Once the data has been gathered, it must be put into a form that is suitable for analysis. The major goal of this chapter is to teach students how to do this, by introducing them how to edit, code, enter data, and review tabulations. After this chapter is finished, students will be ready to analyze the gathered data. Checking survey data for completeness, legibility, consistency, and accuracy.
Most important aspect is to eliminate or reduce the number of errors in the raw data.
The process of systematically and consistently assigning each response a numerical score. Key to a good coding system is for the coding categories to be mutually exhaustive and the entire system to be collectively exhaustive. So the researcher must examine results and specify categories for them. All responses must fit into a category, once all responses have been returned. One set codes individual responses.