ABSTRACT
Once students have collected the data, they will be ready to analyse the results to determine the direction of the study. This chapter describes, with examples, the methods of analysis that are commonly used to summarise and organise the data in a most effective and meaningful way. It focuses on exploratory data analysis. The chapter discusses the descriptive method of analysis, including measurement of central tendency, the normal curve and the frequency distribution. It examines the inferential statistical method of analysis, including the t-test, chi-square test, Spearman ‘rho’ ranking correlation and the product–moment correlation coefficient. Exploratory research is a type of qualitative research and can be described as social or organisational behaviour research which produces results that are not obtained by statistical procedures or other methods of quantification. The instrument or tool that is often used to collect exploratory research data is the open-ended type of questionnaire.
