Research Design And T Tests: How Are They Connected?

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Week 6: t Tests

As a social scientist, you will often construct research designs that require some sort of comparison between groups. When constructing hypothesis tests, the t test allows you to evaluate estimates from samples to determine if differences exist between these groups in the population. You might want to know whether a specific educational intervention has benefit, whether a training program works, or under what conditions employees are most effective. These are just a few examples where you might make comparisons between two groups. The t test’s roots lie in solving practical questions about industrial quality control, which has led to it becoming one of the most fundamental and widely used tests in classical statistics.

In this week, you will examine t tests. In your examination, you will construct research questions, evaluate research design, and analyze results related to t tests. You also will critically evaluate research related to t tests.

Discussion: Research Design and t Tests: How Are They Connected?

Whether in a scholarly or practitioner setting, good research and data analysis should have the benefit of peer feedback. For this Discussion, you will post your response to the hypothesis test, along with the results. Be sure and remember that the goal is to obtain constructive feedback to improve the research and its interpretation, so please view this as an opportunity to learn from one another.

To prepare for this Discussion:

  • Review the      Learning Resources and the media programs related to t tests.
  • Search for      and select a quantitative article specific to your discipline and related      to t tests. Help with this task may be found in the Course guide and      assignment help linked in this week’s Learning Resources. Also, you can      use as a guide the Research Design Alignment Table located in this week’s      Learning Resources
By Day 3

Write a 3- to 5-paragraph critique of the article. In your critique, include responses to the following:

  • Which is      the research design used by the authors?
  • Why did      the authors use this t test?
  • Do you      think it’s the most appropriate choice? Why or why not?
  • Did the      authors display the data?
  • Do the      results stand alone? Why or why not?
  • Did the      authors report effect size? If yes, is this meaningful?

Be sure to support your Main Post and Response Post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly Discussion: Research Design and t Tests: How Are They Connected?

Whether in a scholarly or practitioner setting, good research and data analysis should have the benefit of peer feedback. For this Discussion, you will post your response to the hypothesis test, along with the results. Be sure and remember that the goal is to obtain constructive feedback to improve the research and its interpretation, so please view this as an opportunity to learn from one another.

Scenarios

1.As an international development researcher ,you would like to know African Citizen ’sperceptions about current levels of democracy. You’re working hypothesis is that a series of reforms have increased African views of the level of democracy today. You do not have a good research design to compare attitudes before and after the reforms, but know that leaders and development experts would like to see a value of 6, on the scale of 1–10. Using the data from the 2015 Afro barometer, determine whether perceptions about current levels of democracy statistically differ from a value of6.Please provide: a 1–2APA style paragraph statement that furnishes an answer to this question, note the relevant statistics, comment on meaningfulness and include your relevant SPSS output. 2.As an international development researcher, you have already tested whether perceptions about the current levels of democracy differ from a value of 6. Given recent social change movements in North Africa, you now want to determine whether there is a statistical difference in these perceptions between North Africa and Southern Africa. Using the data from the 2015 A FRO barometer, please provide: a 1–2APA style paragraph statement that furnishes an answer to this question, note the relevant statistics, comment on meaningfulness, and include your relevant SPSS output.3.As an educational researcher, would like to know whether high school student’s perceptions about mathematical utility changed between their freshman and senior year. Each respondent is asked the same series of questions about the utility of mathematics in their future during their freshman and senior year. These questions are combined to form one variable of mathematical utility; higher values indicate higher levels of mathematical utility. Using the High School Longitudinal Survey, please provide: a 1–2 APA style paragraph statement that furnishes an answer to this question, note the relevant statistics, comment on meaningfulness, and include your relevant SPSS output.

Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Leon-Guerrero, A. (2018). Social statistics for a diverse society (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

· Chapter 8, “Testing Hypothesis” (pp. 204-234)

Wagner, W. E. (2016). Using IBM® SPSS® statistics for research methods and social science statistics (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

· Chapter 6, “Testing Hypotheses Using Means and Cross-Tabulation” (previously read in Week 5)

· Chapter 11, “Editing Output” (previously read in Week 2, 3, and 4)

Walden University Library. (n.d.). Course Guide and Assignment Help for RSCH 8210. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/rsch8210

For help with this week’s research, see this Course Guide and related weekly assignment resources. 

Assignment: Testing For Correlation And Bivariate Regression

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You had the chance earlier in the week to perform an article critique on correlation and simple linear regression and obtain peer feedback. Hopefully you are excited about the potential these tests hold; equally important is that you recognize some of their weaknesses. Now, it is once again time to put all of that good brainstorming to use and answer a social research question with the correlation and simple linear regression. As you begin the Assignment, be sure and pay close attention to the assumptions of the test. Specifically, make sure that your variables are metric level variables that can easily be interpreted in these tests.

For this Assignment, you will examine correlation and bivariate regression testing.

To prepare for this Assignment:

· Review this week’s Learning Resources and media program related to regression and correlation.

· Using the SPSS software, open the Afrobarometer dataset or the High School Longitudinal Study dataset (whichever you choose) found in the Learning Resources for this week.

· Based on the dataset you chose, construct a research question that can be answered with a Pearson correlation and bivariate regression.

· Once you perform your correlation and bivariate regression analysis, review Chapter 11 of the Wagner text to understand how to copy and paste your output into your Word document.

For this Assignment:

Write a 2- to 3-paragraph analysis of your correlation and bivariate regression results for each research question. Do not forget to evaluate if the correlation and bivariate regression assumptions are met and report the effect size. In your analysis, display the data for the output. Based on your results, provide an explanation of what the implications of social change might be.

Use proper APA format, citations, and referencing for your analysis, research question, and display of output.

Assignment: Testing for Correlation and Bivariate Regression

Assignment: Putting Social Advocacy Skills Into Action- Week 9 (3-4 Pages)

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Writing a proposal that functions as a focus of change is a significant part of being a social worker/policy advocate. This is your opportunity to use your advocacy skills to change and improve the lives of others.

In this Assignment, you write a proposal for some form of social advocacy that will seek to change a social, organizational, or legislative policy. The proposal may also involve advocacy for the amelioration of a social problem. The purpose of this assignment is to thoughtfully and thoroughly plan how you will advocate changing a social problem or policy that is of interest to you.

The policy practice/advocacy can take whatever form you wish and can be on any level: agency, community, state, or federal. You will submit a prospectus (3–4 pages) that describes the problem that is being addressed and the expected advocacy activities.

By Day 7

Submit your assignment.

Be specific when describing the social problem or policy you would like to change and address the following:

  • If you selected a policy, when was the policy enacted, by whom, and for what reason?
  • How are you going to work to change the policy/problem (i.e., plan for social advocacy)?
  • How will your efforts address the policy/social problem described?
  • Is continued policy practice/advocacy needed to make a long-term impact? Why or why not?

The prospectus will need to be well researched and written using APA guidelines. Data should come from at least five sources.

 

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice  (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

  • Chapter 11, “Developing Political Strategy and Putting It into Action in the Policy-Enacting Task” (pp. 372-419)

 

Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice  (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.

  • Chapter 11, “Developing Political Strategy and Putting It into Action in the Policy-Enacting Task” (pp. 372-419)

 

Plummer, S.-B, Makris, S., Brocksen S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Concentration year.Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
“Social Work Policy: Children and Adolescents. The Case of Susanna” (pp. 57–60)
“Social Policy and Advocacy: Violence Prevention” (pp. 53–55)

McNutt, J. (2011). Is social work advocacy worth the cost? Issues and barriers to an economic analysis of social work political practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(4), 397–403. doi:10.1177/1049731510386624.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Sherraden, M. S., Slosar, B., & Sherraden, M. (2002). Innovation in social policy: Collaborative policy advocacy. Social Work, 47(3), 209–221
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Did your findings change your perception about the intervention?

