Chapter SixData Analysis
After we have collected our data, whether they are in qualitative or quantitative form, we analyze them in order to provide an overview of the information we collected and to test the research expectations or hypotheses we have developed. An important component of all good analysis is to ensure that we establish causality to the greatest extent possible.
Remember from Chapter Two that good causal arguments meet four explicit conditions. For two variables X and Y, where X is believed to cause Y:
- The two concepts must co-vary, meaning that there must be an observable, empirical relationship between the two.
- Changes in X must precede changes in Y in time, which means that they demonstrate the proper temporal order.
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