2. Data Interpretation
• Data interpretation is the process of reviewing data through some
predefined processes which will help assign some meaning to the data and
arrive at a relevant conclusion.
• It involves taking the result of data analysis, making inferences on the
relations studied, and using them to conclude.
• Before one can talk about interpreting data, they need to be analyzed first.
• Data analysis is the process of ordering, categorizing, manipulating, and
summarizing data to obtain answers to research questions.
• It is usually the first step taken towards data interpretation.
3. Data Interpretation Methods
• Data interpretation methods are how analysts help people make sense
of numerical data that has been collected, analyzed and presented.
• Data, when collected in raw form, may be difficult for the layman to
understand, which is why analysts need to break down the information
gathered so that others can make sense of it.
• Qualitative Methods:
- It is used to analyze qualitative data, which is also known as categorical
data. This method uses texts, rather than numbers or patterns to describe
data.
- It needs to first be coded into numbers before it can be analyzed.
- It will take more time and result in a lot of errors if analyzed in its original
state.
- Coding done by the analyst should also be documented so that it can be
reused by others and also analyzed.
4. Data Interpretation Methods
• Mainly two types of Qualitative data i.e Nominal & ordinal.
• Ordinal data is usually labelled with numbers during the process of data
collection, and coding may not be required.
• Nominal data that still needs to be coded for proper interpretation.
• Quantitative Methods:
- It is used to analyze quantitative data, known as numerical data. This data
type contains numbers and is therefore analyzed with the use of numbers
and not texts.
- Quantitative data are of 2 main types, namely; discrete and continuous
data.
- Continuous data is further divided into interval data and ratio data, with all
the data types being numeric.
5. Collecting Accurate Data for
Interpretation
• Researchers need to identify the type of data required for particular
research. i.e nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio data
• Properly understand the research question.
• Avoid bias i.e Researcher bias & Respondent bias
- Response bias: respondents intentionally giving wrong answers to
responses.
- Non Response bias: non-response bias occurs when the respondents don't
give answers to questions at all.
Use Close Ended Surveys
Use Open Ended Surveys
6. Purposes of Data Interpretation
• It helps to make informed decisions and not just through guessing or
predictions.
• It is cost-efficient
• The insights obtained can be used to set and identify trends in data.
• It helps to acquire useful information from a pool of irrelevant ones while
making informed decisions.
• It is found useful for individuals, businesses, and researchers.
7. Findings of the Study
• It includes the presentation of the result in the form of observable data.
• Findings are written in past tense as they were collected prior to writing
the report.
• The findings come from analysis of the data obtained.
• Researcher presents the findings in tables and important highlights are
explained in narrative form in text.
• In findings a little bit of interpretation is permissible as a way of beginning
to think about conclusion. E.g instead of saying ‘mean for males was
higher than for females’ researcher may add ‘thus males generally more
appropriate than did the females.’
• Tables are the means of organizing data to make them easy to understand
and interpret.
8. Findings of the Study
• The key findings from the table should be presented clearly and concisely in
the text.
• While describing the findings in relation to a hypothesis in the text, certain
information should be included such as the statistical test, d.f & probabilty
value(p).
9. Discussion of the Findings
• It is the most subjective section of the research report than the
presentation of findings.
• The section should be begin with restatement of the problem and a
summary of the relevant results.
• The discussion section of the report allows the researcher to make sense/to
make interpretation of the findings.
• The findings are interpreted in a light of the theoretical/conceptual
framework and within the context of the reviewed literature.
• Only those literatures which were presented in review section should be
cited in the discussion section.
• When new literatures are cited it appears as if the researcher went back to
library after data collection to search for a source that supports the study
findings.
10. Discussion of the Findings
• In discussion, researcher discusses the aspects of the results that are in
agreement and those that are not in agreement with previous research .
• Researcher also interprets the findings in light of study’s strength and
weakness.
11. Limitation of the study
• Limitations are weakness in the study that makes restrictions in the
research study that may affect the outcome of the study.
• These include design problems, sample deficiencies, weakness in data
collection
• Researcher reports the study’s limitation in terms of their influence in the
generalizability of the findings.
12. Summary of Findings
There should be a brief statement about:
• the main purpose of the study
• the population or respondents
• the period of the study
• method of research used
• the research instrument
• the sampling design
13. Example
Teaching science in the high schools of Province A
This was conducted for the purpose of determining the status of teaching
science in the high schools of Province A. The descriptive method is used of
research was utilized and the nominative survey technique was used for
gathering data. The questionnaire served as the instrument for collecting
data. All the teachers handling science and a 20 percent representative
sample of the students were the respondents.
14. Contd….
2. The findings may be lumped up all together but clarity demands
that each specific question under the statement of the problem must
be written first to be followed by the findings.
3. The findings should be textual generalization, that is a summary of
the important data consisting of text and numbers.
4. Only the important findings, the highlights of the data, should be
included in the summary.
5. Findings are not explained nor elaborated upon anymore.
6. No new data should be introduced in the summary of findings
15. Conclusion
- It includes synthesizing from the findings and showing what new
information has been generated from the study.
1. Inferences, abstractions, implications, interpretations, general statements,
and/or generalizations based upon the findings.
-They should not contain any numerals
16. Example
- Findings:
Of the 59 teachers, 31 or 53.54 percent were BSE graduates and three or
5.08 percent were MA degree holders. The rest, 25 or 42.37 percent, were
non-BSE baccalaureate degree holders with at least 18 education units. Less
than half of all the teachers, only 27 or 45.76 percent were science majors
and the majority, 32 or 54.24 percent were non-science majors.
• Conclusion
All the teachers were qualified to teach in the high school but the majority
of them were not qualified to teach science.
17. Contd..
2. Conclusions should appropriately answer the specific questions raised at
the beginning of the investigation in order they are given under the
statement of the problem.
Example
Q: “How adequate are the facilities for teaching science?”
A: “The facilities for the teaching of science are inadequate”.
3. Conclusions should point out what were factually learned from the inquiry.
Example:
Teachers were not qualified to teach science and the science facilities were
inadequate.
Correct form
Teaching in the high schools of Province A was weak.
18. Contd..
4. It should be a based upon responses to the questions.
5. It should be a formulated concisely, briefly & shortly and stated
categorically.
6. It refers only to population, area or subject of the study.
7. Conclusion should not be repetitions of any statements anywhere in the
thesis.
19. Implications of the Study
1. Implications are specific suggestions for implementation based on the
conclusions of the study.
2. Researcher should have insight, vision and creativity to identify the
implications of the study .
3. For every conclusions of the study there should be at least one implication.
4. It may be addressed to clinician, educators, researchers or administrators as
applicable.
5. Implication of a study contain “should” that result from the study. For e.g
Nurse educators should………….
20. Recommendations
1. it should aim to solve or help to solve problems discovered in the
investigation. Like
Problem: Inadequate facilities
Recommendation: Acquire more facilities
2. No recommendation should be made for a problem or that has not been
discussed in the study.
3. It should be recommended for improvement.
4. It should be aim for the ideal nut they must be feasible, practical and
possible.
5. It should be logical and valid.
6. It should be addressed to the person, agencies, offices who or which are
in a position to implement them.
7. It should recommendations for further research.
8. There should be a further research study on the same topic in other place
to verify, amplify and too negate the findings of the study.