PG 8014 Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
Hello, dear friend, you can consult us at any time if you have any questions, add WeChat: daixieit
PG 8014
Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
ASSIGNMENT 2
Question 1
a) Explain what a correlational study is. [3 Marks]
b) Find a dataset online. Develop a correlational research topic based on the available variables in the dataset found. [You are required to use the same dataset for questions (i) to (iv)]
i. Briefly explain your topic. State explicitly the two variables of interest in this correlational topic. [4 Marks]
ii. Illustrate a conceptual framework for your topic. [3 Marks]
iii. Explain the difference between continuous and discrete variables. Based on the variables list, identify ONE continuous and ONE discrete variable. [4 Marks]
iv. Using SPSS, perform appropriate analysis to investigate the correlation between the two variables you have identified in part (i). Copy and paste the SPSS output table and interpret your results. [6 Marks]
Question 2
a) Identify ONE main construct in your field of interest.
i. List down the five possible sub-constructs. [5 Marks]
ii. For one of the sub-constructs, write down 5 items that can measure the specified sub- construct with a suggestion on the range of responses for the participants to indicate their level of agreement.
(Example: Main construct – Critical thinking skill.
Sub-constructs - Reasoning, analysing, evaluating, decision making, problem-solving) [5 Marks]
b) In a Reliability investigation, one researcher obtained values for alpha as 0.78, and 0.89. Are these good values? Justify your answer. [5 Marks]
c) How do you ensure the validity of an instrument? [5 Marks]
Question 3
a) Using the exams.sav given, identify the missing values, unusual data, and outliers on the interval/ratio scale variables.
Variable Name |
Missing data |
Unusual data |
Outlier |
|
Case … |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
b) Clean the data to make it ready and suitable for proper analysis and show the cleaned data by highlighting the changes you have made. [5 Marks]
c) Using the cleaned exams.sav data file, generate appropriate descriptive statistics to answer the following questions. [include the SPSS output table]
i. What percentage of the students have completed the test preparation course? [3 Marks]
ii. Provide the frequency distribution table for the variable race/ethnicity. Which race/ethnicity is the majority? [3 Marks]
iii. What is the kurtosis ratio for writing scores? Is the distribution approximately normal? [4 Marks]
Question 4
Alice is investigating if the items that she wrote to measure the constructs, personality and pedagogy of a teacher are reflecting the constructs sufficiently. Using PEDA SKILLS. sav data, do a factor analysis to discover the items that support and those that do not, for each of the construct. [Show them in the output of SPSS.] [20 Marks]
Question 5
a) Using total exams.sav data, identify: [Include the SPSS output]
i. if females are better than males in maths achievement. [5 Marks]
ii. whether there is a significant difference in maths achievement among groups based on the parent’s level of education. Indicate which group is better. [5 Marks]
b) Measurement, causality, and generalization are three major concerns often noted by researchers in quantitative studies. Explain each of them with reference to a context (or an example). [10 Marks]
2022-12-13