The principal of your school heard you were taking a research methods class and asked if you would help her with the data analysis on a study. The principal is applying for a grant, and wants to determine if there are differences in students’ assessment scores in math among students by their demographic groups. You say you will, and she sends you the data file, which has the assessment scores of all students, as well as the following demographic variables for each student: gender, race/ethnicity, free or reduced-price lunch status, special education eligibility and language assistance services. You tell the principal you will conduct a quantitative data analysis. Explain why quantitative data analysis is the correct approach for this information. Next, outline and describe the steps you

Question

will take to conduct the quantitative data analysis.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• The purpose of quantitative data analysis is to use descriptive and inferential statistics to assess patterns, trends, and relationships in data
• Four steps:
o Prepare the dataset
? Plan for structuring dataset, noting any assignments made to variables
? Prepare dataset for analysis
? Terms: Dataset, Variable, Assignments, Standardizing values, Codebook, Keypunching
o Become familiar with the dataset through identifying types of variables
? Types of variables included in your dataset inform which type of statistical test you can use to analyze your data
? Terms: Independent variable, Dependent variable, Extraneous or confounding variable, Categorical measures, Binary variables, Nominal variables, Ordinal variables, Continuous variables, Interval variables, Ratio variables
o Calculate descriptive statistics to familiarize themselves with patterns, trends, and frequencies in the data
? Terms: Frequencies, Measures of Central Tendency, Mean, Median, Mode, Measures of Variability, Range, Variance, Population variance, Sample variance, Standard Deviation, Normal Distribution, Skew, Positive Skew, Negative Skew
? Graphing the data
o Select and run additional inferential statistical tests to determine how variables relate to one another and whether one variable predicts or influences another
? Inferential statistics enable practitioner-scholars to:
• Generalize their interpretation of quantitative data to a larger population
• Predict how variables will interact or relate
• Assess the degree to which these interactions predict outcomes
? Hypothesis Testing
• Terms: Null Hypothesis, Alternative Hypothesis, Significance Level, Type I and Type II Error