Compulsory Section

1. Correlation

A.1 Using the data file EmotionalStates_Survey.sav explore the relationship between the total mastery scale (measuring control) and life satisfaction (tlifestat). Present the results in a brief report.

A.2 Generate a full correlation matrix to check the intercorrelations among the following variables.

1. age
2. perceived stress (tpstress)
3. positive affect (tposaff)
4. negative affect (tnegaff)
5. life satisfaction (tlifesat)

A.3 Gill, a researcher, is interested in exploring the impact of age on the experience of positive affect (tposaff), negative affect (tnegaff) and perceived stress (tpstress).

1. Using the notes presented in the class generate a condensed correlation matrix which presents the correlations between age with positive affect, negative affect and perceived stress.
2. Repeat the analysis in (a), but first split the sample by sex. Compare the pattern of correlations for males and females. Remember to turn off the Split File option after you have finished this analysis.

B. Partial Correlation

B.1 Calculate the partial correlation between optimism (toptim) and perceived stress (tpstress) while controlling for the effects of age. Compare the zero order correlations with the partial correlation coefficients to see if controlling for age had an effect.

C. Multiple regression

C.1 There are three main types of multiple regression analyses. What are they? When would you see each approach?

C.2 As part of the preliminary screening process it is recommended that you inspect the Mahalanobis distances produced by SPSS. What do these tell you?

Solution: The Mahalanobis distances produced by SPSS provide information to detect multivariate outliers, which could affect the reliability of the regression results.

D. Factor analysis

D.1 There are some controversy in the literature concerning the underlying factor structure of one of the scales included in the questionnaire. The Optimism scale was originally designed as a one-dimension (factor) scale which included some positively worded items and negatively worded items. Recent studies suggest that it may in fact consist of two factors representing optimism and pessimism.

Conduct a factor analysis using the instructions presented in your textbook/notes to explore the factor structure of the optimism scale (op1 to op6)

E. T-tests

E.1 Using the data file Emotionalstates_Survey.sav find out if there is a statistically significant differences in the mean score for males and females on the Total Life Satisfaction (tlifesat). Present this information in a brief report.

E.2 Using the data file Experiment.sav apply whichever of the t-test procedures you think are appropriate to answer the following questions.

1. Who has the greatest fear of statistics at time 1, males or females?
2. Was the intervention effective in increasing students’ confidence in their ability to cope with statistics? You will need to use the variables, confidence time1 (conf1) and confidence time2 (conf2). Write your results up in a report.
3. What impact did the intervention have on students’ levels of depression?

F. One way analysis of variance

Using the data file EmotionalStates_Survey.sav

F1.1 Perform a one-way between groups ANOVA to compare the levels of perceived stress (tpstress) for the different age groups (agegrp5), 18-24yrs, 25-32yrs, 33-40yrs, 41-49yrs and 50+yrs.

F1.2 Perform post-hoc tests to compare the Self esteem scores (tslfest) for people across the three different age groups (use the agegp3 variable).

F1.3 Use one-way repeated measures ANOVA to compare the Fear of Statistics scores for the three time periods (time1, time2 and time3). Inspect the means plots and describe the impact of the intervention and the subsequent follow-up three months later.

G. Analysis of covariance

G3.1 Under what circumstances would you want to consider using analysis of covariance?

G3.2 What issues do you need to consider when you are selecting possible covariates?

G3.3 Using the Experiment.sav data file, perform the appropriate analyses (including assumption testing) to compare the confidence scores for the two groups (maths skills, confidence building) at time 2, while controlling for confidence scores at time 1. The variables you will need are group, conf1, conf2.

G3.4 Perform a two-way analysis of covariance to explore the question: Does gender influence the effectiveness of the two intervention programs designed to increase participants’ confidence in being able to cope with statistics training? You will need to assess the impact of sex and type of intervention (group) on confidence at time 2, controlling for confidence scores at time1.

Non-parametric statistics

G3.5 What is the difference between parametric techniques and non-parametric techniques?

G3.6 What factors would you consider when choosing whether to use a parametric or a non-parametric technique?

G3.7 Choose and perform the appropriate non-parametric test to address each of the following research questions.

1. Using the EmotionStates_Survey.sav data file find out whether smokers are significantly more stressed than non-smokers. The variables you will need are smoke and total perceived stress (tpstress). Mann-Whitney
2. Using the EmotionStates_Survey.sav data file compare the Self-esteem scores across the three different age groups (18-29yrs, 30-44yrs, 45+yrs). The variables you will need are tslfest and agegp3.
3. Using the EmotionStates_Survey.sav data file explore the relationship between optimism and negative affect. The variables you will need are toptim and tnegaff. Spearman Rank correlation
4. Using the EmotionStates_Survey.sav data file explore the association between education level and smoking. The variables you will need are educ2 and smoke. Check the codebook and the questionnaire in the appendix of the SPSS Survival Manual for details of these two variables. Chi-Square test of independence.

Price: $39.12

Solution: The downloadable solution consists of 22 pages, 1712 words and 28 charts.
Deliverable: Word Document