CHAPTER 3
COLLECTING AND ENTERING DATA
Regardless of what type of medical or public health study is performed, the resulting
data are going to need to be analyzed. The data from the study will need to be entered
into a statistical program unless the sample size is very small. This chapter will serve
as a brief introduction to the steps in data collection in general and by the different
types of studies will serve as a guide to what data to collect, how it is collected,
pretesting of the collection process, entering the data, pre-screening the data, and
making a code book.
In Section 3.1 we discuss the initial steps in planning a study, in Section 3.2 we
discuss data entry, in Section 3.3 we discuss screening the data, and in Section 3.4
we describe how to make a code book.
3.1 INITIAL STEPS
First the investigators need to determine the purpose of the study. A clearly written
statement of objectives of the study is essential. Some researchers find it useful to
write out a short draft of what they expect their conclusions to be, to help ensure
that they obtain the needed information. The study investigators should discuss these
objectives, draft conclusions, and reach agreement on them. Then decisions need
Basic Statistics: A Primerfor the Biomedical Sciences, Fourth Edition.
By Olive Jean Dunn and Virginia A. Clark
Copyright @ 2009 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.
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