GUIDANCE FOR NEW RESEARCHERS
ANALYSING AND INTERPRETING YOUR FINDINGS
Analysing research findings
Primary research findings
Once your primary research has been conducted and the results have been gathered in, it is important to organise and make sense of the data in relation to your specific research question/s, objectives and aim/s. What is its significance? What does it really mean? What does it mean to the phenomenon you are researching? What meaning can you make of it?
Organising and analysing the findings
It is important to present the findings in a logical and systematic way. The data can be represented in a variety of formats (appropriate to your discipline, and the methods used for your specific research), including text, diagram, table or even practical components.
In quantitative research, sophisticated software may be used to analyse data, such as SPSS Statistics, but even more basic platforms such as Google forms, Microsoft forms and Survey Monkey will generate pie charts, graphs and other diagrams from surveys that visually represent the data. In practice-based research, this may include making reference to knowledge formed through your own practice – for example, how a particular technique or material behaves, modifications that may be required, applications, or even the feelings that arose through the process, and include images that demonstrate this.
In practice-based research, it is essential to include images or the work in progress in the text, demonstrating how your creative practice has provided new insights that support your research. It should be integral – even inseparable - from the rest of your research.
Take time to reflect upon how the information gained through your primary research provides evidence that supports your research aim or question/s. Perhaps it challenges your original hypothesis, or even contradicts it – but this must be discussed. Are there any patterns, relationships or themes emerging from the data? What are the implications to your research? How reliable is the data? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Analysing the data allows you to gain an unbiased understanding of a phenomenon, that is based on evidence.
Interpreting the findings
After analysing your research, or sometimes in tandem with this, it is crucial to move beyond merely describing the result to actively interpret the findings accurately. How does the information that you have gathered inform your hypothesis? How does it shape your understanding of the phenomenon you are studying? What new insights does it reveal?
The textual analysis and interpretation of your research may be organised under a series of headings or in separate paragraphs. You should make clear reference to the data in explaining how it relates to your research/questions. This may include things like comparing percentages or rankings in quantitative research, or opinions, key points or even quotes that emerged in interviews or focus group conversations.
At this point, it may be appropriate to go back to the literature to contextualise your findings in relation to established theory or previous research. How does the primary/secondary research support/amplify/add to/contradict the other? Make clear statements backed up by evidence from your primary research and supported by reference to literature too, where appropriate.
Acknowledging limitations your data
Were there any limitations to your data collection? For example, a smaller survey completion rate than you would have liked, which makes your results indicative rather than conclusive? This should be acknowledged, with recommendations made for a larger sample in future. Perhaps the number of people completing a survey, or available to interview, was insufficient in providing the robust evidence you needed – in which case additional research will be needed to bolster the data and help you to achieve your research aim.
Next……Summarising your research