Question

[Doing statistics isn't simply a matter of performing certain mathematical procedures or analyzing data with calculators and computers. To correctly apply the analysis procedures you've learned, you need to consider a variety of factors. For example, you must be sure an experiment or study has been designed correctly, you must verify that conditions for using certain tests or procedures have been met, and you must be able to interpret the results of your calculations. In this discussion, you'll post a question that requires an understanding of the four major areas of statistics: observing patterns, planning a study, probability, and inference.]

1. Post a question of your own design that requires the respondent to discuss the four major areas of statistics. Be sure your question asks about observing patterns, planning a study, probability, and inference.

Answer 1

A formal standardized questionnaire is a survey instrument used to collect data from individuals about themselves, or about a social unit such as a household or a school. A questionnaire is said to be standardized when each respondent is to be exposed to the same questions and the same system of coding responses. The aim here is to try to ensure that differences in responses to questions can be interpreted as reflecting differences among respondents, rather than differences in the processes that produced the answers.

Standardized questionnaires are often used in the field of educational planning to collect information about various aspects of school systems. The main way of collecting this information is by asking people questions – either through oral interviews (face to face or telephone), or by self-administered questionnaires, or by using some combination of these two methods.

Educational research hypotheses should have the following characteristics.

• Describe clearly, and provide identification of the most important variables in operational terms.

• Specify expected relationships among independent, dependent, and control variables.

• Present a statement in a form that is testable with available research methods.

• Be value free in the sense that they exclude the personal biases of the researcher.

Specifying variables and indicators Following the identification of the research problem and the formulation of researchable hypotheses, it is necessary to prepare a tentative list of variables and indicators for measuring the specific research questions and hypotheses of interest.

A variable is a characteristic that can assume two or more properties. If a property can change either in quantity or quality, then it can be regarded as a variable.

There are five main types of variable.

• Dependent variables Variables that the researcher is trying to explain (for example, student achievement).

• Independent or explanatory variables Variables that cause, or explain, a change in the dependent variable.

• Control variables Variables that are used to test for a spurious relationship between dependent and independent variables. That is, to test whether an observed relationship between dependent and independent variables may be explained by the presence of another variable.

• Continuous variables Variables that take all values within a particular range.

• Discrete variables Variables that take a number of specific values.

When operationalizing a specific research question to identify an appropriate indicator it is necessary to specify the indicator according to the following components.

• The statistics that will be reported (for example, means or percentages).

• The level of analysis at which the statistics will be calculated (for example, at the student, teacher, or school level). • The target population and, if any, the sub-populations considered (for example, all primary school students, with the data presented by region, and urban/rural location of the school).

• The specific measure to be used (for example, the number of school library books per student).

• The variables needed in order to calculate a measure on the indicator to be obtained (for example, total school enrolment and number of books in the school library).