Data Analysis

Research data can be seen as the fruit of researchers’ labor. If a study has been conducted in a scientifically rigorous manner, the data will hold the clues necessary to answer the researchers’ questions. To unlock these clues, researchers typically rely on a variety of statistical procedures. There are two types of data:

• Quantitative Data
• Qualitative Data

The data analysis is concerned mainly with the quantitative data. These statistical procedures allow researchers to describe groups of individuals and events, examine the relationships between them, measure differences between groups and conditions, and examine and generalize. Knowledge about data analysis can help a researcher interpret data for the purpose of providing meaningful insights into the problem being examined.

Aims Data Analysis

The analysis of data can have several aims.

• Describe: The first aim may be to describe a phenomenon in some or greater detail.
• Compare: This is aimed at comparing the different data types.
• Explanation: This means looking for explanations such as dif­ferences in data.
• Interpret: It means the interpretation of data in relation to the context.
• Generalisation: It means to arrive at generalizable statements by comparing various materials or various texts or several cases.