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As a counselor, you have the potential to work with a variety of client populations and mental health issues. Even the most seasoned clinicians have an ethical responsibility to stay abreast of the most current trends in the field. A great source of information is professional counseling literature. It gives you access to up to date empirical evidence and treatment options.

For this Discussion, you will make your first effort to review a peer-reviewed, scholarly article and consider how the information can help you shape the course of treatment for an identified client.

To Prepare

  • Review the four Final Project Case Studies found in the Learning Resources for this week and select a case study for this Discussion based on your counseling specialization You will have the option to use the same case study for your final project or choose a different one.
  • Choose one client in the case study and one mental health issue that you would address in counseling.
  • Choose one intervention you are interested in learning more about to work with the issues you identified in the case study you selected.
  • Review the Learning Resources related to research and how to search the Walden Library for specific information related to your topic.
  • Search the Walden Library and select one article specific to an intervention for your case study. Note: You will use this article to create a citation in your post as well as a reference for the article.

Post by Day 3

  • The case study you selected, the client and mental health issue you identified, and the intervention you selected for treating the issue in counseling.
  • Explain the findings of the article and how the research article results match or were different from what you expected to find.
  • Did your findings change your perception about the intervention?
  • Would you choose to use this intervention with your client in the case study based on the contents of the article?
  • Cite content from the article you identified to support your post. Also, include a reference for this article in your post.
  • Attach a PDF of the article to your post .

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources and identify current relevant literature to support your work.

COUN 6626: Research Methodology and Program Evaluation

Final Project Case Studies

 

Case Study 1 Chloe, an 8-year-old African American female, has been brought to counseling by her foster mother. Cloe was removed from her biological mother’s home after reports of physical and sexual abuse were substantiated by an investigation by the Department of Human Services. Law enforcement became involved after reports that Chloe’s biological mother was allowing adult men to sexually abuse Chloe for drugs. Initial concerns of this behavior started when Chloe was just 5 years old. It was only recently that these concerns were able to be substantiated, resulting in Chloe’s placement into foster care and the parental rights of her biological mother terminated.

Chloe currently lives in foster care and is available for adoption. Her foster mother indicates that she tends to withdraw from interpersonal interaction with adults. Chloe is a highly sensitive child and cries easily. The foster mother, Elaine, has noticed that Chloe is demonstrating distress anytime she is separated from her foster parents.

When Chloe is dropped off at school, daycare, or swimming lessons, she is tearful and chews her fingernails until they bleed. Her teachers indicate that the distress tends to resolve within about 30 minutes, but Chloe often isolates herself and will not participate in any learning or social activities until after this time passes. As a result, Chloe’s teachers are concerned because she is falling behind in her schoolwork and she has difficulty socializing with her peers. Her teachers are worried about Chloe’s academic achievement as well as her social and emotional development.

School Counselors: Chloe’s teachers have reached out to you for interventions to help Chloe become successful in school.

Case Study 2

Jim is a 14-year-old Caucasian male whose parents have requested services. Jim’s sister, Helen, died suddenly 5 months ago in a car accident. Since then, Jim’s behavior has changed and his parents are worried about him. His parents assumed that he was exhibiting these behaviors as a result of shock and grief. However, Jim’s behaviors have escalated and his mother discovered several empty beer bottles and empty compressed air cans hidden in his bedroom. Jim’s parents believe he is drinking alcohol and huffing, and this has prompted them to bring Jim to see a counselor.

