Page 113 - DLIS401_METHODOLOGY_OF_RESEARCH_AND_STATISTICAL_TECHNIQUES

Methodology of Research and Statistical Techniques

Notes Many reports rely on narrative information to present most, if not all, of the necessary information.

Did u know? Narrative information may be presented in three ways: standard writing
style; tables; and/or, figures, diagrams, maps, and charts.

Nominal scale
A nominal scale is where:
• the data can be classified into a non-numerical or named categories, and

• the order in which these categories can be written or asked is arbitrary.
Ordinal scale
An ordinal scale is where:
• the data can be classified into non-numerical or named categories

• an inherent order exists among the response categories.
Ordinal scales are seen in questions that call for ratings of quality (for example, very good,
good, fair, poor, very poor) and agreement (for example, strongly agree, agree, disagree,
strongly disagree).

Numerical scale
A numerical scale is:
• where numbers represent the possible response categories
• there is a natural ranking of the categories

• zero on the scale has meaning
• there is a quantifiable difference within categories and between consecutive categories.

Organising the data
Once you have collected the raw data, you need to organise it. This is a two-stage process:
1. The first step is to tabulate all the responses to each question for each respondent in a
data sheet using the coded values. It is advisable to construct this on a spreadsheet.
2. The second step is to construct a summary sheet.
This summary sheet will be an amended version of the original question sheet (either questionnaire
or interview schedule) and contains:
• a brief overview of the data collection process, including:
— data collection method
— sample size and sampling method

• a count for each response alongside each question
• the percentage equivalents.
Standard writing style, that is, the use of sentences and paragraphs, is often the best way to
present information, especially to audiences that are not accustomed to working with charts,
graphs, tables, numbers, etc. It is the only way to present information such as examples and
explanations. If standard writing style is used to summarize the results of open ended questions

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