Chapter-20

Basic Data Analysis:

Descriptive Analysis

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 The Nature of Descriptive Analysis
• Descriptive Analysis
 The elementary transformation of raw data in a way
that describes the basic characteristics such as
central tendency, distribution, and variability.
• Histogram
 A graphical way of showing a frequency distribution in
which the height of a bar corresponds to the observed
frequency of the category.

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 EXHIBIT 20.1 Levels of Scale Measurement and Suggested Descriptive
Statistics

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 Creating and Interpreting Tabulation
• Tabulation
 The orderly arrangement of data in a table or other
summary format showing the number of responses to
each response category.
 Tallying is the term when the process is done by
hand.
• Frequency Table
 A table showing the different ways respondents
answered a question.
 Sometimes called a marginal tabulation.

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 Frequency Table Example

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 Cross-Tabulation
• Cross-Tabulation
 Addresses research questions involving relationships
among multiple less-than interval variables.
 Results in a combined frequency table displaying one
variable in rows and another variable in columns.
• Contingency Table
 A data matrix that displays the frequency of some
combination of responses to multiple variables.
• Marginals
 Row and column totals in a contingency table, which
are shown in its margins.

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 EXHIBIT 20.2 Cross-Tabulation Tables from a Survey Regarding AIG and
Government Bailouts

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 EXHIBIT 20.3 Different Ways of Depicting the Cross-Tabulation of Biological Sex and
Target Patronage

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 Cross-Tabulation (cont’d)
• Percentage Cross-Tabulations
 Statistical base – the number of respondents or
observations (in a row or column) used as a basis for
computing percentages.
• Elaboration and Refinement
 Elaboration analysis – an analysis of the basic
cross-tabulation for each level of a variable not
previously considered, such as subgroups of the
sample.
 Moderator variable – a third variable that changes
the nature of a relationship between the original
independent and dependent variables.

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 EXHIBIT 20.4 Cross-Tabulation of Marital Status, Sex, and Responses to the
Question “Do You Shop at Target?”

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 Cross-Tabulation (cont’d)
• How Many Cross-Tabulations?
 Every possible response becomes a possible
explanatory variable.
 When hypotheses involve relationships among two
categorical variables, cross-tabulations are the right
tool for the job.
• Quadrant Analysis
 An extension of cross-tabulation in which responses
to two rating-scale questions are plotted in four
quadrants of a two-dimensional table.
 Importance-performance analysis

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 EXHIBIT 20.5 An Importance-Performance or Quadrant Analysis of Hotels

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 Data Transformation
• Data Transformation
 Process of changing the data from their original form
to a format suitable for performing a data analysis
addressing research objectives.

Bimodal
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 Problems with Data Transformations
• Median Split
 Dividing a data set into two categories by placing
respondents below the median in one category and
respondents above the median in another.
 The approach is best applied only when the data do
indeed exhibit bimodal characteristics.
 Inappropriate collapsing of continuous variables into
categorical variables ignores the information
contained within the untransformed values.

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 EXHIBIT 20.6 Bimodal Distributions Are Consistent with
Transformations into Categorical Values

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 EXHIBIT 20.7 The Problem with Median Splits with Unimodal Data

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 Index Numbers
• Index Numbers
 Scores or observations recalibrated to indicate how
they relate to a base number.

• Price indexes
 Represent simple data transformations that allow
researchers to track a variable’s value over time and
compare a variable(s) with other variables.
 Recalibration allows scores or observations to be
related to a certain base period or base number.

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 EXHIBIT 20.8 Hours of Television Usage per Week

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 Calculating Rank Order
• Rank Order
 Ranking data can be summarized by performing a
data transformation.
 The transformation involves multiplying the frequency
by the ranking score for each choice resulting in a
new scale.

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 EXHIBIT 20.9 Executive Rankings of Potential Conference Destinations

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 EXHIBIT 20.10 Frequencies of Conference Destination Rankings

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 EXHIBIT 20.11 Pie Charts Work Well with Tabulations and Cross-Tabulations

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 Computer Programs for Analysis
• Statistical Packages
 Spreadsheets
 Excel
 Statistical software:
 SAS
 SPSS (Statistical Package
for Social Sciences)
 MINITAB

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 EXHIBIT 20.12 SAS Computer Output of Descriptive Statistics

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 EXHIBIT 20.13 Examples SPSS Output for Cross-Tabulation

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 Computer Graphics and Computer
Mapping
• Box and Whisker Plots
 Graphic representations of central tendencies,
percentiles, variabilities, and the shapes of frequency
distributions.
• Interquartile Range
 A measure of variability.
• Outlier
 A value that lies outside the normal range of the data.

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 EXHIBIT 20.14 A 3-D Graph Showing Fast-Food Consumption Patterns around the
U.S.

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 EXHIBIT 20.15 Computer Drawn
Box and Whisker
Plot

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 Interpretation
• Interpretation
 The process of drawing inferences from the analysis
results.
 Inferences drawn from interpretations lead to
managerial implications and decisions.
 From a management perspective, the qualitative
meaning of the data and their managerial implications
are an important aspect of the interpretation.

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 CASE EXHIBIT 20.2–1 Shifts in Brand Choice Before and
After Showing of Downy-Q Quilt
Commercial

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 CASE EXHIBIT 20.2–2 Pre/Post Increment in Choice of Downy-Q

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 CASE EXHIBIT 20.2–3 Adjective Checklist for Downy-Q Quilt Commercial

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 CASE EXHIBIT 20.2–4 Product Attribute Checklist for Downy-Q

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