Description

Assignment 2: Tests of Significance

Throughout this assignment you will review six mock studies. Follow the step-by-step instructions:   

a.  Mock Studies 1 – 3 require you to enter data from scratch. You need to create a data set for each of the three mock studies by yourself. (Refresh the data entry skill acquired in Week 1.)

b. Mock Studies 4 – 6 require you to use the GSS 2016 dataset. The variables are specified in each Mock Study.

c. Go through the five steps of hypothesis testing (as covered in the lesson for Week 4) for EVERY mock study.  

d.  All calculations should be coming from your SPSS. You will need to submit the SPSS output file (.spv) to get credit for this assignment. 

The five steps of hypothesis testing when using SPSS are as follows:

1. State your research hypothesis (H1) and null hypothesis (H0).
2. Identify your significance level (alpha) at .05 or .01, based on the mock study. In Mock Study One, you are required to use BOTH .05 and .01 to test your hypotheses. For the remaining mock studies, you only need to use ONE level of significance (either .05 or .01) as specified in the instructions.
3. Conduct your analysis using SPSS.
4. Look for the valid score for comparison.  This score is usually under ‘Sig 2-tail’ or ‘Sig. 2’ or ‘Asymptotic Sig.’  We will call this “p.”
5. Compare the two and apply the following rule:
1. If “p” is < or = alpha, then you reject the null.
2. Please explain what this decision means in regards to this mock study. (Ex: Will you recommend counseling services?)

Please make sure your answers are clearly distinguishable.  Perhaps you could bold your font or use a different color.

This assignment is due no later than Sunday of Week 5 by 11:55 pm ET.  Save this Word file in the following format: [your last name_SOCI332_A2].  Your spv (SPSS output) file should be labeled [your last name_SOCI332_A2Output].

t-Tests  

Mock Study 1: t-Test for a Single Sample (20 points)

1. Researchers are interested in whether depressed people undergoing group therapy will perform a different number of activities of daily living after group therapy than the average for depressed people. The researchers randomly selected 12 depressed clients to undergo a 6-week group therapy program.

Use the five steps of hypothesis testing to determine whether the average number of activities of daily living (shown below in the table) obtained after therapy is significantly different from a mean number of activities of 17 that is typical for depressed people. (Clearly list each step).

Test the difference at both the .05 and .01 levels of significance.

As part of Step 5, indicate whether the behavioral scientists should recommend group therapy for all depressed people based on evaluation of the null hypothesis at both levels of significance (.05 and .01).

Data to be entered in SPSS (instructions below)

Step 1: Data managing

1. Open a blank SPSS data file: Fileà Newà Data

2. In the blank SPSS data file, create your SPSS data set by entering the number of activities of daily living performed by the depressed clients (numbers listed under AFTER THERAPY - see above) in the Data View window.

3. In the Variable View window, change the variable name to “ADL.” Set the decimals to zero.