75 Summary

In this chapter, we discussed the presentation of quantitative data in your theses and highlighted some of the most popular quantitative techniques used in the social sciences. We note that quantitative data analysis involves examining many variables, but we cannot overemphasize the importance of carefully selecting the variables that will enable you to best answer your research question. We also caution you to justify how you process the data (e.g., re-coding) and the techniques chosen, noting the assumptions and limitations. Remember, if your approach is different from how other researchers have done similar research, you should explain why. Finally, it is important to remember that the goal of quantitative data analysis is to answer research questions based on numerical data. Hence, you must interpret and draw conclusions from the data presented. Your analysis will not be complete unless your readers understand the practical relevance of the findings.