Importance of Data Analysis in a Research
Data analysis is the process of checking, reordering and presenting available data in the form of applicable and understandable information. It is necessary because the researcher should be able to make meaningful deductions and conclusions from the data. It is a very critical part of researching so that the results can be properly used and applied. Students in higher institutions have to do projects in their final year and will have to write thesis. For a thesis write up to be put together accurately, data analysis is a critical part of the research. It is good to know the importance of data analysis in academic research paper.
If a good data analysis is not done, then it could cause a flaw in the application of the research work. It is crucial to know the importance of data analysis in a research paper so that every researcher can do his best to ensure that whatever data obtained during research work is properly analyzed. Of course, in a research work, data could be collected using different means depending on what the research is aiming at and what it is all about, but after the data is collected it is critically important to analyze the data correctly for interpretation and application. It is important to know that regardless of the efforts put into data collection and gathering of results, if the data is not properly analyzed, then it will do no real good.
How necessary?
It is therefore necessary to understand that as important as it is to collect data it is very important to analyze it correctly as well. The very significance of your work or research will be based on how you are able to apply your results to answer your research question or how well your results are able to relate to the problem that you are trying to solve. Many students may not be able to analyze their data by themselves and so may have to give their data to someone who can do the data analysis for them and probably pay the person but the important thing is that whether you are doing the data analysis yourself or you are paying someone to do the data analysis for you, ensure that the data analysis is properly done.
There are software/tools (e.g. SPSS – Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) that are used to analyze data, and this makes it a lot easier to carry out data analysis but the know-how of handling this software programs is another issue. For someone who does not have the know-how of using this data analysis software (e.g. SPSS), he or she may not be able to do it by himself or herself, and we have to pay someone who can do that on his/her behalf.
1. Dependable information
It is an academic world, and every research done is supposed to be something that is reliable and dependable, because some of the papers especially if published may be works that other researchers may later refer to or check up for further research or to collect information. It is therefore important that the analysis of the data done in the work is properly done. Since it is the analyzed data that helps the researcher to interpret his work properly and to be able to make the right deductions and reach the right conclusion about the work, it is important to do it well. The data gotten must be well analyzed and interpreted, that will enable the researcher while putting the paper together to do it correctly and others that will eventually check the paper can be able to have reliable information to work with.
2. Simplifying complex data
The data gotten during research papers could be complex, and this may be very difficult for a researcher to interpret just like that without the data-analysis process. Therefore there will be need for data to be broken down and this is why data analysis is very important because it helps the researcher to break down the data obtained into simpler forms that can be well understood and that the researcher can easily relate with and to make interpretations based on the information derived. This means that the data that is obtained at first before being analyzed is like a crude data that has not been processed but when it has undergone analysis then it is a data that has been processed and then can be useful for the researcher to arrive at decisions and conclusions which can prove significant and useful.
3. Avoiding influence of human bias
Since it is a research paper, it is important that it is credible enough, it must be believable enough and it must be clear that every form of human bias is eliminated and it must be clear also that deductions and interpretations made in the course of the research are purely based on correct statistical treatments of the data gotten and not based on human bias. It is the correct and proper analysis of data that makes the results to be clear enough for people to see and to be able to relate with the decisions and the conclusions of the researcher, as recorded or in the research write-up. This will Grant credibility to the work that is carried out.
4. Helps in further research
Also proper data analysis will enable other researchers who may want to do further work on your research area or in your field of interest to be able to understand your results comprehensively and be able to know the knowledge gap, what questions have been answered, what questions have not been answered and what they can still do further work on as regards your field or line of research. It is therefore important to carry out a proper data analysis not only for the sake of your research but for the sake of other researchers that will want to do further work on what you have done.
5. Helps your audience understand your work
Proper data analysis makes your research paper to be understandable for your audience. It won’t make sense to just do a research work and then you put all the data there, complex, not being well analyzed and not understandable enough for your audience. Data analysis helps to clarify the data that is obtained by observing patterns, analyzing and arranging the data and thereby making the results to be well arrived at. It makes the audience to find it possible to relate with what you are trying to do in your research.
Ensure that you collect sufficient data during your data collection stage. In the instance that data collected is not enough, collect more data that can be adequate so that you can have good statistical power for the data analysis. Going by how important data analysis is in a research work, it is necessary to ensure that after collecting your data, – taking all the effort necessary to collect data, also make sure that you also take all the effort and work needed to do a proper data analysis so that you can be able to make correct and accurate interpretations and conclusion in your research paper. When doing your research, keep the importance of proper data analysis in mind.