SOFTWARE FOR BUSINESS
AND RESEARCH
Module 1
MODULE – 1
DATA ANALYSIS
Data – meaning and definition
Sources of data
Data life cycle
Data processing
Methods and types of data processing
Electronic data processing
Information
Value of information in decision making
Information and Analysis of Business research
Data processing software
DATA
• Data is a collection of facts, such as numbers, words, measurements,
observations or just description of things.
• Data is used in all forms of human, organizational activity. E.g., in
business field (e.g., sales data, revenue, profits, stock price),
governance (e.g., unemployment rates, literacy rates) etc.
• Data may be in different forms like text, graphics, images, video, sound,
numbers etc.
Definition
• Data can be defined as a “a representation of facts, concepts or
instructions in a formalized manner, which should be suitable for
communication, interpretation or processing by human or electronic
machine”
• Data collection involves the use of Information Technology (IT)
comprising: computers and telecommunications networks (E-Mail,
Voice Mail, Internet, Telephone etc.)
SOURCES OF DATA
Internal data External data
Internal data source arises from the It may come from trade publications,
government statistics, surveys etc.
routine data processing activity in the
organisation and it summarises the
organisations operations.
It includes records like file records,
documents, reports etc.
DATA LIFE CYCLE
• The data lifecycle begins with a researcher developing a concept for a study; once
the a study concept is developed, data is collected for that data.
• The data life cycle represents all the stages of data through its life from its creation
for a study to its distribution.
STAGES OF DATA LIFE CYCLE
1. Data creation
2. Storage
3. Data analysis
4. Reporting
5. Archival
6. Data purging
[Link] CREATION
• The first phase of data life cycle is the data creation/capture of data.
• This data can be in many forms e.g. PDF, image, word document.
• Data is typically created in 3 ways.
• Data acquisition - acquiring already existing data.
• Data entry – manual entry of new data.
• Data capture – capture of data generated by various devices.
2. STORAGE
• Once data has been created, it need to be stored and protected, with appropriate
level of security applied.
• Data can be stored in the form of hard copy or soft copy.
• Data can be viewed, processed, modified and saved.
3. DATA ANALYSIS
• The stored data is analysed by adopting various statistical tools.
• Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation, Correlation etc.
4. REPORTING
• Present the analysed the data in the form of a report for meaningful presentation.
5. DATA ARCHIVING
• A data archive is simply a place where data is stored, but where no maintenance or
general usage occurs.
• If necessary, the data can be restored to an environment where it can be used.
6. DATA PURGING
• Every copy of data already archived will be deleted, to prevent misuse and
overloading
DATA PROCESSING
Data processing is the process of converting raw data into a usable information. E.g.
graphs, documents.
Any manipulation of data such as arithmetic operations, classifying, sorting etc. is
called data processing.
Data processing is defined as “the collection and manipulation of items of data to
produce meaningful information.”
DATA PROCESSING METHODS
1. Batch processing
2. Real time processing
3. Data mining
4. Statistical processing
1. BATCH PROCESSING
• Batch processing is the basic form of data processing.
• It is the form of processing transactions in a group or batch.
• It is useful when the business enterprise has a large volume of data which require
only basic processing.
2. REAL-TIME PROCESSING
• Real-time processing involves continuous input, process and output of data.
• It processes in a short period of time.
• Real-time processing is done for smaller volume of data and is done continuously.
• E.g. Bank ATM
[Link] MINING
• Data mining is defined as a process used to extract usable data from a large set of
data from multiple sources.
• Generally data from different sources are combined, analysed and checked for
correlations.
• The information obtained from data mining process can used to increase revenue,
increase sales, cut costs, improve customer relationships, reduce risks and more.
4. STATISTICAL PROCESSING
• Statistical processing involves advanced analysis of data.
• It involves use of statistical methods to derive meaningful conclusions.
• E.g. mean, standard deviation , regression, hypothesis testing.
ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING
• The processing of data using electronic devices.
• It refers to the use of automated methods to process commercial data.
• It uses relatively simple, repetitive activities to process large volume of similar
information.
• E.g. laptop, smart phones, servers, hard drives, survey equipment etc.
STEPS IN ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING
1. Identifying the data – locating the data sources.
2. Designing forms – forms for entering data
3. Data entry – entering of data inputs
4. Data validation – checking the accuracy and quality of data before using.
5. Data storage
6. Data processing
7. Report generation and communication – charts , graphs, presentations.
INFORMATION
• Information is the data that have been processed and used for decision making.
• Data is the raw material for producing meaningful information.
• The relation of data to information is that of raw material to finished product.
VALUE OF INFORMATION IN DECISION
MAKING
• The value of information is determined by its importance to the decision maker or to
the outcome of the decision being made.
• Value of information is divided into
Value of perfect information – resolve the uncertainty and right decision can be
made.
Value of imperfect information – will not able to completely resolve the uncertainty
and there is chance to still make a wrong decision.
INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS
RESEARCH
• Business research the first step that any business owner needs to set up his business, to
survive or to excel in the market.
• It is significant for the following reasons:
Business research will help business to identify opportunities and threats.
Risk and uncertainties can be minimized by conducting business research in advance.
Such a research can help track competition in the business sector.
It helps to understand customers better.
Financial outcomes and investments that will be needed can be planned effectively using
business research.
DATA PROCESSING SOFTWARE
Benefits of data processing software
Speed, accurate and more reliable information
Cost is reduced
Yields better results and productivity
Report making is simplified
Storage and distribution is easy when data is processed
MOST POPULAR DATA PROCESSING
SOFTAWARES
• Hadoop – Apahe Hadoop tool is a big data framework which allows distribution of
large data processing across various connected computers.
• Cloudera – Cloudera is one of the fastest, easiest and highly secure data analysis
platform. It allows a user to transfer data across any platform, no matter what the
environment is.
• Qubole – Qubole is an autonomous big data management platform. It is slef-
optimized, self managed data processing tool which allows the analytical team to
focus more on business outcomes. The best about Qubole is to avoid repetitive
manual functions.