program? Were the optimal groups/people
involved in the program?
Duration: Was the projects timing appropriate? Did it last long enough? Was the repetition
of the projects components (if done) useful? Were the outcomes sustainable

16

3.2Procedure for the Analysis of the data Interpretation

Data collected can be used in the best possible effective manner by performing the following
activities
1. Carefully reviewing all the data collection.
2. Analyzing the data then with the help of certain suitable techniques.
3. Results obtained from the analization of the data should then be related to the studys
hypothesis.

3.3 Steps in data interpretation analysis

Research depends a great deal on the collected data but it should be seen that this collected data
is not just a collection of the data but should also provide good information to the researcher
during the various research operations. Hence to make data good and meaningful in nature and
working, data analysis plays a very vital and conclusive role. In this step data is made
meaningful with the help of certain statistical tools which ultimately make data self explanatory
in nature.
According to Willinson and Bhandarkar, analysis of data involves a large number of operations
that are very closely related to each other and these operations are carried out with the aim of
summarizing the data that has been collected and then organizing this summarized data in a way
that helps in getting the answers to the various questions or may suggest hypothesis.

17

Analysis Steps
The various steps of the analisation of the data were given by Herbert Hyman and can be
summarized as follows
1. Tabulation of the data after conceptualization, relating to every concept of the procedure is
done which ultimately provides an explanation based on the quantitative basis.
2. Tabulation in the same way is carried out for every sub group, which gives quantitative
description.
3. To get statistical descriptions consolidating data for different aspects is brought into use.
4. Examination of such data is then done, which helps in improving the evaluation of the
findings.
5. Different qualitative and non statistical methods are brought into the use for obtaining
quantitative description but only if it is needed.

3.4 Types of Analysis

1. Descriptive Analysis
Also referred to as the One Dimensional Analysis.
Mainly involves the study of the distribution of one variable.
Depicts the benchmark data.
Helps in the measurement of the condition at a particular time.
Acts as the prelude to the bi variant and multivariate analysis.
Such an analysis may be based on the one variable, two variables or more than two variables.
Helps in getting the profiles of the various companies, persons, work groups etc.
2. Casual analysis
Also referred to as the Regression Analysis.
Has their root in the study of how one or more variables affect the changes in the other variable.
Explains the functional relationship between two or more variables.
Helps in experimental research work.
Explains the affect of one variable on the other.
Involve the use of the statistical tools.
3. Co Relative Analysis
Involves two or more variables.
18

 Helps in knowing correlation between these two or more variables.

Offers better control and understanding of the relationships between the variables.
4. Inferential Analysis
Involves tests of significance for the testing of the hypothesis.
Helps in the estimation of the population values.
Helps in the determination of the validity data which can further lead to draw some conclusion.
Takes an active part in the interpretation of the data.

19

4
4.1 Scope
Data analysis is the process of developing answers to questions through the examination and
interpretation of data. The basic steps in the analytic process consist of identifying issues,
determining the availability of suitable data, deciding on which methods are appropriate for
answering the questions of interest, applying the methods and evaluating, summarizing and
communicating the results.
Analytical results underscore the usefulness of data sources by shedding light on relevant
issues. Some Statistics Canada programs depend on analytical output as a major data product
because, for confidentiality reasons, it is not possible to release the micro data to the public.
Data analysis also plays a key role in data quality assessment by pointing to data quality
problems in a given survey. Analysis can thus influence future improvements to the survey
process.
Data analysis is essential for understanding results from surveys, administrative sources and
pilot studies; for providing information on data gaps; for designing and redesigning surveys;
for planning new statistical activities; and for formulating quality objectives.
Results of data analysis are often published or summarized in official Statistics Canada
releases.
Principles
A statistical agency is concerned with the relevance and usefulness to users of the information
contained in its data. Analysis is the principal tool for obtaining information from the data.
Data from a survey can be used for descriptive or analytic studies. Descriptive studies are
directed at the estimation of summary measures of a target population, for example, the
average profits of owner-operated businesses in 2005 or the proportion of 2007 high school
graduates who went on to higher education in the next twelve months. Analytical studies may
be used to explain the behaviour of and relationships among characteristics; for example, a
study of risk factors for obesity in children would be analytic.
To be effective, the analyst needs to understand the relevant issues both current and those
likely to emerge in the future and how to present the results to the audience. The study of
background information allows the analyst to choose suitable data sources and appropriate
statistical methods. Any conclusions presented in an analysis, including those that can impact
public policy, must be supported by the data being analyzed.

