What is Analyzing?
The origin of the word ‘analyze’ is in Greek. It comes from the words ‘ana’ and ‘luein’ which can be loosely translated as ‘up’ and ‘loosen’. The word ‘analein’ became ‘analusis’, which later became ‘analysis’ and got integrated into the English language.
Analyzing is the process of examining something to understand it better. To do this, if there is a large sum of data, it can be broken down to be solved better. Analysis is done to gain a larger perspective on a given situation. Analyzing is deeply connected to academic research. The first step academics and researchers take while dealing with a topic they need to get to the bottom of is analyzing it.
Analyzing something needs to be done objectively. This is because basic needs to be neutral so that complex arguments can be built upon that solid foundation. If the analysis itself is subjective, the result could go haywire. An analysis is a difficult and intense process because of the work that needs to be put in, and the care that needs to be taken while doing it.
What is Evaluating?
The word evaluating has roots in two languages; French and Latin. Its French origin comes from the word ‘Évaluation’, which means the action of appraising or valuing something. The Latin origin is ‘valere’, which means to be strong, be worth, be of value.
Evaluating includes the process of determining the value of something. One evaluates something to find out its feasibility, quality and its worth. Evaluation is a process that is done after analysis. It is the process of conclusion, to make subjective arguments based on the analysis previously done. It does not find new things about the data, it merely interprets the data in whichever way the person prefers.
There are two types of evaluation; formative evaluation and summative evaluation. When data is examined and the required skill sets for it are obtained, that is formative evaluation. When there is a goal to be achieved and evaluation includes checking if the goal has been met, that is summative evaluation.
Difference Between Analyzing and Evaluating
- Analyzing involves interpreting data, but evaluating is determining the significance of this data.
- To analyze something, we need to understand different components of something without any judgements. To evaluate something, we need to make a value judgement about it.
- Analyzing is concerned with the implications and meanings of given data, so it has to be objective. Evaluation is concerned with understanding data quality, so it naturally has to be subjective.
- As it helps identify connections, analyzing is used extensively during academic research. Evaluating is not related to identifying relations and is used less in academic research.
- The process of analyzing is a longer and more complicated one, involving a difficult thinking process. Evaluating is easier, as it deals with concluding a subject matter.
- In analyzing, there is no need for the study to have a conclusion. While evaluating however, everything relies on a conclusion. It is essential for an evaluation to have a result.
Comparison Between Analyzing and Evaluating
| Parameters of Comparison | Analyzing | Evaluating |
| Sequence of events | Analyzing is the first step to take while studying something. | Evaluating is a step taken after analyzing something. |
| Inference | For analyzing, inference involves meanings, justifications and implications. | Inference from evaluating involves subjective quality assessments. |
| Results obtained | The expected result would be information that leaves room for interpretation. | The result of a good evaluation would be assessing standard and quality. |
| Subjectivity/Objectivity | Analysis should not be subjective, as it could become unhelpfully biased. | Evaluation always ends up being biased, as it reflects the beliefs of humans. |
| Process | The process of analyzing is longer and complicated as it has to study data. | The process of evaluating is shorter as it just needs to provide a conclusion. |
| Key words associated | Examine, compare, relate, categorize. | Assess, judge, rate, critique. |