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ResearchMethodology Week13

The document discusses editing and coding data collected in business research. It describes field editing, which is preliminary editing done by field supervisors to check for errors or inconsistencies. More rigorous in-house editing is then performed by centralized office staff. When editing, logical consistency, completeness of data, and non-responses must be addressed. Coding then converts the data into a format for computer processing and analysis. The document also provides an overview of writing a research report, communicating results, and common report components and templates.

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ALEEM MANSOOR
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views18 pages

ResearchMethodology Week13

The document discusses editing and coding data collected in business research. It describes field editing, which is preliminary editing done by field supervisors to check for errors or inconsistencies. More rigorous in-house editing is then performed by centralized office staff. When editing, logical consistency, completeness of data, and non-responses must be addressed. Coding then converts the data into a format for computer processing and analysis. The document also provides an overview of writing a research report, communicating results, and common report components and templates.

Uploaded by

ALEEM MANSOOR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
(Business Research Methods)

Week 13

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 1
Editing and Coding Data
 Editing is the process of checking data for errors such as
omissions, illegibility and inconsistency, and correcting
data where and when the need arises

 Example 1: A questionnaire meant to be answered by


adults over the age of 30 years has also been answered
by some persons under the age of 30 years

 Example 2: A respondent gives her birthday as 1865 or


claims to have a car insurance but says she doesn‘t own
a car

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 2
Field Editing and In-House Editing
 Field Editing is a prelimary form of data editing
which is undertaken by the field supervisor on
the day of the interview with a view to finding
omissions, checking the legibility of handwriting,
and clarifying responses by respondents that are
logically or conceptually inconsistent

 In-House Editing is a form of data editing which


is more rigorous than field editing in nature, and
which is performed by a centralized office staff

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 3
Data Consistency and Completeness
 The data obtained from a questionnaire must be logically
consistent, especially when questions are related

 Sometimes inconsistency of data may not be readily


apparent. In this case, the data editor must judge what
action to take (example: Salary of the CEO of a big
corporation is given as USD 25,000 per annum)

 Circumstances permitting, the data editor may have to


insert data if answers to questions have been omitted by
the respondent, but which can be answered on the basis
of the other data obtained (example: respondent does
not answer a question asking if his organization has a
website, but somewhere later answers that the
organization has three websites)
29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 4
Non-Responses and Out-Of-Order
Answers
 Often, questions are left unanswered by
respondents (Item Non-Response). In such
cases, where data must be inserted, the data
editor has some options such as using a „plug
value“ according to some prespecified rule

 Sometimes respondents give answers to (open-


ended) questions in other questions. In such
cases, data has to be shifted around the
questions

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 5
Some Observations on Editing
 Editing of data should, deally, be done wih a coloured
pencil and the original data must not be erased in case it
is required for future reference

 Data editing should be conducted systematically on the


basis of procedures made by professionals

 Data editing should be included in the pretest phase of a


questionnaire, in order to improve the quality of a
questionnaire

 Data editing has drawbacks, such as, the editor does not
possess the required level of intelligence, experience
and objectivity
29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 6
Data Coding
 Data Coding follows data editing and is the
means by which data can be converted into a
format that enables its processing and analysis
by the computer

 Data Coding incorporates a number of technical


steps and can be a tedious proceess

 For details of data coding process, refer to your


text book pp. 457 ff.

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 7
Research Report, Presentation,
Follow-Up
 The research report is the crucial means for communicating the
whole project to those individuals or entities who or which
commissioned the research

 A research report may be in writing, verbal, or a combination of both

 It is essential that great effort is put into writing a good research


report because it is often the only part of the research cycle that end
users get to see!

 A great research based on a well-conceived approach will go to


waste if the research report leaves a bad impression on the end
users of that research

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 8
Communicating the Research
Report
 The business researcher should carefully
consider how he or she is going to communicate
the information to the end user

 The business researcher should take pains to


ensure that he/she and the research end-user
are at the same communicational level, i.e., that
the terminology used in the report is
understandable and that the end-user is
presented with all the information neded to make
an informed decision
29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 9
Research Report Templates
 There is no universally applied template
for writing a research report, rather, there
is a general consensus on what
constitutes a good research report

 Many organizations have designed their


own in-house formats for reports and
specified what aspects must be included

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 10
Research Report Design Template

Research
Research Report
Report

Prefatory
Prefatory Main
Main Appended
Appended
Parts
Parts Body
Body Parts
Parts

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 11
Research Report Components (1)
PREFATORY
PREFATORY PARTS
PARTS

Title
Title Page
Page Summary
Summary

Letter
Letter of
of Objectives
Objectives
Transmittal
Transmittal
Results
Results
Letter
Letter of
of
Authorization
Authorization Conclusions
Conclusions

Table
Table of
of Recommendations
Recommendations
Contents
Contents

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 12
Research Report Components (2)
MAIN
MAIN BODY
BODY

Introduction
Introduction Results
Results Limitations
Limitations

Area
Area 11
Methodology
Methodology Conclusions
Conclusions
and
and
Area
Area 22 Recommen-
Recommen-
dations
dations

Final
Final Area
Area

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 13
Research Report Components (3)
APPENDED
APPENDED PARTS
PARTS

Data
Data Collection
Collection
Forms
Forms

Detailed
Detailed
Calculations
Calculations

General
General Tables
Tables

Bibliography
Bibliography

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 14
Graphic Aids in Research Reports
 In research reports, several types of graphical components
may be used, including, for example: tables, charts and
graphs in their diverse manifestations, diagrams, maps,
photographic or computer-generated images, sketches etc.

 Graphical components are a useful supplement to – but not


a substitute for – written text because they can convey a lot
of information and are visually appealing, particularly if they
are in colour

 Software programmes like MS Excel make the task of


creating graphics from raw data easy and quick

 See text book examples, pp. 506 ff.

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 15
Oral Presentations (1)
 Oral presentations are a useful supplement to written
research reports because they enable the salient
findings of the research to be presented at any time, and
they give listeners the opportunity to raise questions and
clarify any ambiguous issues or points

 The researcher giving the oral presentation must be very


well prepared to defend the results of his or her written
report in a confident and competent manner so that the
individuals who will be making decisions on the basis of
the report are convinced of its importance and accuracy

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 16
Oral Presentations (2)
 The researcher should try to maintain good
communication with the listeners by avoiding excessive
technical jargon if and when dealing with persons from
other disciplines

 The researcher should avoid simply reading out text,


maintain eye contact with his or her listeners, and
gesture occasionaly

 Multimedia aids can be considered as can posters or


handouts

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 17
Research Follow-Up Work
 After the research has been completed, and
information submitted to the manager or
decision-makers concerned, follow-up work may
be necessary

 Follow-up includes recontacting the managers or


decision-makers concerned and asking them if
the research has met their informational
requirements, or whether additional input is or
may be needed

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 18

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