20

Guidelines to data analysis

Initial preparation

Prior to conducting an analytical study the following questions should be addressed:

o

Objectives. What are the objectives of this analysis? What issue am I

addressing? What question(s) will I answer?

Justification. Why is this issue interesting? How will these answers

contribute to existing knowledge? How is this study relevant?

Data. What data am I using? Why it is the best source for this analysis? Are
there any limitations?

Analytical methods. What statistical techniques are appropriate? Will they

satisfy the objectives?

Audience. Who is interested in this issue and why?

Suitable data

Ensure that the data are appropriate for the analysis to be carried out. This requires
investigation of a wide range of details such as whether the target population of the
data source is sufficiently related to the target population of the analysis, whether the
source variables and their concepts and definitions are relevant to the study, whether
the longitudinal or cross-sectional nature of the data source is appropriate for the
analysis, whether the sample size in the study domain is sufficient to obtain
meaningful results and whether the quality of the data, as outlined in the survey
documentation or assessed through analysis is sufficient.

If more than one data source is being used for the analysis, investigate whether the
sources are consistent and how they may be appropriately integrated into the analysis.

Appropriate methods and tools

Choose an analytical approach that is appropriate for the question being investigated
and the data to be analyzed.

When analyzing data from a probability sample, analytical methods that ignore the
survey design can be appropriate, provided that sufficient model conditions for
21

analysis are met. (See Binder and Roberts, 2003.) However, methods that incorporate
the sample design information will generally be effective even when some aspects of
the model are incorrectly specified.
o

For a design-based analysis consult the survey documentation about the

recommended approach for variance estimation for the survey. If the data
from more than one survey are included in the same analysis, determine
whether or not the different samples were independently selected and how
this would impact the appropriate approach to variance estimation.

The data files for probability surveys frequently contain more than one
weight variable, particularly if the survey is longitudinal or if it has both
cross-sectional and longitudinal purposes. Consult the survey documentation
and survey experts if it is not obvious as to which might be the best weight to
be used in any particular design-based analysis.

When analyzing data from a probability survey, there may be insufficient

design information available to carry out analyses using a full design-based
approach. Assess the alternatives.

Consult with experts on the subject matter, on the data source and on the statistical
methods if any of these is unfamiliar to you.

Having determined the appropriate analytical method for the data, investigate the
software choices that are available to apply the method. If analyzing data from a
probability sample by design-based methods, use software specifically for survey data
since standard analytical software packages that can produce weighted point estimates
do not correctly calculate variances for survey-weighted estimates.

It is advisable to use commercial software, if suitable, for implementing the chosen

analyses, since these software packages have usually undergone more testing than
non-commercial software.

Determine whether it is necessary to reformat your data in order to use the selected
software.

Include a variety of diagnostics among your analytical methods if you are fitting any
models to your data.

Data sources vary widely with respect to missing data. At one extreme, there are data
sources which seem complete - where any missing units have been accounted for
through a weight variable with a nonresponsive component and all missing items on
responding units have been filled in by imputed values. At the other extreme, there are
data sources where no processing has been done with respect to missing data. The work
22

required by the analyst to handle missing data can thus vary widely. It should be noted
that the handling of missing data in analysis is an ongoing topic of research.
o

Refer to the documentation about the data source to determine the degree and
types of missing data and the processing of missing data that has been
performed. This information will be a starting point for what further work
may be required.

Consider how unit and/or item nonresponsive could be handled in the

analysis, taking into consideration the degree and types of missing data in the
data sources being used.

Consider whether imputed values should be included in the analysis and if

so, how they should be handled. If imputed values are not used,
consideration must be given to what other methods may be used to properly
account for the effect of nonresponsive in the analysis.

If the analysis includes modeling, it could be appropriate to include some

aspects of nonresponsive in the analytical model.

Report any caveats about how the approaches used to handle missing data
could have impact on results

Interpretation of results

Since most analyses are based on observational studies rather than on the results of a
controlled experiment, avoid drawing conclusions concerning causality.

When studying changes over time, beware of focusing on short-term trends without
inspecting them in light of medium-and long-term trends. Frequently, short-term
trends are merely minor fluctuations around a more important medium- and/or longterm trend.

Where possible, avoid arbitrary time reference points. Instead, use meaningful points
of reference, such as the last major turning point for economic data, generation-togeneration differences for demographic statistics, and legislative changes for social
statistics.

