ResearchMethodology Week13

29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z.
Khan 1
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
(Business Research Methods)
Week 13
29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 2
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 doesnt own
a car
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
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)
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

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

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.
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

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
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
Research Report Design Template
Research Report
Prefatory
Parts
Main
Body
Appended
Parts
Research Report Components (1)
PREFATORY PARTS
Title Page
Letter of
Transmittal
Letter of
Authorization
Table of
Contents
Objectives
Results
Conclusions
Recommendations
Summary
MAIN BODY
Introduction
Methodology
Limitations
Conclusions
and
Recommen-
dations
Area 1
Area 2
Final Area
Results
APPENDED PARTS
Data Collection
Forms
Detailed
Calculations
General Tables
Bibliography
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.

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

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
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

ResearchMethodology Week13

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

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