ata is also a long and quite complicated process. Usually in quantitative research studies there is a huge amount of information which needs to be analyzed. More and more often it is done with the help of the computers. Nowadays there are several computer programmes made for data analysis, such as SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) or SAS (Statistical Analysis System) and others. The usage of these programmes is not very easy and it is better to have some experience in working with them. If a researcher is inexperienced, it can take a long time of him to get used to it; that is why some students prefer to search for help by hiring computer consultant. Data analysis process is one of the final stages and it is recommended to check the data for accuracy before submitting it. The data must be checked very carefully, from the very beginning of typing data, and then different formulas for calculation and results.the data analysis is finished a researcher should take care of the study and keep it a safe place. It is recommended to have several copies of it and also still save the raw material just in case if later he or she decides to wants to have a look at it or show it for the committee. But it is not common to re-analyze the data, it is better not to make any correction after the process is completed.
Selecting a sample
The selection of participants for the research must be well thought-out. The researcher must be very attentive and be able to give good reasons proving his or her decision. The number of participant can be different in accordance to the research scope. If a researcher wants to study the influence of the national curriculum on schools performance, then probably several schools in a municipality or even several municipalities will be involved in the data collection process. But if a researcher is interested in some particular cases, such as life of some celebrities, then even one participant will be enough. One of the criteria for judging research results is population validity; it means that results concluded from the research study can be applicable for the population of the city, region or even state. In order to achieve the real validity, the number if the participants must be sufficient. It is worth remembering that these participants must be chosen randomly, without any privilege. A different way of sampling is a purposeful one. The topic if this study has to sound very narrow, such as Challenges graduate teachers face during their first year . The idea of ​​this research is to know some peculiarities, go into details, and as a result of this the participants will be chosen very carefully, only those who suit the requirements. One more way of arranging a sample is replication logic. It means that a researcher will base the study...
