“Editing, Coding and Tabulation of Data”

EDITING

The process of checking and adjusting responses in the completed questionnaires for omissions, legibility, and consistency and readying them for coding and storage.

Purpose of Editing

1. For consistency between and among responses.

2. For completeness in responses– to reduce effects of item non-response.

3. To better utilize questions answered out of order.

4. To facilitate the coding process.

Basic Principles of Editing:

1. Checking of the no. of Schedules / Questionnaire)2. Completeness (Completed in filling of questions)3. Legibility.4. To avoid Inconstancies in answers.5. To Maintain Degree of Uniformity.6. To Eliminate Irrelevant Responses.

Types of Editing

1. Field Editing • Preliminary editing by a field supervisor on

the same day as the interview to catch technical omissions, check legibility of handwriting, and clarify responses that are logically or conceptually inconsistent.

2. office Editing• Editing performed by a central office staff;

often done more rigorously than field editing.

CODING

• The process of identifying and classifying each answer with a numerical score or other character symbol. • The numerical score or symbol is called a

code, and serves as a rule for interpreting, classifying, and recording data.

•  Identifying responses with codes is necessary if data is to be processed by computer.

• Coded data is often stored electronically in the form of a data matrix - a rectangular arrangement of the data into rows (representing cases) and columns (representing variables) The data matrix is organized into fields, records, and files:

• Field: A collection of characters that represents a single type of data.

• Record: A collection of related fields, i.e., fields related to the same case (or respondent)

• File: A collection of related records, i.e. records related to the same sample

Code Book Construction:

Code design /Coding Frame – It describes the locations of variables and lists of code assignments to the attributes composing those variables It serves two essential functions: It is primary guide used in the coding process. It is the guide for locating variables and interpreting the columns in data file during analysis.

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EXAMPLE

Que; Which magazines do you read? 1. Hindustan Times 2. business standard 3. economic times 4. the Hindu 5. the times of India

Question no. option Range of permissible values

1 Hindustan Times 0 =read, 1= not read

1 business standard 0 =read, 1= not read

1 economic times 0 =read, 1= not read

1 the Hindu 0 =read, 1= not read

1 the times of India 0 =read, 1= not read

TABULATION

Tabulation is the process of summarizing raw data and displaying the same in compact form (i.e., in the form of statistical table) for further analysis When mass data has been assembled, it becomes necessary for the researcher to arrange the same in some kind of concise logical order, which may be called tabulation.

Advantages of Tabulation:

• 1. It simplifies complex data.• 2. It facilitates comparison.• 3. It facilitates computation. • 4. It presents facts in minimum

possible space.• 5. Tabulated data are good for

references and they make it easier to present the information in the form of graphs and diagrams.

Preparing a Table:

• Table number.• Title of the table.• Captions or column headings.• Stubs or row designation.• Body of the table.• Foot notes.• Sources of data.

Requirements of a Good Table:

• statistical enquiry.• easily understandable.• suit the size of the paper.• Rows and columns in a table should

be numbered.• The arrangements of rows and

columns should be in a logical• The rows and columns are separated

by lines.

Type of Tables:

• Simple or one-way table• Two way table• Manifold table

Conclusions