Assignment 1: ANCOVA in SPSS

Earlier this week, you practiced using ANCOVA models with SPSS and, ideally, used the Collaboration Lab to ask, answer, and otherwise address any questions you had. In this Assignment, you apply what you learned to answer a social research question using ANCOVA. Hopefully you are not yet tired of comparing means!

To prepare

• Review the datasets provided.
• Construct a research question based on one of those datasets.
• Pay attention to the assumptions of this test, and ask, “Does it make sense to interpret the mean of this dependent variable?”

The Assignment

Use SPSS to answer the research question you constructed. Then, compose a 1- to 2-paragraph analysis in APA format in which you answer the following questions:

• What is the null hypothesis for your question?
• What research design(s) would align with this question?
• What dependent variable was used and how is it measured?
• What independent variable is used and how is it measured?
• What is your covariate?
• What is the answer to your research question?
• What are the possible implications of social change?

Be sure to include your data output with your analysis. See pages 713 and 714 in your Warner textbook for an excellent APA-compliant write-up of an ANCOVA.

Part 2

Article Critique

The practice of quantitative research not only involves statistical calculations and formulas but also involves the understanding of statistical techniques related to real-world applications. You might not become a quantitative researcher nor use statistical methods in your profession but as a consumer, citizen, and scholar-practitioner, it will be important for you to become a critical consumer of research, which will empower you to read, interpret, and evaluate the strength of claims made in scholarly material and daily news.

For this Assignment, you will critically evaluate a scholarly article related to ANCOVA.

To prepare

• Review the Article Critique Assignment Guide in the Walden Library, listed in the Week 2 Learning Resources.
• Search the Walden Library for a quantitative article that applies ANCOVA.

The Assignment

Write a 2- to 3-page critique of the research you found in the Walden Library that includes responses to the following prompts:

• Why did the authors select ANCOVA in the research?
• Do you think this test was the most appropriate choice? Why or why not?
• Did the authors display the results in a figure or table?
• Does the results table stand alone? In other words, are you able to interpret the study from it? Why or why not?

REFERENCES

Warner, R. M. (2013). Applied statistics: From bivariate through multivariate techniques (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

• Chapter 17, “Analysis of Covariance” (pp. 688–725)

  This chapter equips you with the information to needed to assess nonequivalent comparison groups—a phenomenon often encountered in quasi-experimental research (and in Walden capstone studies).

Part 3

MANOVA in SPSS

Earlier this week, you practiced using MANOVA models with SPSS and, ideally, used the Collaboration Lab to ask, answer, and otherwise address any questions you had. In this Assignment, you apply what you learned to answer a social research question using MANOVA.

To prepare

• Review the datasets provided.
• Construct a research question based on one of those datasets.
• Pay attention to the assumptions of this test, and ask, “Does it make sense to interpret the mean of this dependent variable?”

The Assignment

Use SPSS to answer the research question you constructed. Then, compose a 1- to 2-paragraph analysis in APA format in which you answer the following questions:

• What is the null hypothesis for your question?
• What research design(s) would align with this question?
• What dependent variable was used and how is it measured?
• What independent variable is used and how is it measured?
• If you found significance, what is the strength of the effect?
• What is the answer to your research question?
• What are the possible implications of social change?

Be sure to include your data output with your analysis. See pages 819 through 823 in your Warner textbook for an excellent APA-compliant write-up of a 6X3 MANOVA.

PART 4

Article Critique

The practice of quantitative research not only involves statistical calculations and formulas but also involves the understanding of statistical techniques related to real-world applications. You might not become a quantitative researcher nor use statistical methods in your profession but as a consumer, citizen, and scholar-practitioner, it will be important for you to become a critical consumer of research, which will empower you to read, interpret, and evaluate the strength of claims made in scholarly material and daily news.

For this Assignment, you will critically evaluate a scholarly article related to MANOVA.

To prepare

• Review the Article Critique Assignment Guide in the Walden Library, listed in the Week 2 Learning Resources.
• Search the Walden Library for a quantitative article that applies MANOVA.

The Assignment

Write a 2- to 3-page critique of the research you found in the Walden Library that includes responses to the following prompts:

• Why did the authors select MANOVA in the research?
• Do you think this test was the most appropriate choice? Why or why not?
• Did the authors display the results in a figure or table?
• Does the results table stand alone? In other words, are you able to interpret the study from it? Why or why not?

REFERENCES

Warner, R. M. (2013). Applied statistics: From bivariate through multivariate techniques (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

• Chapter 19, “Multivariate Analysis of Variance” (pp. 778–828)

  This chapter builds on what you have learned in previous weeks about various forms of ANOVA, specifically about analyzing the relationship between several variables on one quantitative outcome variable. Your reading this week will explain how mean scores on multiple quantitative outcome variables are compared for participants across two or more groups.