Jim claims that he has only tried drinking or huffing on a couple of occasions, and that he does not have a problem. Prior to Helen’s death, Jim was on the A-B Honor Roll at school. During the past couple of months, his grades have started slipping and his academic achievement is being impacted. During the last month, he has been hanging out with new “friends” who his dad describes as “goth”. He no longer spends time with his childhood friends and recently was caught skipping class and received in school suspension. Jim’s teachers are worried about his academic achievement and his social and emotional development. Jim’s teachers indicate that he has become more introverted in his behavior in recent weeks and no longer engages in classroom discussions and is somewhat uncooperative during group activities.

Jim has always been cooperative at home so his parents are worried about changes in his attitude. He is not verbally disrespectful to his parents at this time, though he has become more secretive putting passwords on his phone and locking his bedroom door. When his parents ask him to unlock the door or remove the password, he does so, but only temporarily. Jim’s father is in recovery for alcoholism and is very fearful that Jim will develop an addiction to substances. Jim’s mother is adamant that this is just a “stage” and that Jim is just “being a teenager.” Jim’s parents do not talk about his sister’s death which has left Jim to find his own way of coping with his grief. Mom is an enabler who ignores Helen’s death and Dad goes to AA meetings to get support in maintaining his 7 years of sobriety, leaving all members of the family to hurt in isolation.

School Counselors: Jim’s teachers have reached out to you for interventions to help Jim become successful in school.

 

Case Study 3

Natasha is a 40-year-old Latina woman who is self-referred to counseling. Natasha reports that she is in love with a woman, Nicole, and she is afraid that if her family finds out she is a lesbian they will disown her. She describes her family as “die-hard Catholic” that views homosexuality as a sin. Natasha has lost 20 pounds worrying about what will happen when her family finds out she is gay. She experiences nightly sleep disturbances and frequently tosses and turns and gets less than 2 hours of sleep. She has stopped participating in activities and spends most of her time at home isolating herself. She reports that she is no longer able to enjoy being with friends or participating in things she enjoys such as yoga or bicycling because she can’t think about anything but her family. Because she is not eating or sleeping well, her performance at work has deteriorated and her boss has put her on a performance improvement plan.

In addition to her concerns about her family, she is now also worried about losing her job. Her partner, Nicole, has a very accepting support system and has never experienced the anxiety of being rejected for her sexual identity. Nicole’s family is accepting of Nicole’s identity and her family has been a safe place for the two of them to be themselves. Nicole is angry at Natasha’s parents for not being accepting of Natasha and because of Nicole’s protectiveness of Natasha, their relationship is strained. Natasha feels torn between the woman she loves and her family who has raised her. This has caused conflict in the relationship because Natasha feels that Nicole is being insensitive toward her circumstances. Their communication has deteriorated and Natasha fears “losing everything” including her family, her partner, and her job. Her daily functioning is impacted by her inability to find joy in activities and her sleep and appetite disturbance. She doesn’t know what to do.

Case Study 4

Jared is a 37-year-old African American male who is referred to counseling by his girlfriend, Sheila. Sheila is worried about Jared because he is short-tempered and on edge, shouts at his girlfriend, and loses his cool with his kids, ages 13 and 15. Jared was served with divorce papers upon his return from deployment and now only sees his children every other weekend. Jared reports that he “can’t think straight.” He describes wanting to lock himself away and draw the curtains. Jared cries openly when describing that he served four years in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a marine. He also expresses reluctance to enter into counseling because he fears being labeled.

In the 12 years since returning home from his deployment, Jared has struggled with his divorce and homelessness. He reports believing that people with mental problems are wimps or fakers. Jared also explains that when he was a medic, he coped with the horrors that he had seen in war by having a few beers or smoking marijuana to try and block out the horrific memories. Jared then describes one event that plays over and over in his head. He became emotional when he described the scene of a young child who had been mutilated but left alive. Jared’s daily thoughts are filled with images of homes being burned, or people screaming with bloody injuries, or people in anguish over the dead bodies of their loved ones. These memories have impacted his daily functioning and interpersonal relationships because of the feelings and thoughts that are triggered. Neither his girlfriend nor his kids want to be around him, and he is worried that he is losing his mind.