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Course:
VE 108 Assessment and Evaluation in Values Education

Topic:
10. Data Analysis and Interpretation

10.1. Quantitative data analysis techniques

10.2. Qualitative data analysis techniques
10.3. Interpreting and reporting assessment and evaluation results

Lecture Notes

What is Data Analysis?

Data analysis is described “as the process of bringing order, structure, and
meaning” to the collected data. The data analysis aims to unearth patterns or
regularities by observing, exploring, organizing, transforming, and modeling the
collected data.

It is a systematic approach to applying statistical techniques for describing,

exhibiting, and evaluating the data. It helps drive meaningful insights, form
conclusions, and support the decision-making process. This process of
converting data, ordering, and summarizing it also gets answers to questions to
test if the hypothesis holds. Exploratory data analysis is a huge part of data
analysis. It is to understand and discover the relationships between the variables
in the data.

There are several data analysis tools available. Some of those are:

Python Power BI Solver

SAS R OpenRefine
Apache Spark Tableau NodeXL
QlikView Microsoft Excel io
KNIME RapidMiner

There are five types of data analysis:

1. Descriptive Analysis: What has happened?

Descriptive Analysis, as the name says, describes the data. The foundation step
simply looks at the past data and tells what has happened in the past. It captures
and summarizes the past using measures of central tendency, measures of
dispersion, visualizing using dashboards. This analysis helps understand how
the data is present and does not make any predictions or answers why something
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has happened. It is useful for generating reports, tracking Key Performance

Indicators (KPIs), sales leads, and revenue reports.

2. Diagnostic Analysis: Why has it happened?

After identifying what has happened, the next logical step in the process is to
find the answer to why something has happened. Diagnostic analysis helps dig
further by creating detailed, informative, dynamic, and interactive dashboards
to answer that. It separates the root cause of the problem and identifies the
source of the patterns. It is also useful in anomaly detection. And the factors
that affect the business. It can be applied to determine which factors led to
improvement in sales.

3. Predictive Analysis: What is likely to happen?

After detecting the root cause of the problem and understanding the causal
relationship between the variables, one would want to know if the event is likely
to happen again? Predictive analysis is all about that. It predicts the likelihood
of an event, forecasting any measurable amount, risk assessment, and
segmenting customers into groups. Since it forecasts the occurrence of an event,
it employs probability. Along with the previous summarized and root cause
analysis, the models use statistics and machine learning algorithms for
predicting future outcomes.

4. Prescriptive Analysis: How to make it happen?

The prescriptive analysis is result-oriented. It collaborates the learnings from the
what, why has happened with what is likely to happen to help with what
measures to maximize the primary business metrics. It prescribes the best
course of action, strategies. The prescriptive analysis is not predicting one
individual standalone event but a collection of future events using simulation
and optimization. It is heavily applied in the financial, social media, marketing,
and transportation domains. Its uses are varied from recommending products or
movies to suggesting which strategies to use to reap maximum returns and
minimize risk.

5. Cognitive Analysis: Mimicking the human brain to carry out tasks

This advanced type of analysis aims to mimic a human brain to perform tasks
like a human does. It combines technologies such as artificial intelligence,
semantics, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms. It learns and even
generates data using the already available data and retrieves features and hidden
patterns. Real-time data cognitive analysis is heavily employed in image
classification and segmentation, detection of objects, machine translations,
virtual assistants, and chatbots.

What is Data Interpretation?

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Once the data has been analyzed, the next progressive step is to interpret the
data.

Data interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to the processed and

analyzed data. It enables us to make informed and meaningful conclusions,
implications, infer the significance between the relationships of variables and
explain the patterns in the data.

Explaining numerical data points and categorical data points would require
different methods; hence, the different nature of data demands different data
interpretation techniques.

There are two primary techniques available to understand and interpret the
data:

1. Quantitative, and
2. Qualitative

Quantitative data analysis Qualitative data analysis

Based on close-ended question, like Based on open-ended question that let

multiple choice, yes/no, rating scales, participants respond in their own
and checkboxes words

Uses numerical data to provide Uses descriptive or behavioral data to

insights into question like “what”, provide insights into questions like
“how many, or “how often” “why”

More objective in nature because it’s More subjective in nature since it’s
based on facts based on options

Best for quick answer from large Best for contextual insights from small
sample sizes and medium sample sizes

