DATA PROCESSING AND

INTERPRETATION

Submitted to: Dr. D. D. Sharma

Submitted by: Shareya
(PGD20227250)
 In a research project, after gathering of all the
data it is necessary to compile the data in such
a way that it is easy to understand, process,
interpret and to form a conclusion in a long
run.
Hence we need to process the data for
effective statistical analysis and interpretations.
• DATA PROCESSING
Data processing is an intermediate stage
between the collection of data and data
interpretation. It includes,
EDITING CODING

CLASSIFICA
TION

TABULATIO GRAPHIC
REPRESENTATION
N
A. DATA EDITING
After the collection of raw data, it is necessary to
edit the data in more accurate, presentable and
readable form.
Helps to improve the quality standard of the raw
data and it is the first step in data processing.
The editor needs to check the consistency,
completeness, accuracy and uniformity of the
data which helps to take care of any missing and
ambiguous data.
• Field editing
• Centralized in-house editing
B. DATA CODING
Means categorization of the edited data into
symbols or letters to classify it and further do the
processing.
The reason is that the quantification and graphic
representation of data into charts and figures
becomes easier.
• coding frame
• code book
Nowadays, computers are used to analyse the data
and is much faster and accurate than manual work.
Sr. No. Items
1 Geographical background Rural-8
Urban-9
2 Gender Male-1
Female-2
Transgender-3

C. CLASSIFICATION
Classification is the process of arranging data into sequences and groups according
to their common characteristics, or separating them into different but related parts.
For example, courses offered in the shoolini university, solan:
-Pharmacy
-agriculture
-Liberal arts
-Biotechnology................
Similarly, the agriculture course can be further classified into UG and PG. The PG
courses can be further classified into different majors such as agronomy, extension
education, plant breeding......
 Objectives of classification:-
• To present the facts in a simple form
• To bring out clearly points of similarity and dissimilarity
• To facilitate comparison
• To bring out relationship
• To prepare the basis of tabulation
Characteristics of classification:-
• Stability
• Mutually exclusive
• Flexibility
• Exhaustive
• Arithmetically correct
• Homogeneity
 Types of classification:-
• Based on differences in kind
• Based on differences of degree of a given characteristic
• Geographical classification
• Chronological classification
• Alphabetical classification
D. TABULATION
L.R. Connor has said “ Tabulation involves the orderly
and systematic presentation of numerical data in a form
designed to elucidate the problem under
consideration.’’
 Objectives of tabulation:-
• To clarify the object of investigation
• To clarify the characteristic of data
• To present the facts in the minimum of space
• To facilitate statistical process
Advantages of tabulation:-
• It is helpful in presenting mass of complex data clearly, so
that can easily be understood.
• It occupies less space than textual reports, hence saving of
paper and time.
• It helps in computation of different statistical measures like
average, dispersion, correlation etc.
• Tabulated data make it easy to present the facts in a
graphical and diagrammatic form
 Limitations of tabulation:-
• A table contains only figures and not their description.
• A table does not lay emphasis on any section of particular
importance.
• It requires a specialised knowledge to understand a table. A
layman cannot drive any conclusion from a table.
Rules for tabulation:-
• Number and title
• Stub and caption
• Source
• Simplicity
• Average and totals
• Arrangement of data
Difference between classification and tabulation
Classification Tabulation
Forms the basis for tabulation. Regarded as last stage in processing
of data.
Data are classified according to Classified data placed in rows and
similarities and dissimilarities. columns. Thus it is a mechanical
function of classification.
Is a process of statistical analysis. Is a form of presenting data in
suitable structure.
Arranged in variables and Arranged in rows and columns.
characteristics.

E. Graphical representation
• This helps to understand the data easily. In case of
qualitative data, most common graphs are bar
charts and pie charts.
PIE CHART
HISTOGRAM
Sales
Category 4

Category 3
1st Qtr
Series 3
2nd Qtr
Series 2
3rd Qtr
Category 2 Series 1
4th Qtr

Category 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

BAR CHART
Category 4

Category 3
Series 3
Category 2 Series 2
Series 1
Category 1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
 Descriptive analysis
• There are some important measures which help to know the
data better. These measures give the idea of overall
distribution of the observations in the data set. These
measures together can be called as descriptive statistics or
analysis
• Measures of central tendency
1) Mean
2) Median
3) Mode
• Measures of dispersion
1) Range
2) Mean deviation
3) Standard deviation
• Measures of skewness- the meaning of skewness is
lack of symmetry. Skewness gives us the idea of the
shape of the distribution of the data
• Kurtosis- It tells us about the flatness or peakedness
of the distribution curve.
• Measures of relationship- when the population
consisting of measurement of only one variable, it is
called univariate population. But if we have the data
on two variables, we are said to have a bivariate
population and if the data happen to be on more
than two variables, the population is known as
multivariate population.
1) Covariance
2) Karl Pearson ’s coefficient of correlation
 NON-PARAMETRIC TESTS
• There are situations particularly in social, psychological or in market
research wherein the basic assumptions underlying the parametric
tests are not valid or the researcher does not have the knowledge of
the distribution of population parameters being tested.
• The tests which handle the problems of these types are known as
non parametric tests or distribution free test.
Advantages:-
• They can be applied to many situations as they do not have the rigid
requirements of their parametric counterparts, like the sample
having been drawn from the population following a normal
distribution.
• It can be applied on the data that lacks exact or comparable
numerical values.
• These tests involve very simple computations compared to the
corresponding parametric tests.
• Run test
• Mann Whitney U Test
• Kruskal Wallis Test
• Sign test
• Chi square test
• Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired samples
 INTERPRETATION OF DATA
• The process of drawing conclusion and the significance of the
analysed data is known as interpretation.
• The interpretation of data helps the researchers to summarize the
information to answer our questions and becomes easy to explain.
• Statistical facts have by themselves no utility. It is the
interpretation that makes it possible for us to utilize collected data
in various fields of activity. This will help to have more accurate
conclusion of the research.
• The researchers should also be unbiased towards data and diligent
for their work.
• Thus, interpretation is also an art. If it is not drawn carefully or
gets diverted from the research the conclusion and the
explanation will also be wrong.
 It is being considered a basic component of research process
because of the following reasons:-
• It leads to the establishment of explanatory concepts that can
serve as a guide for future research study, it opens new avenues
of intellectual adventures and stimulates the quest for more
knowledge.
• Researcher can better appreciate why his findings are what they
are and can make others to understand the real significance of his
research findings.
• It is through interpretation that the researcher can well
understand the abstract principle that works beneath his
findings.
 Advantages of data interpretation:-
• It helps to make informed decisions and not just
through guessing or predictions.
• It is cost-efficient.
• The insights obtained can be used to set and
identify trends in data.
Pre-requisites of interpretation:-
• The data should be homogeneous
• The data should be adequate
• The data should be appropriate
• The data should be scientifically analysed
 Mistakes commonly committed in interpreting
the data:-
• Inappropriate comparison
• Faulty inferences on the basis of inadequate data
• Errors in the use of various tools of analysis like
mean, median, mode, correlation, percentage
etc.
• Faulty generalisations on the basis of incorrect or
unrepresentative sample
• Inadequate attention to individual cases
REFERENCES
• Research Methodology: Methods and techniques
by C.R. Kothari and Gaurav Garg
• Research methodology: concepts and Cases by
Deepak Chawla and Neena Sondhi
• Research Methodology and Statistical Techniques
by Santosh Gupta
• Management Research Methodology by
Krishnaswamy, Sivakumar and Mathirajan
• Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods
by Nageswara Rao
Thank You