23

5
5.1 The Importance of Interpretation
The concept of evidence-based policy was examined in a recent article by Pawson and
colleagues (2011).The authors discussed the current trend of evidence-based everything and
the impact this approach can have on policy making. They examined the example of proposing a
policy banning smoking in a car when there are children present and the difficulty in providing
conclusive evidence to support the policy.
Pawson and colleagues highlight the ongoing theme of their article in the following
Donald Rumsfeld quote:
There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known
unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we dont know. But there are also
unknown unknowns. These are things we do not know we dont know.
Many times the known knowns in research are somewhat conditional and can be
interpreted differently depending on context and or circumstances. In their example, the authors
reviewed literature that measured the air quality in the back seat of a car when the driver was
smoking. Despite the fact that this measurement provides a clear, numerical output, which is
argued by policymakers to be evidence for the smoking ban policy, the authors highlighted the
various conditions that could have impacted the measurement, such as open windows or blowing
air conditioning.
Research is embedded in a complex system and as a result, findings are not always as black and
white as we would like to think. The articles authors provide an extensive argument for the
complexity of conducting research in the real world, where there are no true constants and all
evidence is more adequately described as a conditional explanation, rather than empirical proof,
of the findings. They describe the role of the researcher in converting unknowns to knowns,
and in weighing the significance of the information they reviewed, quite powerfully:
In short, the evidence does not deliver the legislative decision. It does, however, provide
the grounds on which the policy maker can make a more informed decision.

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This explanation helps to highlight that data does not stand on its own, but rather always requires
interpretation. I found this to be a particularly good reminder for evaluation research. Its
important to feed the data back to the programs that were evaluating and gather the program
staffs interpretation to incorporate into the findings. At CRC, we have begun to create learning
circles with program staff in certain domains to discuss data and collect their interpretation of it.
We present quantitative and qualitative data weve collected and then ask the staff to reflect and
help us explain why were seeing certain patterns. We recognize that the staff members are the
experts in their field and this process has allowed us to include their insight.

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6
6.1 Data Preparation, Interpretation and Analysis Steps
Analyzing s data interpretation is an important and exciting step in the survey process. It is the
time that you may reveal important facts about your customers, uncover trends that you might
not otherwise have known existed, or provide irrefutable facts to support your plans. By doing
in-depth data comparisons, you can begin to identify relationships between various data that will
help you understand more about your respondents, and guide you towards better decisions.
This article gives us a brief overview of how to analyze data interpretation results. It does not
discusses specific usage of eSurveysPro for conducting analysis as it is intended to provide a
foundation upon which you can confidently conduct your own survey analysis no matter what
tool you use.
Survey Analysis
Analyzing any survey, web or traditional, consists of a number of interrelated processes that are
intended to summarize, arrange, and transform data into information. If your survey objective
was simply to collect data for your database or data warehouse, you do not have to do any
analysis of the data. On the other hand, if your objective was to understand the characteristics of
typical customers, then you must transform you raw results in to information that will enable you
to paint a clear picture of your customers.
Assuming you need to analyze the data collected from your survey, the process begins with a
quick review of the results, followed by editing, analysis, and reporting. To ensure you have
accurate data before investing significant time in analysis, it is important that you do not begin
analyzing results until you have completed the review and editing process.
Quick Review
Read all your results. Although, this seems like an obvious thing to do, many surveyors think that
they can skip this step and dive right in to data analysis. A quick review can tell you lots about
your project, including any flaws in questionnaire design or response population, before you
spend hours of time in analyzing the data.
During the quick review, you should look at every question and see if the results "make sense".
This "gut feel" check of the data will often uncover any issues with your survey project. Most
surveyors already have an idea of how they expect their data to look. A quick review of the data
can help you quickly understand that tell you if the people that respond are the right people. For
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example, if you were conducting a survey of all the employees in a company and you knew that
10% were in the marketing department, 20% in sales, 45% in manufacturing, 5% in
management, and 5% finance, and 15% research and development, you could reasonable expect
your responses to be similarly distributed. If your quick review disclosed 80% of your
respondents were from the sales department, you know that your survey did not adequately
capture a representative sample of all departments within the company.
The quick review can also highlight any problems with the survey instrument. Are most
respondents answering all questions? If not, your questionnaire could be flawed in such a way
that a person cannot complete the survey. A low response rate could mean your survey invitation
was not compelling enough to encourage participation, or your timing was off and a follow-up
reminder is needed.
Lastly, the quick review of the survey can show you what areas to focus on for detailed analysis.
As stated earlier, most surveyors already know what they expect to get, so your quick review can
show you the unexpected.
Editing and Cleaning
Editing and cleaning data is an important step in the survey process. Special care must be taken
when editing survey data so that you do not alter or throw out responses in such a way as to bias
your results. Although you can begin editing and cleaning your data as soon as results are
received, caution should be used since any edits can be lost if the database is rebuilt. To be safe,
wait until all data is received before you begin the editing and cleaning process.
To start, find and delete incomplete and duplicate responses. A response should be discarded if
the respondent did not complete enough of the survey to be meaningful. For example, if a your
survey was intended to determine future buying intentions across various demographic groups
and the respondent did not answer any of the demographic questions, you should delete the
response. On the other hand, if the respondent answered all the demographic questions but
omitted their name or email address, then you should keep the response.
Duplicate responses are a unique issue for electronic surveys. Many tools, such as eSurveysPro,
provide built in features to help minimize the risk of duplicate responses. Others, like the popular
"infotainment" polls featured on many websites do nothing to eliminate duplicates. Without
removing duplicates, your data will be skewed in favor of the duplicate response. Both the count
and percentage of the whole will be affected by duplicate responses, and computed means and
medians will also be thrown off. To find duplicate responses, carefully examine the answers to
any open-ended questions. When two open-ended questions have the exact same answer, a
duplicate response is likely to exist. Make sure the response is indeed a duplicate by comparing
the answers to all the other questions, and then delete one of the responses if a match is found.

