Slide 12 1 Chapter 12 Analysing quantitative data

Slide 12. 1 Chapter 12 Analysing quantitative data Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 2 Quantative data analysis (1) Key points • Data must be analysed to produce information • Computer software analysis is normally used for this process • Data should be carefully prepared for analysis • Researchers need to know how to select and use different charting and statistical techniques Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 3 Quantative data analysis (2) Main concerns • Preparing, inputting and checking data • Choosing the most appropriate statistics to describe the data • Choosing the most appropriate statistics to examine data relationships and trends Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 4 Preparing, inputting and checking data (1) Main considerations • Type of data (scale of measurement) • Data format for input to analysis software • Impact of data coding on subsequent analyses • Case weighting • Methods for error checking Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 5 Preparing, inputting and checking data (2) Defining the data type Saunders et al. (2009) Figure 12. 1 Defining the data type Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 6 Preparing, inputting and checking data (3) Defining the data type Saunders et al. (2009) Figure 12. 1 Defining the data type (Continued) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 7 Preparing, inputting and checking data (4) A simple data matrix Saunders et al. (2009) Table 12. 1 A simple data matrix Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 8 Preparing, inputting and checking data (5) Main data categories for coding • Numerical data • Categorical data • Missing data Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 9 Preparing, inputting and checking data (6) Final stages of the process • Entering data – rubbish in = rubbish out! • Weighting cases • Always take time to check for errors – including illegitimate codes, illogical relationships and that rules were followed in filter questions Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 10 Exploring and presenting data (1) Exploratory analysis can include: • Specific values • Highest and lowest values • Trends over time • Proportions • Distributions Sparrow (1989) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 11 Exploring and presenting data (2) Checklist Box 12. 8 Complete the Checklist in Box 12. 8 to help you design diagrams and tables Saunders et al. (2009) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 12 Exploring and presenting data (3) Showing aspects of individual variables • Specific values • Highest and lowest values • Trends • Proportions • Distribution of values Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 13 Examples of diagrams (1) Bar Chart Source: adapted from Eurostat (2007) © European Communities, 2007 Reproduced with permission Figure 12. 2 Bar chart Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 14 Examples of diagrams (2) Histogram Saunders et al. (2009) Figure 12. 4 Histogram Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 15 Examples of diagrams (5) Pie chart Figure 12. 8 Pie chart Saunders et al. (2009) Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 16 Exploring and presenting data (4) Comparing variables to show • Specific values and independence • Highest and lowest values • Proportions • Trends and conjunctions Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 17 Exploring and presenting data (5) Comparing variables to show • Totals • Proportions and totals • Distribution of values • Relationship between cases for variables Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 18 Describing data using statistics (1) Statistics to describe a variable focus on two aspects • The central tendency • The dispersion Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 19 Describing data using statistics (2) Describing the central tendency • To represent the value occurring most frequently • To represent the middle value • To include all data values Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 20 Describing data using statistics (3) Describing the dispersion • To state the difference between values • To describe and compare the extent by which values differ from the mean Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 21 Examining relationships, differences and trends Using statistics to • Test for significant relationships and differences • Assess the strength of relationship • Examine trends Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 22 Summary: Chapter 12 • Data for quantitative analysis can be collected and then coded at different scales of measurement • Data type constrains the presentation, summary and analysis techniques that can be used • Data are entered for computer analysis as a matrix and recorded using numerical codes • Codes should be entered for all data values • Existing coding schemes enable comparisons Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 12. 23 Summary: Chapter 12 • Data must be checked for errors • Initial analysis should use both tables and diagrams • Subsequent analyses involve describing data and exploring relationships by using statistics • Longitudinal data may necessitate different statistical techniques Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students , 5 th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009