DATA – COLLECTION, CLASSIFICATION &
REPRESENTATION
Data
• Data can be described as unstructured raw facts,
observations or unevaluated messages in isolation
• Data are facts & figures which are not currently being
used in decision process
• Information is defined as data that is collected,
processed, logically organized and analyzed so as to be of
use to the decision maker
Information
• Information brings clarity and creates an intelligent
human response in the mind
• Some of the characteristics of Information:
– Improves representation of an entity
– Updates the level of knowledge
– Has a surprise value
– Reduces uncertainty
– Aids in decision making
Information Process
• Capturing
• Verifying
• Classifying
• Arranging/sorting
• Summarizing
• Calculating
• Storing Retrieving
• Reproducing
• Dissemination / Communication
Types of Data
• Primary Data
– Data collected for the first time by the researcher
– Techniques include observations, questionnaires, interviews, etc
• Secondary Data
– Data borrowed by the researcher from other sources
Primary data collected by one person may
become the secondary data for another
Types of Data
• Qualitative Data:
– Data that are expressed by a non-numerical property
– For example
• Satisfaction of a customer
• Rich
• Poor
• Quantitative Data:
– Data that are numerically expressed
– For example:
• Weight
• Height
• Income
• Expenditure
Types of Data
• Further more, Quantitative Data are again of two
types:
– Measurements or Scores
– Frequencies
Some terms to be remembered
• Population: All possible observations
• Sample: A portion of population, taken for further
analysis and are used to draw conclusions
• Parameter: Characteristics of whole population
• Statistic: Characteristics of sample and is presumably
measurable
• Variable – Continuous and Discrete
• Constant
• Domain
Secondary Data
• Advantages of Secondary Data
• Disadvantages of Secondary Data
• Sources of Secondary Data
Primary Data
• Two main methods to collect primary data are
Observation and Communication
• OBSERVATION: Advantages and Limitations
• COMMUNICATION: Questionnaire
Questionnaire
• Types of Questionnaire: Structured / Non-
structured – Disguised/Non-disguised
• Designing a Questionnaire:
– Type of information to be collected
– Type of questions – Open ended, Dichotomous and
MCQ
– Phrasing of the questions
– Order of questions
– No. of questions
– Layout of the questionnaire
The Frequency Table: Discrete Series
• Relative Frequency
• Class Limits
• Class Interval
• Class Frequency
• Class mid-point
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Methods of Classifying Data
• Exclusive Method
• Inclusive Method
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Formation of a Grouped Frequency Table
The formation of a frequency distribution table
comprises the following steps:
1. Deciding the appropriate number of class
groupings
2. Choosing a suitable size or width of a class interval
3. Establishing the boundaries of each class interval
4. Classifying the data into the appropriate classes
5. Counting the number of items (i.e. frequency) in
each class.
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Relative Frequency and Percentage Distributions
Frequency
Relative Frequency =
Total Number of observations
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Cumulative Frequency Distribution
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Two-Way and Three-Way Frequency Distribution
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Main Parts of a Statistical Table
Guidelines Regarding Structure of a Table
• Table Number
• Title
• Captions and Stubs
• Main Body of the Table
• Ruling and Spacing
• Head Note
• Footnote
• Source-note 18
