Begin by identifying a potential research topic/issue of personal interest as the basis for a fictitious study.
Create a fictitious study, including the following components in APA format: 1) introduction, 2) statement of the problem, 3) purpose of the study, 4) a research question with corresponding hypotheses (null and alternative), 5) research method, 6) findings, 7) conclusions, 8) references, and 9) appendix.
The introduction section should involve a brief (1-page) background of the topic to be researched with at least three recent (within the past 5 years) peer-reviewed sources.
Statement of the Problem
The statement of the problem should be an abbreviated problem statement involving one sentence, beginning with "The problem is..." It should not indicate the intent or the purpose of the study; keep the focus only on the problem to be researched within your fictitious study.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study should be an abbreviated purpose statement involving one sentence, such as "The purpose of this quantitative (design) study is to..." (e.g., The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental group-comparison study is to...). Ensure your purpose statement is closely aligned with your problem statement in content and wording. Keep the focus on the intent or purpose of the study, not on the problem to be addressed.
Research Question and Hypotheses
The research question should indicate what your fictitious study will attempt to address. Your research question should be a question eliciting more than a yes/no response. Avoid beginning your research question with yes/no wording such as "do," "does," or "will." Your research question should be formatted to clearly indicate what you are addressing (e.g., a relationship, an effect). Ensure your research question, null and alternative hypotheses, purpose statement, and problem statement are all aligned in content and wording. Be sure to use the following format:
Q1. State your research question here.
Ho: State your null hypothesis here.
Ha. State your alternative hypothesis here.
Research Method
The research method section should begin by noting the quantitative research methodology and corresponding design used to collect data (e.g., A quantitative quasi-experimental group comparison approach was used to...), followed by a description of the targeted larger population, the sample size and how the sample was identified from the larger population, what data were collected, the data collection procedure, and how data were analyzed noting the specific statistical analysis procedures used. Your statistical analysis of the collected data should involve descriptive and inferential statistics resulting in a test for statistical significance. Generate a mock set of data to include at least 50 sample participants and at least three variables (at least one of these variables must involve interval or ratio data, and at least one of these variables must involve ordinal or nominal data).
Findings
The findings section should involve an explanation of the SPSS results from the statistical analyses conducted on the collected fictitious data combined with at least one table or figure.
Conclusions
The conclusions section should involve a discussion of how the statistical results could be applied to the larger population.
References
The reference section should include all of the peer-reviewed sources cited in your fictitious study.
Appendix
The appendix section should include the actual fictitious data set used in your fictitious study and all of the copied and pasted SPSS output.
Support your assignment with at least five scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.
12-15 pages, not including title and reference pages