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Data cleaning of web surveys usually involves categorizing answers to open-ended questions and
multiple-choice questions that include an "other, please specify" response. Because of their
nature, open-ended text response questions can provide significant value but they are nearly
impossible to process without some form of summarization or tabulation. One of the easiest
ways to summarize these questions is to build a list of themes and select the themes that apply as
you read each response. Tools such as eSurveysPro allow you to add questions after a survey is
run to do just this sort of thing.
A common problem in any survey that needs attention during the editing and cleaning process is
when a respondent answers an "other, please specify" question by selecting "other" and then
writing in an answer that was one of the listed response options. Without cleaning these answers,
the "other" response will be overstated and the correct response will be understated. For
example, a demographics question that asks for the respondent's role within the organization may
have a response like "faculty, teacher, or student" and a respondent selects "other" and types
"professor," you would want to clean the response by switching the other choice to the one for
"faculty, teacher, or student".
Once the data preparation is complete, it is time to start analyzing the data and turning it into
actionable information.
Detailed Analysis
Analysis is the most important aspect of your survey research project. At this point, you have
collected a set of data that must now be turned into actionable information. The process of
analysis can lead to a variety of alternative courses of action. Mistakes during analysis can lead
to costly decisions down the road, so extreme caution and careful review must be followed
throughout the process. Carelessness during analysis can lead to disaster. What you do during
analysis will ultimately determine if your survey project is a successful or not.
Depending on what type of information you are trying to know about your audience, you will
have to decide what analysis makes sense. It can be as simple as reviewing the graphs that
eSurveysPro automatically creates, or conducting in-depth comparisons between questions sets
to identify trends or relationships. For most surveyors, a basic analysis using charts, cross
tabulations, and filters is sufficient. On the other hand, more sophisticated users may wish to do a
more complex statistical analysis using high powered analytical tools such as SPSS, Excel, or
any number of number crunching applications. For our purposes in this article, we will focus on
basic analysis techniques.
Graphical Analysis
Graphical analysis simply means displaying the data in a variety of visual formats that make it
easy to see patterns and identify differences among the results set. There are many different
graphing options available to display data, the most common are Bar, Pie, and Line charts.
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Bar charts use solid bars on an X and Y-axis that extend to meet a specific data value indicated
on the chart and can be shown either vertically or horizontally. These charts are flexible and are
most commonly used to display data from multiple-select, rank order, single-select matrix and
numerical questions. Each response option is shown as an independent bar on the chart, and the
length of the bar represents the frequency the response was chosen relative to all choices.
Pie charts, or circle graphs, have colorful "slices" representing segments of your data. These
charts measure values as compared to a "whole", and the total percentages of the segments
always add up to 100%. Pie charts are most useful with single-select questions because the each
response is represented visually as a portion of the entire pie. It is easy to interpret which answer
received the most responses in a pie chart by selecting the largest potion of the pie. When
comparing two sets of data using a pie chart, it is important to make sure the colors used for each
response option remain consistent in each chart. If represent the same response options in each
chart, this way, a side-by-side visual comparison can quickly be made. Pie charts are not
appropriate for multiple-select questions because each respondent can answer choose more than
one option, and the sum of the option percentages will exceed 100%.
There are other graphing options such as line charts, area charts and scatter graphs, which are
useful when displaying the same data over a period of time. However these formats are not as
easy to interpret for casual users, so they should be used sparingly.
Filtering
Filtering is the most under-utilized tool used in analysis. Filters allow you select specific subsets
of data to view. Unlike a cross tab, that compares two questions, a filter will allow you to
examine all questions for a particular subset of the responses. By viewing only the data from the
people who responded negatively, look at how they answered other questions. Find patterns or
trends that help define why a person answered the way they did. You can even filter on multiple
questions and criteria to do a more detailed search if necessary. For example, if you wanted to
know the buying intentions of men, over the age of 40, with income of about $50,000, you would
