Textual Presentation of Data: Meaning, Suitability, and Drawbacks

Presentation of Data refers to the exhibition of data in such a clear and attractive way that it is easily understood and analysed. Data can be presented in different forms, including Textual or Descriptive Presentation, Tabular Presentation, and Diagrammatic Presentation.

Textual Presentation

Textual or Descriptive Presentation of Data is one of the most common forms of data presentation. In this, data is a part of the text of the study or a part of the description of the subject matter of the study. It is usually preferred when the quantity of data is not very large. For example, there are 50 students in a class, among them 30 are boys and 20 are girls. This is the data that can be understood with the help of a simple text and no table or pie diagram is required for the same. 

Suitability

Textual Presentation of Data is suitable when the quantity of data is not large. It means that a small portion of data that is presented as a part of the subject matter of study can become useful supportive evidence to the given text. Therefore, instead of saying that the price of petrol is skyrocketing, it can be said that the price of petrol has increased by 20% in the last 2 years, and this statement will be more meaningful and precise. Under textual presentation of data, an individual does not have to support the text with the help of a diagram or table as the text in itself is very small and has few observations. 

Advantages of Textual Presentation of Data

Textual Presentation of Data has the following benefits:

1. It allows the researcher to make an elaborate interpretation of data during the presentation. 

2. A researcher can easily present qualitative data that cannot be presented in tabular or graphical form using the textual presentation of data. 

3. If the data is present in small sets, a textual presentation can be easily used. For example, there are 50 students in a class, among them, 30 are boys and 20 are girls. This is the data that can be understood with the help of a simple text and no table or pie diagram is required for the same. 

Disadvantages of Textual Presentation of Data

Textual Presentation of Data has the following drawbacks:

1. One of the major drawbacks of the textual presentation of data is that it provides extensive data in the form of text and paragraphs which makes it difficult for the user of data to draw a proper conclusion at a glance. This facility is provided in tabular or diagrammatic presentation of data.

2. This method of presenting data is not suitable for large sets of data as these sets contain too many details. 

3. Besides, one has to read through the whole text in order to understand and comprehend the main point of the data.