FINAL PROJECTS
OVERVIEW OF SURVEY AND DATA
A researcher has administered an anxiety survey to students enrolled in graduate level statistics courses. The survey included three subscales related to statistics anxiety: (a) interpretation anxiety, (b) test anxiety, and (c) fear of asking for help. The survey also included three subscales related to attitude toward statistics. For the items that comprised the scales, students were asked to respond using a 5 point Likert-type scale. Higher scores on the anxiety subscales implied higher levels of anxiety, and higher scores on the attitude subscales implies a more positive attitude toward statistics.
In addition to the statistics anxiety subscales, the survey contained a subscale related to the use of statistical software and a subscale related to self-perceived confidence concerning general computer use. Students responded to items on the statistical software subscale using a response range from (1) Strongly Disagree to (7) Strongly Agree. For the computer confidence subscale, students responded to items using a range from (1) Strongly Disagree to (5) Strongly Agree. For each of these subscales, higher scores implied higher levels of confidence.
The researcher determined the score for each subscale by computing the mean response for the items associated with the subscale. This technique resulted in subscales that had the same possible range and the items that made up the subscale.
A subsample of the researcher’s dataset contains the following variables that should be used for completing the four final projects. You can find this data in the Final Project Folder. The variables included in the dataset are:
Variable name:
Label:
Values:
gender Gender 1: Female
2: Male
race Ethnicity 1: White
2: Non-White
age
courses Number of online courses completed 1: 0-2 courses
2: 3-7 courses
3: 8 or more courses
tca Test and class anxiety
interpret Interpretation anxiety
help Fear of asking for help
worth Worth of statistics
csc Computational self-concept
teacher Fear of statistics teachers
software Confidence in using statistical software
computer Attitude toward computers and the internet
PROJECT 1
First, the researcher wants to get a better understanding of his data. This is always a wise first step. Use SPSS and your knowledge of descriptive statistics to answer the following questions about confidence using statistical software subscale.
Remember to round your answers to the nearest hundredth place for all descriptive statistics. Failure to round will result in a deduction of points.
QUESTIONS
1. (1 pt) What is the value of the sample size for this analysis?
2. (1 pt) What is the mean confidence using statistical software rating for this sample?
3. (1 pt) What is the median confidence using statistical software rating for this sample?
4. (1 pt) What is the mode of confidence using statistical software for this sample?
5. (1 pt) What is the lowest confidence using statistical software rating for this sample?
6. (1 pt) What is the highest confidence using statistical software rating for this sample?
7. (1 pt) What is the value of the range?
8. (1 pt) What is the value of the standard deviation?
9. (1 pt) What is the value of the skewness statistic?
10. (1pt) What is the value of the variance?
11. (1 pt) What is the values of the 25th percentile?
12. (1 pt) What is the value of the 75th percentile?
13. (Bonus 1 pt) Compose a research question relating to your daily life/work that you would be interested in answering with statistics.
14. (6 pts) Present the results as they might appear in an article. This must include a table and narrative statement that provides a thorough description of the central tendency and distribution of the students’ confidence using statistical software.
Note: The table must be created using your word processing program. Tables that are copied and pasted from SPSS are not acceptable.
PROJECT 2
Next, the researcher wants to know if there is a difference in male and female students’ mean computational self-concept. Use SPSS to conduct the analysis that is appropriate for this research question and answer each of the following questions.
If a statistical significance test is used, you should use .05 as the critical level of significance.
Remember to round your answers to the nearest hundredth place for all descriptive statistics. The level of significance should not be rounded. Failure to follow these directions will result in a deduction of points.
QUESTIONS
1. (2pts) What is the appropriate analysis for determining the difference in mean levels of computational self-concept of the two independent groups, female and male students?
2. (1 pt) Write an appropriate null hypothesis for this analysis.
Bonus (1 pt): State an appropriate research hypothesis for this analysis.
3. (2 pts) What are the mean and standard deviation for female students’ ratings of their computational self-concept?
4. (2 pts) What are the mean and standard deviation for male students’ ratings of their computational self-concept?