set a filter that would remove all those respondents that do not meet your criteria from the results
set, thus enabling you to concentrate on the target population.
By applying filters to the date survey responses were received, you can see how the answers
change from one time frame to the next. For instance, by continually running a customer
satisfaction survey, you can assess changes in customer attitudes over time by filtering on the
date the survey was received. You can also use a filter on date received to assess the impact of
sales incentive programs or new product offerings by comparing survey responses before and
after the change.
Filters do not permanently remove the responses of those people that do not match the specified
criteria; they simply eliminate them from the current view of the data, making it much easier to
perform analysis. By looking at the same question with different filters applied, differences
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between the various respondents represented by the filter can be quickly seen. Because filters
remain in effect until cleared, don't forget to clear them before attempting to analyze your survey
responses as a whole, otherwise your observations will be inaccurate, and your recommendations
flawed.
Simple Regression Analysis
Determining what factors have lead to a particular outcome is called regression analysis. The
regression means you're working backwards from the result to find out why a person answered
the way that they did. This can be based on how they answered other questions as well.
For example, you might believe that website visitors who had trouble navigating within your
website are likely not return again. If 30% of the respondents said they had trouble navigating
through the website and 40% said they would not return, you could look at only those that would
not return to determine if poor navigation might be the case. After filtering to only those who
would not return, if 30% or less said they had trouble navigating, then this is clearly not the
"reason" visitors will not return. By filtering out those that would return, we expect the
percentage to increase dramatically. If it does, we still cannot conclude that navigation is "the"
reason, only that it might contribute to the respondents not returning. In order to know if it is
"the" reason, we would need to ask a direct question.
Reporting
After analyzing your survey data, it is time to create a report of your findings. The complexity
and detail need to support you conclusions, along with your intended audience, will dictate the
format of your report. CEO's require a different level of detail than line managers, so for
maximum results consider who is going to receive your report and tailor it to meet their unique
needs.
Visual reports, such as an HTML document or Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, are best suited
for simple findings. These graphical reports are best when they are light on text and heavy on
graphs and charts. They are reviewed quickly rather than studied at length, and most conclusions
are obvious, so detailed explanations are seldom required. For more complex topics, a detailed
report created in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat is often required. Reports created using Word
often include much more detailed information, report findings that require significant
explanation, are extremely text heavy, and are often studied at great length and in significant
detail.
No matter which type of report you use, always remember that information can be more
powerfully displayed in a graphic format verses a text or tabular representation. Often, trends and
patterns are more obvious and recommendations more effective when presented visually. Ideally,
when making comparisons one or more groups of respondents, it is best to show a chart of each

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group's responses side-by-side. This side-by-side comparison allows your audience to quickly
see the differences you are highlighting and will lead to more support for your conclusions.
At the beginning of your report, you should review your survey objective and sampling method.
This will help your audience understand what the survey was about, and enable you to avoid
many questions that are outside of your original objectives. Your report should have a description
of your sampling method, including who was invited to participate, over what time frame results
were collected, and any issues that might exist relative to your respondent pool. Next, you should
include your analysis and conclusions in adequate detail to meet the needs of your audience.
Include a table or graph for each area of interest and explain why it is noteworthy. After your
analysis section, you should make recommendations that relate back to your survey objectives.
Recommendations can be as simple as conduct further studies to a major shift in company
direction. In either case, your recommendation must be within the scope of your survey objective
and supported by the data collected. Finally, you can include a copy of your survey questions and
a summary of all the data collected as an appendix to your report.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Investopedia.com
Wikipedia.com
Encyclopedia.com
Scribd.com

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