Scribd
Upload
2 views

02 Presentation and analysis of information

The document discusses various methods for presenting market research data, including tables, pie charts, bar graphs, and line graphs, each with their respective advantages and disadvantages. It also covers the analysis of market research results through measures of central tendency (mean, mode, median) and measures of dispersion (range, inter-quartile range). The document emphasizes the importance of choosing appropriate presentation methods to enhance data interpretation and analysis.

Uploaded by

nyika005
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2 views

02 Presentation and analysis of information

The document discusses various methods for presenting market research data, including tables, pie charts, bar graphs, and line graphs, each with their respective advantages and disadvantages. It also covers the analysis of market research results through measures of central tendency (mean, mode, median) and measures of dispersion (range, inter-quartile range). The document emphasizes the importance of choosing appropriate presentation methods to enhance data interpretation and analysis.

Uploaded by

nyika005
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 8

Presentation and analysis of information

 Market research information is usually presented in the form of a report containing


graphs, charts, tables and diagrams. Careful choice of the method of presentation will
enhance the points being made in the written
 The various ways of presenting data in marketing research include the following:

1. Tables

 A table shows the rows and columns which show any connection between the two
variables.
 It is important to choose appropriate headings for the rows and columns. It is an
effective way of organising large quantities of data.
 An example of a table is given below

Advantages

 It can organise large amounts of data


 Connections between variables is easy to see

Disadvantages

 Not visually interesting


 Quantity of information can be difficult to understand
 The reader may take more time to interpret the data

2. Pie charts
 They are visually attractive and present the data in an easy-to-see way. The data is
broken down into categories.
 The area of each circle/sector occupied by each category is in proportion to the
percentage that category is of the total.

Advantages

 Are visually attractive


 Present the data in an easy-to-see way

Disadvantages

 It only shows one variable


 Only useful for few categories (e.g., 3 – 7)

3. Bar graph

 Show data in the form of vertical or horizontal bars. A bar graph displays data in
separate columns.
 They may show absolute values or percentages. They are also visually attractive.
 Use the data in the table below to draw a bar graph
Advantages

 Visually attractive
 Simple to interpret

Disadvantages

 Difficult to interpret if more than two variables are shown


 Quantity of information can be difficult to understand

4. Line graph

 A line graph is used for showing the way a variable changes over time.
 A line graph plots data as points and joints the points with a line. It is simple and clear
and more than one line can be shown on the same axis to enable a comparison.
 Use the data below to draw a line graph.
Solution

Advantages

 Is visually clear, and also enable comparisons


 It enables forecasting e.g., sales forecasting
 more than one line can be shown on the same axis to enable a comparison.
 shows up seasonal or other fluctuations clearly.

Disadvantages

 possible to be misled by not checking the values of axis

Analysis of market research results/data

 Interpreting and analysing quantitative or numerical data can start with an attempt to
identify key features of the data.
 The important aspects of data are the central tendency and the spread from the highest
to the lowest value.
 Data can be analysed through the following ways through using measures of central
tendency and measures of dispersion.

Measures of central tendency

 Averages are used to indicate something about the central tendency of data
 The types of averages that can be used include the following:

1. Arithmetic mean (or mean)

 an average is calculated by adding all numbers in the set of data and dividing by the
total number of the numbers in the data
 e.g. if there are 20 numbers in a set of data and the total sum of chem all adds co 260
the mean will be 260/20 = 13.
 Used as an indicator of likely sales levels per period of time. This could be used to
help determine re-order levels.

Consider the following example.

Table below contains the results of two small market research surveys. These were conducted
to find out more about the number of hours per week radio listeners tuned in to one particular
radio station. One survey was taken last year and one this year.

Calculate the mean

The mean of the ‘Last year’ results in Table above is 173/20 = 8.65 hours, while the mean of
the ‘This year’ results is 192/20 = 9.6 hours. The mean number of hours per week spent
listening to the station increased from 8.65 to 9.6 hours.

Advantages
 Includes all of the data in its calculation.
 It is the most well-known average; it is widely used and easily understood

Disadvantages

 Affected by one or two extreme results.


 It is commonly not a whole number. For example, If the mean size of shoes sold by a
shoe retailer is 6.38, is this useful for making inventory-holding decisions?

2. Mode

 the mode is the most commonly occurring number in a set of data.


 To identify the mode, the data should be put into ascending or descending order. Then
values that recur will be immediately obvious.
 Could be used for inventory ordering purposes (e.g. a shoe shop would order more
pairs of size 7 shoes than any other size if this is the modal size)

Find the mode in the example above

Solution

The data arranged in ascending order is as follows.

10 hours was the most frequently occurring length of listening time last year.

12 hours was the most frequently occurring response this year.

Advantages

 It is easily observed and no calculation is necessary.


 The result is a whole number and easily understood.
Disadvantages

 It does not consider all of the data, therefore it cannot be used for further statistical
analysis.
 There may be more than one modal result, which could cause confusion.

3. Median

 the median is the middle number when the numbers in a set of data are arranged in
ascending or descending order.
 It divides the data into two equal parts
 Could be used in wage negotiations (e.g. ‘Half of union members earn less than $50
per week’).
 The median item may be identified by using the following formula when the number
of values is an odd number:
( number of values+1 )
2

Advantages

 It is less influenced by extreme results than the mean. So, it is more appropriate than
the mean when there are a few very high or very low results.

Disadvantages

 Calculation from grouped data is complicated.


 When there is an even number of items in the results, its value is approximated

Measures of dispersion

 The measures of dispersion include the following:


1. Range

 It is the difference between the highest and lowest value in a set of data
 It gives an idea of how spread out the data is.

2. Inter-quartile range

 It contains the middle 50% of the data


 It is the number that is one quarter from the lowest value subtracted from the number
that is three quarters towards the highest value
 A high value for the inter-quartile range indicates a more spread of data than a lower
value

You might also like