RESEARCH

Data processing in research is the collection and translation of a data set into
valuable, usable information. Through this process, a researcher, takes raw data and
converts it into a more readable format, such as a graph, report or chart, either
manually or through computer. The researcher will then use this information to gain
insights, solve problems, make improvements and ultimately generate better results.
After collecting data, it must be reduced to some form suitable for analysis so that
conclusions or findings can be reported to target population. For analyzing data,
researchers must decide
1. Whether the tabulation of data will be performed by hand or by computer.
2. How information can be converted into a form that will allow it to be processed
efficiently.
3. What statistical tools or methods will be employed.
Now a days computers have become an essential tool for the tabulation and analysis
of data. Even in simple statistical procedures computer tabulation is encouraged for
easy and flexible handling of data.
Data processing in research consists of 4 important steps. They are:
1.EDITING
2.CODING
3.CLASSIFICATION of data
4. Tabulation of Data
First step is to edit the raw data. Data editing is the process of "improving" collected
survey data. Editing detects errors and omissions, corrects them whatever possible.It
is a quality control process. Its purpose is to ensure that the information on a
questionnaire or interview schedule is ready to be transferred to the computer for
analysis. “Ready” means that the data collected are complete, error-free, & readable
as possible. Editing is carried out both during and after the process of data collection,
& much of it occurs simultaneously with coding. Interviewers should check over their
completed forms soon after each interview is conducted. Respondents should be
recontacted if necessary.When gaps are present from interviews, a call-back should
be made rather than guessing what the respondent would probably said.
Coding is the process by which data/responses are organized into classes/categories
and numerals or other symbols are given to each item according to the class in which
it falls.coding involves two important operations; (a) deciding the categories to be
used and (b) allocating individual answers to them. These categories should be
appropriate to the research problem, exhaustive of the data.The study of the responses
is the first step in coding.
For close-ended questions, coding is straightforward: There are relatively few
categories, and you simply need to assign a different code to each category. For open-
ended questions, however, the number of unique responses may number in hundreds.
The researcher tries to develop a coding scheme that does not require a separate code
for each respondent but that adequately reflects the full range of responses. The idea
is to put the data into manageable form while retaining as much information as is
practical. Let us see this example of coding open-ended questions.
Suppose there are 100 respondents. The researcher asked an open ended
question ,What reasons might you have for giving up smoking?. So here, individual
responses to the question can be too diverse to manage without grouping them into a
smaller number of categories. And that’s where the task of coding begins .
After that, coding categories are formed by grouping together reasons that seemed
similar from the research perspective. For example, people with bad coughs were
placed in the same category as those reporting sore throats. Although the difference
between a cough and a sore throat is important from medical standpoint, you can put
them under same group as per your hypothesis.
Classification is the process of grouping the statistical data under various

understandable homogeneous groups for the purpose of convenient interpretation.or
say it is a process of arranging data in groups or classes on the basis of common
characteristics.Classification can be one of two types, depending upon the nature of
the phenomenon involved:
(a) Classification according to attributes:
data are classified on the basis of common characteristics which can either be
descriptive (such as literacy, sex, honesty, etc.) or numerical (such as weight, height,
income, etc.). Descriptive characteristics refer to qualitative phenomenon which
cannot be measured quantitatively; only their presence or absence in an individual
item can be noticed. Data obtained this way on the basis of certain attributes are
known as statistics of attributes and their classification is said to be classification
according to attributes. Whenever data are classified according to attributes, the
researcher must see that the attributes are defined in such a manner that there is least
possibility of any doubt/ambiguity concerning the said attributes.
(b) Classification according to class-intervals:

Unlike descriptive characteristics, the numerical characteristics refer to quantitative
phenomenon which can be measured through some statistical units. Data relating to
income, production, age, weight, etc. come under this category. Such data are known
as statistics of variables and are classified on the basis of class intervals.
Tabulation of Data is the process of summarizing raw data and displaying it in

compact form for further analysis. Therefore, preparing tables is a very important
step.There is nothing like statistical sophistication in tabulation.It amounts to no more
than counting of the number of cases falling into each of several categories.
Tabulation may be by hand or electronic. The choice is made largely on the basis of
the size and type of study, alternative costs & time pressures. If the number of
questionnaire is small, and their length short, hand tabulation is quite satisfactory.

RESEARCH

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Data processing in research is the collection and translation of a data set into

Classification is the process of grouping the statistical data under various

(b) Classification according to class-intervals:

Tabulation of Data is the process of summarizing raw data and displaying it in

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