EDITING

When the researcher collects the data it is in raw form and it needs to be edited, organized and
analyzed. The raw data needs to be transformed into a comprehensible form of data. The first
steps in this process are to edit the data.
Information gathered during data collection may lack uniformity. An researcher checks for
completeness, accuracy, consistency of data, collection and arranging the data in a systematic
manner is known as editing.
For example : Data collected through questionnaire and schedules may have answers which may
not be ticked at proper places, or some questions may be left unanswered. The researcher has to
take a decision as to how to edit it.

WHY EDITING:
1. clarify response:
Bringing clarity is important otherwise the researcher can draw wrong inferences the data.
Sometimes the respondents make some spelling and grammatical mistakes the editor needs to
correct them.
2. Makes omissions:
The researcher may also need to make some omissions in the responses. By chance or by some
mistake some responses are left incomplete, the editor has to see what has been an oversight by
the respondent.
3. Avoid biased editing
The researcher needs to be very objective and should not try to hide or remove any information.
He should not add anything in the responses without any sound reason.
4. Check handwriting :-
Handwriting issues needs also be resolved by the editor. Some people write very fast and in this
way they write so that comprehension of the text becomes difficult. In electronically sent
questionnaires this problem never arises.
5. Re contact the respondent :-
If some information is least comprehendible and no logical meaning can be taken, interviewees
can be re-contacted to know what they meant by that. In case, the data in the questionnaire is not
correct and the editor cannot take any meaning from it. The editor should ask the respondents, re
contact with them and get their help.

WHERE TO EDIT
1. field editing
2. In house editing - In house editing through investigates the result of data collection is
centralized and perform the editing and coding functions. -In house editing various alternatives
are collected from various source and analyzed from the doubts. After the data is analysed the
editing is then performed

In the in-house editing, they investigate the results of the obtained data and perform the coding
functions and editing.

Best example: If age is not indicated, then the respondent will be called to ensure the
information.

Editing for Consistency:

The in house editors task is to ensure that inconsistent or contradictory responses are adjusted
and that answers will not be a problem for coders and keyboard punchers. Consider the situation
in which a telephone interviewer has been instructed to interview only registered voters that
requires voters to be 18 years old. If the editors reviews of a questionnaire indicate that the
respondent was only 17 years of age, the editors task is to eliminate this obviously incorrect
sampling unit Thus in this example the editors job is to make sure that the sampling unit is
consistent with thee objectives of the study. Editing requires checking for logically consistent
responses. The in house editor must determine if the answers given by a respondent to one
question are consistent with those given to other, related questions. Many surveys utilize filter
questions or skip questions that direct the sequence of questions depending upon respondents
answer. In some cases the respondent will have answered a sequence of questions that should not
have been asked. The editor should adjust these answers usually no answer or inapplicable so
that the response will be consistent.
In House Editing rigorously investigates the results of data collection. The Research supplier or
research department normally has a centralised office staff perform the editing and coding
function. Arbitron measures radio audiences by having respondents record their listening
behavior time, station, and place in diaries.

The diaries are returned by mail, in house editors perform usability edits in which they check that
the postmark is after the last day of the survey week, verify the legibility of station call letters

If the respondents age or sex is not indicated, the respondent is called to ensure that this
information is included.

Editing Technology

Computer routines can check for inconsistencies automatically. Thus for electronic
questionnaries rules can be entered which prevent inconsistent responses from ever being stored
in the file used for data analysis.

These rules should represent the conservative judgment of a trained data analyst. Some online
survey services can even be preprogrammed to prevent many inconsistent.

Electronic questionnaire can also prevent a respondent from being directed to the wrong set of
questions based on a screening question response.

Editing for completeness

Item non response is the technical term for an unanswered question on an otherwise complete
questionnaire. Missing data results from item non responsive. In many situations the decision
rule is to do nothing with the missing data and simply leave the item blank.