Statistics Question

Assignment Week 4Introduction
This assignment will also prepare you for conducting your own research by strengthening your ability to
write research questions and create an analysis using what you learned in 734 (don’t feel pressured to
use the advanced tests introduced in 834).
Data Set
For the part of this assignment that requires a data set, you will choose one we have used in class or one
of your own.
PART A:
Writing Quality Research Questions
When writing your research questions, keep these three things in mind in addition to the
suggestions from other resources including the Dissertation Handbook:
1. Elevate your questions beyond those that only require a yes/no response. Rather than
“Is there a relationship…,” consider “What is the relationship….”
2. Make sure that the variables or metrics indicated by your question are not only
measurable but also something that you can measure or some measure that you can
obtain. For example, “How well did students learn?” is not a good question because you
can’t measure “learning” itself – you can measure test scores, grades, facts recalled, etc,
but learning is not measurable.
3. Don’t overcomplicate the question making the analysis too difficult or requiring too
much of your resources. Try and simplify your question so that they can be handled
with an analysis that you have seen in your courses (especially 734) or an analysis that
you can follow from a similar article.
Instructions
Select TWO of the sample research questions below, re-writing it as a better articulated RQ.
Afterward, write a one-paragraph description that identifies the variables, what statistical test is
to be used, and why that test is the most appropriate. Incorporate within the paragraph what
the results of the analysis of your RQ would indicate. Have at least one citation (peer-reviewed
and/or textbook) to support your choice of test.
Research Question Options
1. Is there a difference in reading performance between students who were given directed
reading activities and students who were not given directed reading activities?
2. Is there a difference between pre and post-reading performance after a treatment
participated in a reading intervention?
3. Is there a difference in attitudes towards alcohol based on types of advertisements for
alcohol?
4. Is there a difference in attitudes towards alcohol based on positive, neutral, or negative
types of advertisement for alcohol?
5. Is there a difference in depression when accounting for age (covariant) between
religious groups?
6. Is there an interaction effect of time (Pre to post-test) and gender (male/female) on
state reading scores after children participated in a reading intervention program?
7. Is there a difference between bachelor’s master’s and Doctoral degree graduates in
stress (1) and resiliency (2) scores?
PART B:
Practice an Analysis on your Own
For part B, you will choose a data set, write a research question, perform the appropriate
analysis, and write the result in the same form we have been.
Directions for responding to a Research Question
1. An introductory sentence about which test(s) will be used and what indicated
that it was the correct test.
2. A stated null and alternative hypothesis.
3. The output from JASP (You will copy and paste the output table in Appendix A)
4. A conclusion in paragraph form that includes the decision you made, APA
formatted reporting of your statistics, and a final statement about your findings
as it relates to the research question. (2-3 sentences are fine)
Instructions
You will perform an analysis similar to those from Week 2 and 3 or your previous 734 course.
Keep this simple and short – this is not a Chapter Four writing exercise. This is just a review of
conducting an analysis.
1. Choose a data set (from this course, from 734, or one of your own)
2. Write a research question relevant to the chosen data set for which you can and know
how to conduct a statistical analysis.
3. Choose and run the appropriate statistical test for the research question.
4. Write a short response to the analysis in the following format:
a. Introduction – 2-3 sentences identifying and describing the data set
b. Research Question
i. Write the research question
ii. Follow the steps above, “Directions for responding to a Research
Question” (include reporting your stats here)
c. Summary – 1 to 3 sentences summarizing the finding (no statistics here)
d. Appendix – paste your output tables here