10.1. Quantitative data analysis techniques

Quantitative data analysis is the process of analyzing and interpreting numerical

data. It helps you make sense of information by identifying patterns, trends, and
relationships between variables through mathematical calculations and
statistical tests.
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● Descriptive analysis this type of analysis is mostly observational, i.e., the

analyst observes the area of study, collects data, and develops insights.
There is not much technical aspect here, except in the compilation and
differentiation of data. It helps measure a variable, and to an extent, it is
possible to establish relationships between two variables. Descriptive
analysis is used in case studies or mostly for understanding the present
situation of the analysts' field of study. For example, how do teenagers
react to a strict reduction in screen time at home? Or what are the
unemployment patterns in a country? These questions need to be
answered.
● Correlational analysis in this method, analysts establish the correlation
between multiple variables. It quantifies how a change in one variable can
alter the other dependent variables. The correlational analysis is a type of
descriptive analysis, as its scope only extends to studying the relationship.
Such a type of analysis can be used in understanding the improvement in
living standards when per capita income increases by a certain amount or
the increase in sales of a particular product when a new version of its
complementary product is introduced. The correlational analysis doesn't
require complex tools. Small amounts of data can be analyzed with simple
excel tools.
● Quasi-experimental analysis also known as causal-comparative analysis,
it evaluates data and establishes the cause-effect relationship between
multiple variables. Therefore, it is more complex than descriptive and
correlational analyzes. In addition, such a study would require the
participation of different study groups. It studies why two variables show
a certain relationship. For example, how do gender and culturally diverse
decision-making groups come up with better decisions? Or, why does the
Russia-Ukraine war change the consumption patterns of people globally?
These questions need to be studied.
● Experimental analysis in this type of analysis, the analyst or
experimenter first develops a hypothesis. Then, study groups are formed
with diverse participants. The method is very complex and time-
consuming. It uses scientific approaches to test the hypothesis by
employing vast amounts of data and other inputs. Examples of this
analysis include proving a hypothesis that encouraging creativity in the
workspace can increase employees' productivity.

10.2. Qualitative data analysis techniques

Qualitative data analysis refers to the systematic process of examining and

interpreting non-numerical data to gain meaningful insights and generate new
knowledge.
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● Content Analysis Content analysis is a systematic and objective approach

to analyzing data by categorizing, coding, and quantifying specific words,
themes, or concepts within a text. It involves identifying patterns,
frequencies, and relationships in the content, which can be textual, visual,
or auditory.
● Narrative analysis focuses on interpreting and understanding the stories
and personal narratives shared by individuals. Researchers analyze the
structure, content, and meaning of these narratives to gain insights into
how individuals make sense of their experiences, construct identities, and
communicate their perspectives.
● Discourse analysis examines the social, cultural, and power relations that
shape language use in different contexts. It focuses on the ways in which
language constructs and reflects social reality, identities, and ideologies.
● Grounded theory is an approach to qualitative analysis that aims to
develop theories and concepts grounded in data. It involves iterative data
collection and analysis to develop an inductive theory that emerges from
the unstructured data itself.
● Thematic analysis is a widely used method in qualitative data analysis
that involves identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns or themes
within data. It is a flexible approach that can be applied across a variety
of qualitative data, such as interview transcripts, survey responses, and
observational notes.

10.3. Interpreting and reporting assessment and evaluation results

Interpreting and Reporting Assessment and Evaluation Results

Interpreting and reporting assessment and evaluation results is a crucial step in

the assessment process. It involves analyzing the data collected, drawing
meaningful conclusions, and communicating these findings effectively to
stakeholders. This process helps educators make informed decisions about
instruction, student learning, and program effectiveness.

Key Steps in Interpreting and Reporting Assessment and Evaluation

Results:

Data Analysis: This step involves organizing and analyzing the collected data to
identify patterns, trends, and significant findings. Techniques like descriptive
statistics, inferential statistics, and qualitative analysis can be used depending
on the type of data collected.

Interpretation: Once the data is analyzed, educators must interpret the findings
in relation to the assessment goals and objectives. This involves drawing
conclusions about student learning, program effectiveness, and areas for
improvement.
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Reporting: The final step involves communicating the results to stakeholders in

a clear, concise, and accessible manner. Reports should be tailored to the
specific audience and include relevant information like assessment goals, data
analysis, interpretations, and recommendations.

Importance of Effective Interpretation and Reporting:

Informed Decision-Making: Accurate interpretation and reporting provide

educators with valuable insights to inform instructional decisions, program
modifications, and student support strategies.

Accountability and Transparency: Reporting assessment results ensures

accountability and transparency, demonstrating the effectiveness of educational
programs and interventions.

Student Growth and Development: By analyzing and reporting assessment

data, educators can track student progress, identify areas of need, and tailor
instruction to support individual learning goals.

Stakeholder Engagement: Effective reporting fosters communication and

collaboration with stakeholders, including parents, administrators, and
community members.

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References
✔ AnalytixLabs. (n.d.). Data Analysis and Interpretation.
https://www.analytixlabs.co.in/blog/data-analysis-and-interpretation/
✔ GetThematic. (n.d.). Methods of Qualitative Data Analysis.
https://getthematic.com/insights/methods-of-qualitative-data-analysis/
✔ Wall Street Mojo. (n.d.). Quantitative Analysis.
https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/quantitative-analysis/
✔ Assessment and Evaluation in Education by Linn, R. L., & Gronlund, N.
E. (2011). Pearson Education.
✔ Educational Assessment for the 21st Century by Popham, W. J. (2014).
Pearson Education.