Data processing is generally the collection and manipulation of items of data to produce meaningful information (Watson, 2015). In this sense it can be considered a subset of information processing, the change (processing) of information in any manner that is detected by an observer (Brannen, 2017). Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming and modelling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusion and supporting decision making (Watson, 2015). The study will involve the collection of primary data right from the field.
The raw data will be edited to improve its quality through data coding whereby the categories of data are transformed into symbols that may be tabulated and counted (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). The study will make use of both the descriptive and inferential data analysis. Descriptive data analysis will quantitatively describe the main features of a collection or set of data whereas inferential data analysis uses a relatively small sample of data to say something about a bigger population (Watson, 2015). In descriptive analysis, the mean, median, mode, percentage frequency and range of data will be calculated (Watson, 2015).
Inferential statistics will then be carried out to generalize the results of the entire population or target group (Rahi, 2017). These analyses and show the relationship between several different variables (Rahi, 2017). The analyzed data will then be presented in form of frequency distribution tables and graphical methods such as bar graphs, line graphs and pie charts. This will make data easier to understand and also improves visual impression (Watson, 2015).
The study will adopt the statistical models such as the regression model using linear regression analysis to establish the impact of supply chain management on SMEs’ financial performance. Correlation analysis will also be carried out to determine the strength and the direction of the relationship between the dependent variables and the independent variables. The linear regression equation will take the form: