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Foundation e-Learning · EL-113 Research & data

Data Analysis and Report Writing.

Eighty minutes on analysing what came back, and writing it up so it holds.

Longest research module Recommended before coding
01 Why it matters

Expect the figures to be challenged

Consultation is not a vote; the data collected is a means of informing decision-makers of what different types of people think, and how strongly they think it.

But this does not mean that such data should be any less robust. When a consulting organisation publishes data, then, it should expect it to be challenged, and should ensure that the data itself is robust enough to resist such challenges.

Eighty minutes, self-paced, and the longest of the research modules. It comes after collection and sampling and after question design, and tCI recommends it before coding free-text answers. For the same ground worked through with a trainer, there is an intermediate course.

02 Topics include

What the course covers

Five topics, in the order the work happens.

01
Data typesWhat you are holding, and what that permits you to do with it. The distinction decides which comparisons are legitimate and which averages mean anything. Getting it wrong at this stage invalidates everything built on top.
02
Quantitative and qualitative analysisThe two routes through the material, at intermediate depth. Neither is treated as the senior partner. Statistical work covers what the numbers will and will not support, and the qualitative side covers how to handle free text without either drowning in it or reducing it to a count.
03
Combining dataUsing both together without letting one overstate the other. Numbers give the scale of a view, comments give its reasoning, and a report that leads with one and buries the other misrepresents the consultation.
04
ModelsFrameworks for turning findings into something a decision-maker can act on. A structure to hang findings on, so the report argues instead of listing. Without one, a long analysis leaves the reader to do the synthesis themselves.
05
Reports and formatStructuring the write-up so the findings survive being read quickly. Most readers will look at the summary and the headings only, so those have to carry the argument. The full analysis still has to be there for anyone who challenges it later.
By the end of the session you understand
✓

How to analyse different types of data, including an intermediate-level look at statistical analysis

✓

Qualitative outputs at a general level

✓

How to use both qualitative and quantitative outputs in tandem

✓

How to write an output report that suits a consultation exercise

03 Who is this course for?

People already analysing data.

This course is aimed at those at an operational level who are likely to be analysing data, but who have had no formal training in this.

05Before you enrol

Common questions

Anything not covered here, ask us.

01

How long does the course take?

Approximately 80 minutes, the longest of the e-learning research modules. It is self-paced, so you can stop and return, and your place is remembered.
02

Where does it sit against the other research modules?

Third. Collecting Information settles what you gather and from whom, Surveys and Questionnaires settles the wording, and this one covers what you do with the answers. tCI recommends taking it before Creating a Coding Frame.
03

How statistical does it get?

Statistics are treated at intermediate depth, qualitative material at a general level, and there is a section on using the two together. No particular piece of software is taught.
04

Does it cover the report itself?

Yes. Reports and format is the fifth of the five topics, and it is one of the four things the course sets out to leave you understanding.
05

Should I take this or the taught course?

This one for the methods on your own time. The intermediate course if you have results in front of you and want a trainer working through the analysis and the report with you.
06

How do I pay?

Pay by credit card when you book, or email contact@consultationinstitute.org if you prefer to be invoiced.
07

How many CPD points does it carry?

Five tCI CPD points, logged against your record when you finish, along with a certificate of completion.

Analysis that stands up when it is questioned

£140 for a single licence, five CPD points, and a certificate at the end.

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