Module 4 –Script overview
Now that we have run and written up our first set of analyses on the General Social Survey and have built some tables and graphs into our research papers, it’s time to go back to learning some more statistics.
In this module, you will be introduced to some more descriptive statistics to summarize and describe trends in your data. We will go over measures of central tendency (the mean, median and mode) and our measures of dispersion (the minimum/ maximum, the interquartile range and the standard deviation).
But before launching into this module, remember always review the glossary of terms first. Definitions for the measures of center and measures of dispersion are presented in the glossary along with other terms like “skew” versus a “normal distribution” that you will need to know for this module.
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After the glossary, next watch the two SPSS instructional videos on how to first, run measures of center and then, how to get your measures of dispersion
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Along with the video, make sure to review the “Rules for Writing Descriptive Statistics.” However, you won’t need these rules when writing up your independent analysis. You will only use these rules for writing up your homework problems for this module.
The reason, these descriptive statistics are mostly useful when summarizing numeric data and most of the survey data (survey questions) we are working with in the General Social Survey are categorical (people are asked to respond by checking a box) and so, there are just not enough numeric variables to draw from for your paper.
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You will be taking a short break from your independent analysis with this module.
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Once you review and study the terms for this Module and go over the instructional videos and rules of writing, you will need to complete the following assignments by Friday
- The short demonstration exercise (10%)
- The Homework problems (40%)
- And take the quiz(50%)
- Study really hard for the quiz and review all past terms and content from all modules as this quiz will be weighted heavily at 50% for your total grade for this module
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The main student learning objectives for this module are:
- For you to become even more conversant and familiar with the language of science, survey research anddata analysis
- For you to become comfortable interpreting and writing up measures of central tendency
- And, to become comfortable interpreting and writing up your measures of dispersion
These are important scientific and statistical skills to havefor future research projects
Have fun and enjoy the Module ahead!