Title: Summary
Course: UGQuants (SSPS) > Section: Beyond data collection and analysis

Summary

At the beginning of this part of the course, we have discussed a diverse range of sources providing funding for research and data collection, the key source being the UK Research Councils, but with significant funding also being provided by UK Government departments, the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the charitable sector and commercial bodies.

We have seen that the task of data collection involves a huge industry beyond academia. Whilst data collection is indeed undertaken by universities and other higher education institutions, it is also very often undertaken by large research agencies. Government departments and agencies, most notably ONS, also undertake extensive data collection with ONS having primary responsibility for the collection of official statistics.

Having considered the topics of survey management systems, we have noted that technological advancements and the development of automatic systems have significantly aided the task of survey management. We have also remarked upon the importance of good data management, including discussion of the value of data sharing and considered how we can ensure that our data is managed efficiently, effectively and securely.

We have looked at a number of important issues to be considered when beginning the task of data analysis. Firstly, we discussed how we might prepare our variables for analysis, for example by recoding response categories or combining or standardising variables. Secondly, we discussed relevant considerations when choosing a method of analysis, namely, the number of variables to be analysed, the level of measurement of our variables and whether we wish to use descriptive or inferential statistics. Finally we considered points of good and bad practice when reporting our findings to help ensure we report results in an accurate and fair manner.

Finally, we have seen that statistical research results can meet diverse public reactions, (mis-)uses and interpretations. Presenting our results in an easily understandable manner - also to a non-academic audience - may reduce the risk of misinterpretation, but our influence in this respect is still limited.