Advanced Data Analysis Assignment
During this assignment, we will be working on analysis with continuous variables and reviewing reliability and validity in educational research. We will use research examples from the previous assignments in this course.
You can find the following resources on Canvas for this assignment:
- Data set needed to complete Part 1
- Powerpoint/lecture with flow chart (repeat from Assignment 1)
- Powerpoint/lecture regarding analysis of continuous variables
- Survey and data set needed to complete Part 2
Part 1 - Hypothesis Testing
You will use the Course Eval Data.sav file for this part of the assignment. This is the course evaluation data from the social work department for the last three years. For this assignment you will be testing the relationship between two continuous variables to determine both association and causation. When considering the course evaluation data, it seems logical that there would be a relationship between several of the groups of questions. For example, it might be that high Student Rapport and Christlikeness are related to each other in some way. Part of what you need to do with this data set is determine what variables might be associated with each other (meaning that they have some type of relationship and difference in one might be connected to difference in the other).
The other part of what you need to do is determine if responses to one group of questions could be used to predict scores on another group of questions. To that end, you want to respond to the following questions and hypothesis.
RQ1: Is there a relationship between any of the sub-groups of responses on the social work department course evaluations?
RQ2: Can the category Student Motivation be used to predict scores on the category Stimulating Student Interest?
Hypothesis: Scores on the sub-group of student motivation are a useful predictor of scores on the sub-group stimulating student interest.
Directions: Open the data set Course Eval Data.sav in SPSS. Using the data complete the analyses identified below, create tables of your results in Word (using APA formatting requirements), and write a brief analysis of your results.
1. Identify and run the appropriate statistical test to compare course evaluation results between two of the groups of questions (e.g. Student Rapport and Christlikeness) that seem likely to have a relationship (Hint: sometimes correlation and association are used interchangeably). What are the results?
2. Identify and run the appropriate statistical test to test the predictive relationship between Student Motivation and Stimulating Student Interest (Hint: you will also want to assess the assumptions associated with this test). What are the results?
3. After all analysis has taken place, write a paragraph summarizing the results of your study, including whether or not your research hypothesis is supported.
Part 2 - Reliability & Validity
For this portion of the assignment you will again use the data gathered by a group of NNU faculty (Werth, Werth, & Hill, 2012) which addressed technology barriers and use among Idaho teachers. A total of 197 teachers completed the survey. The SPSS data file and the Word file with the original survey are both included in the module for this assignment.
Directions: Open the data set in SPSS and view the survey in Word. Using the data complete the analyses identified below, create tables of your results in Word (using APA formatting requirements), and write a brief analysis of your results. Some materials are included and linked below to assist you in completing this assignment.
1. Calculate Cronbach's alpha for the Confidence Survey-18 questions (include "Descriptive" data including: Item, Scale, Scale of Item Deleted, and Correlations). What are the results?
2. Calculate Cronbach's alpha for the Positives and Negatives of the Use of Educational Technology-17 questions (include same "Descriptive" data as above). What are the results?
3. In 2 well-constructed paragraphs, provide an overview of internal consistency or reliability and the results from your analyses. You should mention Cronbach's alpha in your discussion. Please use a minimum of three references to support your discussion.
4. Include a final page with your references formatted in APA 6th edition. My hope is that much of this assignment could be taken and added to your dissertation if you need discussion points on internal consistency / reliability.
Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar