Page 36 - Mini-Module 11

facts and figures, and then presents some recommendations which
may or may not be related to the findings. This goes on all the time,
because they often have their recommendations firmly laid out even
before they do any research work. Everything else then has to fit in
with those. You have to be different. You have to be analytical and to
use your interpretation of data to inform your recommendations. In
other words, your writing has to be more coherent.
It is true that many leaders experience great difficulty in analysing their
findings. One activity which helps in this regard is to sit down with
another manager and tell him about your findings. Ask him to fire
questions at you and as you answer, note down the main points. You
will probably find that at the end of the exercise, you have sufficient
material to be able to do an effective interpretation.
If you are unable to discuss your work with anyone, then try for a start
simply asking the question 'Why?'
“Why are the students always failing to meet deadlines?”
“Why did the test results dip during that period?”
“Why do teachers feel so pressured?”
It is also helpful to try and convert information to pictures. It is very
easy to do this with things like figures, because you can draw graphs
and charts. Even with other items of data, you may be able to
represent them graphically which will aid your understanding of
relationships. You may, for example, have interviewed a few people to
gather opinions on a matter. Rather than simply work with the straight
written record of what each person said, you can summarise the main
points under predetermined headings and put the opinions of each
interviewee in a separate box. Although it is a very simple process, it
certainly helps when it comes to analysis and interpretation.

Summary

● Present relevant facts and findings.
● Do not colour them with your own opinions.
● Use graphics to simplify information where appropriate.
● Analyse and interpret your data.

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