Slide 12.

Chapter 12
Analysing quantitative data

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.2

Quantative data analysis (1)

Key points

• Data must be analysed to produce information

• Computer software analysis is normally used for

this process

• Data should be carefully prepared for analysis

• Researchers need to know how to select and use

different charting and statistical techniques
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.3

Quantative data analysis (2)

Main concerns

• Preparing, inputting and checking data

• Choosing the most appropriate statistics to describe

the data

• Choosing the most appropriate statistics to examine

data relationships and trends

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.4

Preparing, inputting and checking data (1)

Main considerations

• Type of data (scale of measurement)

• Data format for input to analysis software

• Impact of data coding on subsequent analyses

• Case weighting

• Methods for error checking

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.5

Preparing, inputting and checking data (2)

Defining the data type

Saunders et al. (2009)

Figure 12.1 Defining the data type
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.6

Preparing, inputting and checking data (3)

Defining the data type

Saunders et al. (2009)

Figure 12.1 Defining the data type (Continued)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.7

Preparing, inputting and checking data (4)

A simple data matrix

Saunders et al. (2009)

Table 12.1 A simple data matrix
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.8

Preparing, inputting and checking data (5)

Main data categories for coding

• Numerical data

• Categorical data

• Missing data

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.9

Preparing, inputting and checking data (6)

Final stages of the process

• Entering data – rubbish in = rubbish out!

• Weighting cases

• Always take time to check for errors – including

illegitimate codes, illogical relationships and that
rules were followed in filter questions

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.10

Exploring and presenting data (1)

Exploratory analysis can include:

• Specific values

• Highest and lowest values

• Trends over time

• Proportions

• Distributions
Sparrow (1989)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.11

Exploring and presenting data (2)

Checklist Box 12.8

Complete the Checklist in Box 12.8

to help you design diagrams and tables

Saunders et al. (2009)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.12

Exploring and presenting data (3)

Showing aspects of individual variables

• Specific values

• Highest and lowest values

• Trends

• Proportions

• Distribution of values
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.13

Examples of diagrams (1)

Bar Chart

Source: adapted from Eurostat (2007) © European Communities, 2007

Reproduced with permission
Figure 12.2 Bar chart
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.14

Examples of diagrams (2)

Histogram

Saunders et al. (2009)

Figure 12.4 Histogram
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.15

Examples of diagrams (5)

Pie chart

Saunders et al. (2009)

Figure 12.8 Pie chart
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.16

Exploring and presenting data (4)

Comparing variables to show

• Specific values and independence

• Highest and lowest values

• Proportions

• Trends and conjunctions

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.17

Exploring and presenting data (5)

Comparing variables to show

• Totals

• Proportions and totals

• Distribution of values

• Relationship between cases for variables

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.18

Describing data using statistics (1)

Statistics to describe a variable focus on

two aspects

• The central tendency

• The dispersion

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.19

Describing data using statistics (2)

Describing the central tendency

• To represent the value occurring most frequently

• To represent the middle value

• To include all data values

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.20

Describing data using statistics (3)

Describing the dispersion

• To state the difference between values

• To describe and compare the extent by which values

differ from the mean

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.21

Examining relationships, differences and

trends

Using statistics to

• Test for significant relationships and differences

• Assess the strength of relationship

• Examine trends

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.22

Summary: Chapter 12
• Data for quantitative analysis can be collected and
then coded at different scales of measurement

• Data type constrains the presentation, summary and

analysis techniques that can be used

• Data are entered for computer analysis as a matrix

and recorded using numerical codes

• Codes should be entered for all data values

• Existing coding schemes enable comparisons

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 12.23

Summary: Chapter 12

• Data must be checked for errors

• Initial analysis should use both tables and diagrams

• Subsequent analyses involve describing data and

exploring relationships by using statistics

• Longitudinal data may necessitate different

statistical techniques

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009