5. (1 pt) What is the observed or computed value of the test statistic used to determine the difference in the two group’s mean ratings of their computational self-concept?
6. (1 pt) What is the value of the degrees of freedom that are reported in the output?
7. (1 pt) What is the reported level of significance?
8. (1 pt) Based on the reported level of significance, would you reject the null hypothesis?
9. (1 pt) Based on the results of the analysis, is the difference in male and female students’ ratings of their computational self-concept statistically significant?
10. (6 pts) Present the results as they might appear in an article. This must include a table and narrative statement that reports and interprets the results of the analysis.
Note: The table must be created using your word processing program. Tables that are copied and pasted from SPSS are not acceptable.
PROJECT 3
Now, the researcher wants to know if mean student ratings of their fear of asking for help differ based on the number of online courses they have completed. Students have been divided into three groups based on the number of courses they have taken. Those groups are 1) Students who have taken 0-2 courses, 2) Students who have taken 3-7 courses, and 3) Students who have taken 8 or more online courses. Use SPSS to conduct the analysis that is appropriate for this research question and answer each of the questions.
If a statistical significance test is used, you should use .05 as the critical level of significance.
Remember to round your answers to the nearest hundredth place for all descriptive statistics. The level of significance should not be rounded. Failure to follow these directions will result in a deduction of points.
QUESTIONS
1. (2 pts) What is the appropriate analysis for examining differences among the three groups’ mean ratings of their fear of asking for help?
2. (1 pt) Write an appropriate null hypothesis for this analysis.
Bonus (1 pt): State an appropriate research hypothesis for this analysis.
3. (3 pts) What is the mean rating of the fear of asking for help for each group?
4. (3 pts) What is the standard deviation for each group?
5. (1 pt) What is the observed or computed value of the test statistic testing for differences in ratings of the fear of asking for help amongst the three groups?
6. (1 pt) What are the reported degrees of freedom for the Between Groups variance?
7. (1 pt) What are the reported degrees of freedom for the Within Groups variance?
8. (1 pt) What is the reported level of significance?
9. (1 pt) Based on the results of the LSD post hoc test, which groups [if any] reported significantly different levels of fear of asking for help?
10. (4 pts) Present the results as they might appear in an article. This must include a table that reports the results of the analysis and narrative statement that reports and interprets the results of the analysis.
Note: The table must be created using your word processing program. Tables that are copied and pasted from SPSS are not acceptable.
PROJECT 4
Finally, the researcher wants to know if there is a relationship between students’ ages and their reported levels of test and class anxiety. Use SPSS to conduct the analysis that is appropriate for this research question and answer each of the questions.
If a statistical significance test is used, you should use .05 as the critical level of significance.
Remember to round your answers to the nearest hundredth place for all descriptive statistics. The level of significance should not be rounded. Failure to follow these directions will result in a deduction of points.
QUESTIONS
1. (2 pt) What is the appropriate analysis for examining the relationship between students’ ages and their test and class anxiety?
2. (1 pt) Write an appropriate null hypothesis for this analysis.
Bonus (1 pt): State an appropriate research hypothesis for this analysis.
3. (2 pts) What is the mean and standard deviation for students’ reported ages?
4. (2 pts) What is the mean and standard deviation for students’ ratings of their test and class anxiety?
5. (1 pt) What is the value of the statistic representing the relationship between students’ ages and their test and class anxiety?
6. (1 pt) Based on the value of the statistic identified in the previous question, how would you classify the strength of this relationship?
7. (1 pt) Using the same statistic, how would you classify the direction of the relationship?
8. (1 pt) What is the appropriate value for the degrees of freedom?
9. (1 pt) What is the reported level of significance?
10. (2 pts) Based on the level of significance, would you reject the null hypothesis? Why or why not?
11. (4 pts) Present the results as they might appear in an article. This must include a table and narrative statement that reports and interprets the results of your analysis.
Note: The table must be created using your word processing program. Tables that are copied and pasted from SPSS are not acceptable.