Homework answers / question archive / Project Guidelines Project Rationale The culmination of material covered in RSCH 8210: Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis and RSCH 8260: Advanced Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis will provide you with a number of tools for your statistical toolbox

Project Guidelines Project Rationale The culmination of material covered in RSCH 8210: Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis and RSCH 8260: Advanced Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis will provide you with a number of tools for your statistical toolbox

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Project Guidelines Project Rationale The culmination of material covered in RSCH 8210: Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis and RSCH 8260: Advanced Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis will provide you with a number of tools for your statistical toolbox. An enthusiastic apprentice always looks forward to the day where the skills learned can be put into action, to display a product to the world that demonstrates they are now an artisan. The purpose of the Final Project in this course is much like a Project an apprenticing craftsperson might undertake. This project will utilize the amalgam of your quantitative skills to demonstrate that you can: 1. Align an appropriate statistical test to a research question you constructed. 2. Find data that meets the assumptions of your statistical tests and answers your research question. 3. Synthesize the results to articulately present the findings via an oral presentation. 4. Present the results in a formal, written document. 5. Document how quantitative methods can assist with social change. Expectations Data You are free to use data that you obtain on your own or utilize one of the datasets from the course but, to make the project more meaningful to you, it is highly recommended that you find your own data. If you use one of the datasets from the course, please make sure that you are not mimicking a project already posted in one of the weekly Collaboration Labs. You can find existing data through a number of clearinghouses on the web (i.e., NIH, ICPSR, NIJ, NCES, www.data.gov, etc.). If you are having difficulty obtaining data, please be sure and contact your Instructor for some suggestions. You may also want to consider data from your workplace but be sure you have permission to use it for learning purposes. Deliverables You have three deliverables for this project. The first is an oral 5- to 7-minute presentation that you post to the Week 11 Discussion Board. You can create a video directly in Blackboard using Kaltura; information to help you complete this task is available via the Kaltura Media Uploader link on the course navigation menu. Your video should be targeted toward a lay statistical audience. That is, consider giving a presentation of your results to your co-workers/team, a group who might not have the level of statistical knowledge you now hold. All too often, the results of great projects are not implemented because the researcher did not translate the results and communicate © 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 2 of 2 the findings to the research consumer. For the second deliverable, please respond to at least one peer’s video presentation, providing constructive comments on the strengths of the Project, as well as identifying ways to improve. Remember, your goal will be to provide constructive and helpful feedback, so please be polite. In your feedback, for example, you may indicate that some aspects of your peer’s presentation could be clearer. You might provide suggestions that could clarify the interpretation of their findings. In any case, remember that the purpose is to provide and obtain constructive and helpful feedback, so please be supportive and polite. The third deliverable is a 7- to 10-page written product that details your approach, results, and interpretation of findings. This should be a formal, scholarly paper, one that adheres to the APA guidelines. In this document, be sure that you: 1. Present your research question clearly. 2. Explain why you selected your dataset and the statistical test you applied to that dataset. 3. Detail whether your test has statistical power or not. 4. Use one of the statistical tests covered in this course. 5. Visually display your results. 6. Detail how your findings might impact social change. 7. Ensure that your Project is 7–10 pages in length, in APA format. While you are required to use one of the statistical tests covered in this course, you should feel free to appropriately augment with tests you learned in RSCH 8210. For example, you may use a correlation matrix to test for multicollinearity in a regression model. Suggested Milestones Week 3: Topic of interest should be identified. Start searching for data. Week 6: Research question and dataset should be clearly identified. Week 10: Final analysis should be completed. Week 11: Finalize written draft and post oral presentation. Introduction 1. Describe the topic of the study, why the study needs to be conducted, and the potential positive social change implications of the study. 2. Preview major sections of the chapter. Study Purpose/Research Objectives 1. Indicate that this is a quantitative study. 2. Present the study intent (such as, describe, compare, correlate, explore, and develop). 3. Identify the independent, dependent, and covariate variables. Research Question(s) and Hypotheses 1. State the research questions. 2. State the null and alternative hypotheses (if appropriate) that identify the independent and dependent variables studied, the association tested, and how the variables are measured. Methodology 1. Describe the data you used. 2. Describe the variables and how each variable is measured or manipulated. 3. Identify the statistical test(s) used to test the hypothesis/hypotheses. 4. Explain the rationale for including potential covariates and/or confounding variables. Analysis/Results 1. Report statistical analysis findings, organized by research questions and/or hypotheses, including: • Exact statistics and associated probability values • Confidence intervals around the statistics (as appropriate) • Effect sizes (as appropriate) 2. Report results of post-hoc analyses of statistical tests, if applicable. 3. Include tables and figures to illustrate results, as appropriate, as per the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Implications 1. Describe the potential impact for positive social change at the appropriate level (individual, family, organizational, and societal/policy). 2. Describe methodological, theoretical, and/or empirical implications, as appropriate. 3. Describe recommendations for practice, as appropriate. Limitations Describe the limitations to generalizability and/or trustworthiness, validity, and reliability that arose from execution of the study. Conclusions Provide a strong “take home” message that captures the key essence of the study. Project Guidance: Week 11 Program Transcript MATTHEW JONES: Here we are, the final week. You've made it. Good job. In previous weeks of this course, you began thinking about in planning for your project. By now, you should have selected a research question that interests you, identify the data that you will use to answer that question, and chosen a statistical test to analyze that data. DR. ANNIE PEZALLA: These steps are essentially the same steps you'll be asked to take when you complete your Capstone at Walden. So please take this assignment seriously. Your presentation of your research question, your data set and statistical test, and your findings and interpretations should be clear and understandable to allay audience. Why? We want you to be conversant in explaining the steps of your research both to your research colleagues, as well as to your family, friends, and greater community. After all, our hope is that you're able to take these skills of quantitative reasoning and analysis and apply them toward positive social change. We encourage you to use the classroom video tool creatively here. Use visuals, if they're helpful in illuminating your findings. Present your findings with clarity and enthusiasm. And importantly, be yourself. MATTHEW JONES: Your written final project by comparison should be relatively formal and written in compliance with APA standards, much like what is expected in a peer review journal or a final Walden Capstone study. DR. ANNIE PEZALLA: This week marks the final week of the course. So you might think wonderful, I'm finished. Now, I'm going to submit my work and not think about my quantitative research ideas until I start my real dissertation or doctoral study for Walden. Although we understand the need for rest and rejuvenation after any intense course, we hope the ideas you've been working on in this class will continue to percolate in your mind. Continue to refine your ideas. Talk with your peers about your research. And if you found someone who is willing to mentor you and shepherd you through the doctoral process at Walden, talk with that person too. Download all the resources from this class and keep them in a neat and tidy folder somewhere. And if you ever start to question your resolve to complete a quantitative dissertation or doctoral study, and believe me we understand and appreciate that challenge, just remember Walden's mission for positive social change. Your earning your degree so that you'll be better equipped to improve the lives of the people around you, including yourself. © 2017 Laureate Education, Inc. 1 Project Guidance: Week 11 MATTHEW JONES: Please stay in touch with us in the Center for Research Quality. Let us know how you're doing and how we can support you. We're in this together. And we're cheering you on to the finish line at Walden and beyond. Project Guidance: Week 11 Additional Content Attribution FOOTAGE: GettyLicense_160463144 simonkr/Creatas Video/Getty Images GettyLicense_626791754 AzmanL/Creatas Video/Getty Images GettyLicense_114759820 David Baumber/Vetta/Getty Images © 2017 Laureate Education, Inc.