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PSY 325 Entire Course (Ash) • PSY 325 Week 1 Assignment Final Paper Topic Proposal • PSY 325 Week 1 DQ 1 Types of Data • PSY 325 Week 1 DQ 2 Measures of Variability and Central Tendency • PSY 325 Week 2 Assignment Article Summary • PSY 325 Week 2 DQ 1 Graphs • PSY 325 Week 2 DQ 2 Standard Normal Distribution • PSY 325 Week 3 Assignment Final Paper Outline
PSY 325 Week 1 Assignment Final Paper Topic Proposal (Ash) • Final Paper Topic Proposal For the Final Paper, you will identify three to five research studies from peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last ten years, which investigate a particular social science problem or topic. The Final Paper will focus on critiquing the varying statistical approaches used in each of these studies. • Your assignment this week is to identify the topic that you intend to focus on for your Final Paper. You may select any social science problem or topic; however, it must be something that has been studied using quantitative research methods. Some examples of possible topics include:
PSY 325 Week 1 DQ 1 Types of Data (Ash) • Types of Data Give an example of a research question that includes an independent and a dependent variable. These are usually presented as, "How does A affect B?", where A is your independent variable and B is your dependent variable. Describe the independent and dependent variables in terms of whether they are nominal (also called categorical), ordinal, interval, or ratio variables (interval or ratio variables are also called continuous variables). How would you study this research question?
PSY 325 Week 1 DQ 2 Measures of Variability and Central Tendency (Ash) • Measures of Central Tendency For this discussion, come up with 20 different data points (set of data) and enter them into the first column in an Excel spreadsheet. The data points can be any numbers you want as long as there are 20 of them. Your set of data should reflect one of the following criteria: • Create a set of data for which the mean is greater than the median • or • Create a set of data for which the mean and median are equal but are different from the mode. • You will then use the descriptive statistics option in Excel, which is explained in Chapter 1 of your course text. You should get an output
PSY 325 Week 2 Assignment Article Summary (Ash) • Article Summary For your Final Paper you will identify three to five quantitative research studies from peer-reviewed sources which were published within the last ten years and that investigate a particular social science problem or topic. The Final Paper will focus on critiquing the varying statistical approaches used in each of these studies and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each as it relates to the study of the problem or topic identified. • This week, utilize the University Library to select the three to five research studies which investigate the particular social science problem or topic you have chosen. Write a short summary of each of the studies. To be sure that each study meets the requirements for the Final Paper, address each question below as you summarize the article:
PSY 325 Week 2 DQ 1 Graphs (Ash) • Graphs Give one example of health-related data (a variable) that can be represented by a pie chart. Do the same for a bar chart and a histogram. Explain why each data example you selected (there will be a total of three different variables) is well represented by the corresponding graph.
PSY 325 Week 2 DQ 2 Standard Normal Distribution (Ash) • Standard Normal Distribution Review Chapter 3 of your course text, which introduces probability and the standard normal distribution. When comparing data from different distributions, what is the benefit of transforming data from these distributions to conform to the standard distribution? What role do z-scores play in this transformation of data from multiple distributions to the standard normal distribution? What is the relationship between z-scores and percentages? In your opinion, does one do a better job of representing the proportion of the area under the standard curve? Give an example that illustrates your answer.
PSY 325 Week 3 Assignment Final Paper Outline (Ash) • Final Paper Outline. This week, your assignment is to prepare an outline for the Final Paper that is due next week. Review the Final Paper requirements, which are located in Week Five of your course or in the “Components of Course Evaluation” section of this guide. • For each of the three to five quantitative research studies selected (from peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last five years), the outline should include a heading for the study and the sub-headings for Introduction, Methods, and Results. For example: • I. First Study
PSY 325 Week 3 DQ 1 Choose the Analysis (Ash) • Choose the Analysis. A researcher wishes to study the effect of a new drug on blood pressure. Would you recommend using a z-test, a t-test, or an A.N.O.V.A. for the analysis? Explain your answer. What would your choice of test depend on? For the test you select, explain your design and your comparison groups. Would the hypothesis be directional or non-directional? Would the test be one-tailed or two-tailed? What would be the null and what would be the alternative hypothesis?
PSY 325 Week 3 DQ 2 Repeated Measures (Ash) • Repeated Measures. Review Chapter 7 of your course text, which reviews inferential statistics that analyze experiments of repeated measures designs. For this discussion, search the University Library and find a scholarly, peer-reviewed study on any behavioral or social sciences topic that used a repeated measures design. Reference the study and summarize the research question, the subjects, and the variable(s) of interest. What statistical analysis was used and what were the results? Were there any statistically significant differences? What does it mean for the results to be statistically significant? What does this mean specifically for the differences assessed in this study? Cite your study using AP
PSY 325 Week 4 DQ 1 Correlation (Ash) • Correlation Much has been written about the relationship between a student’s S.A.T. test scores and their family’s income. Generally speaking, there is a strong positive correlation between income and S.A.T. scores. What might this tell you? Is this evidence that having a high family income causes one to have high S.A.T. scores? Is this evidence that high S.A.T. scores are a cause of high income? Or, does this tell you something else? If something else, what? In the course of your response, explain why correlation alone is rarely sufficient to demonstrate cause.
PSY 325 Week 4 DQ 2 Regression (Ash) • Regression Explain the relationship between correlation and regression. What do the two approaches have in common, and how are they different? In what types of research might one approach be preferred over the other? Explain and justify your response. Be sure that your discussion refers to both predictor and criterion variables as well as their role in the regression equation.
PSY 325 Week 5 DQ 1 Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit Test (Ash) • Chi-Square Goodness-of-Fit Test. Describe the chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Provide a detailed explanation of what this test measures, and how it is similar to and different from the independent t-test. How do you know when to use one analysis over the other? Provide a real-world example.
PSY 325 Week 5 DQ 2 Chi-Square Test of Independence (Ash) • Chi-Square Test of Independence Describe the chi-square test of independence. Give an example of a question that could be answered using this test. If you were to assemble a contingency table, what would be included in your rows and columns? Pick a cell of this contingency table and explain what the value in the cell would represent (you do not need to give the value, just explain what it would represent)? What hypothesis would be tested? What do you think the answer would be? Why?
PSY 325 Week 5 Final Paper (Ash) • Focus of the Final Paper • For your Final Paper you will conduct a research study critique. Utilize the instructor-approved topic that you selected in Week One of the course. Identify three to five quantitative research studies from peer-reviewed sources which were published within the last ten years that investigate this topic. Describe the statistical approaches (i.e., identify the variables and their type) used in each study and the interpretation of the results. Finally, present other statistical approaches that could have been used and, when appropriate, suggest alternative interpretations of the results. This process will allow you to apply the concepts learned in the course in the interpretation of actual scientific research.
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