Tips for analyzing and reporting research

After formulating your goals, designing the research instrument, and collecting information, it is time to analyze and report the data. Some things to keep in mind when analyzing and reporting your research:

• Analysis and reporting go hand in hand in practice, while they are actually two different steps that can be done separately. By performing the steps at the same time, you keep the overview and save time.
• Before you start the analysis, it is good to check whether the fieldwork was carried out and recorded correctly. You check whether you have a sufficient response rate (especially for quantitative research), the representativeness of your data and whether you were able to collect adequate information (especially for qualitative research)
• Describe your research group. Especially in quantitative research, you may be asked questions about how you arrived at your conclusions and data.
• The core of the analysis and reporting is answering your sub-questions. Therefore, always consider whether the information also answers the sub-question and whether it adds anything.
• In qualitative research, you're going to group the answers by topic and sub-question. In quantitative methods, you will look at percentages, mean scores, and correlation with a data processing program like excel or spss.
• Determine the suitable form for your report. Consider the report's purpose (to inform, persuade, provoke action, etc.) and who the target group is.
• Make connections between the details and conclusions in your report. Which answers to sub-questions enhance each other? Where do you see links throughout the study? Pull the paragraphs and chapters together with these connections and conclusions.