Here are the main steps for this assignment.
Step 1: Students are required to submit the topic using topic selection discussion forum by the end of week 1 and wait for the instructor's approval.
Step 2: Develop the research question and
Step 3: Run the analysis using EXCEL (RStudio for BONUS points) and report the findings using the assignment instruction.
The Report Structure:
Start with the
1.Cover page (1 page, including running head).
Please look at the example Sample paper (you can download the file from the class) and SUCCEED AGAIN WITH A UMGC ONLINE PROGRAM to learn more about the APA style.
In the title page include:
- Title (this is the approved topic by your instructor)
- Student name
- Class name
- Instructor name
- Date
2.Introduction
Introduce the problem or topic being investigated. Include relevant background information. For example;
- Indicate why this is an issue or topic worth researching,
- Highlight how others have researched this topic or issue (whether quantitatively or qualitatively), and
- Specify how others have operationalized this concept and measured these phenomena
Note: Introduction should not be more than one or two paragraphs.
Literature Review
There is no need for a literature review in this assignment
3.Research Question or Research Hypothesis
What is the Research Question or Research Hypothesis?
***Just in time information: Here are a few points for Research Question or Research Hypothesis
There are basically two kinds of research questions: testable and non-testable. Neither is better than the other, and both have a place in applied research.
Examples of non-testable questions are:
- How do managers feel about the reorganization?
- What do residents feel are the most important problems facing the community?
Respondents' answers to these questions could be summarized in descriptive tables and the results might be extremely valuable to administrators and planners. Business and social science researchers often ask non-testable research questions. The shortcoming with these types of questions is that they do not provide objective cut-off points for decision-makers.
In order to overcome this problem, researchers often seek to answer one or more testable research questions. Nearly all testable research questions begin with one of the following two phrases:
- Is there a significant difference between ...?
- Is there a significant relationship between ...?
For example:
- Is there a significant relationship between the age of managers and their attitudes towards reorganization?
A research hypothesis is a testable statement of opinion. It is created from the research question by replacing the words "Is there" with the words "There is," and also replacing the question mark with a period. The hypotheses for the two sample research questions would be:
- There is a significant relationship between the age of managers and their attitudes towards reorganization.
It is not possible to test a hypothesis directly. Instead, you must turn the hypothesis into a null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is created from the hypothesis by adding the words "no" or "not" to the statement. For example, the null hypotheses for the two examples would be:
- There is no significant relationship between the age of managers and their attitudes towards the reorganization.
- There is no significant difference between white and minority residents with respect to what they feel are the most important problems facing the community.
All statistical testing is done on the null hypothesis...never the hypothesis. The result of a statistical test will enable you to either:
1) reject the null hypothesis, or
2) fail to reject the null hypothesis. Never use the words "accept the null hypothesis."
*Source: StatPac for Windows Tutorial. (2017). User's Guide; Formulating Hypotheses from Research Questions. Retrieved May 17, 2019 from Survey Research
What does significance really mean?
“Significance is a statistical term that tells how sure you are that a difference or relationship exists. To say that a significant difference or relationship exists only tells half the story. We might be very sure that a relationship exists, but is it a strong, moderate, or weak relationship? After finding a significant relationship, it is important to evaluate its strength. Significant relationships can be strong or weak. Significant differences can be large or small. It just depends on your sample size.
To determine whether the observed difference is statistically significant, we look at two outputs of our statistical test:
P-value: The primary output of statistical tests is the p-value (probability value). It indicates the probability of observing the difference if no difference exists.
4.Research Method
Discuss the Research Methodology (in general). Describe the variable or variables that are being analyzed. Identify the statistical test selected to analyze these data and explain why you chose this test. Summarize your statistical alternative hypothesis. This section includes the following sub-sections:
a)Description of the Dataset
Example: The primary source of data was the HOSPITAL COMPARE MEDICARE DATA (citation). This dataset provides information on hospital characteristics, such as: Number of staffed beds, ownership, system membership, staffing by nurses and non-clinical staff, teaching status, percentage of discharge for Medicare and Medicaid patients, and information regarding the availability of specialty and high-tech services, as well as Electronic Medical Record (EMR) use (Describe dataset in 2-3 lines, Google the dataset and find the related website to find more information about the data).
Also, describe the sample size; for example, “Medicare data-2013 was used for this analysis. This data includes 3000 obs. for all of the hospitals in the US.”
b)Description of Variables
Next, review the database you selected and select a variable or variables that are a “best-fit.” That is, choose a variable that quantitatively measures the concept or concepts articulated in your research question or hypothesis.
Return to your previously stated Research Question or Hypothesis and evaluate it considering the variables you have selected. (See the sample Table 1).
Table 1. List of variables used for the analysis
Table 2. Definition of variables used in the analysis
c)Description of the Research Method for Analysis
First, describe the research method as a general (e.g., this is a quantitative method and then explain this method in about one paragraph. If you have this part in the introduction, you do not need to add here).
Then, explain the statistical method used for your analysis (Refer to content in week 3 on Biostatistics for information on various statistical methods you can choose from).
Example:
Hypothesis: AZ hospitals are more likely to have lower readmission rates for PN compared to CA.
Research Method: To determine whether Arizona hospitals are more likely to have lower readmission rates than California, we used the t-test. This test was used to determine whether any differences observed across hospital types are statistically significant (You can change the test depending on your analysis).
d)Description of Statistical Package
Add one paragraph for the statistical package, e.g., Excel or RStudio.
5. Results
Discuss your findings considering the following tips:
? Why you needed to see the distribution of data before any analysis (e.g., check for outliers, finding the best fit test; for example, if the data had not a normal distribution, you can’t use the parametric test, etc., so just add 1 or 2 sentences).
? Did you eliminate outliers? (Please write 1 or 2 sentences, if applicable).
? How many observations do you have in your database and how many for selected variables, report % of missing.
? When you are finished with this, go for the next steps:
Present the results of your statistical analysis; include any relevant statistical information (summary tables, including N, mean, std. dev.). Make sure to completely and correctly name all your columns and rows, tables and variables. For this part you could have at least 1-2 tables and 1-2 figures (depending on your variables bar-chart, pie-chart, or scatter-plot), you can use a table like this:
Table 3. Descriptive analysis to compare % of BL in Medicare beneficiary, MD vs. VA- 2013
When you have tables and plots ready, think about your finding and state the statistical conclusion. That is, do the results present evidence in favor of the null hypothesis or evidence that contradicts the null hypothesis?
6.Discussion and Conclusion
Review your research questions or hypothesis.
How has your analysis informed this question or hypothesis? Present your conclusion(s) from the results (presented above) and discuss the meaning of this(ese) conclusion(s) considering the research question or hypothesis presented in your introduction.
At the end of this section, add one or two sentences and discuss the limitations (including biases) associated with this analysis and any other statements you think are important in understanding the results of this analysis.
7.References
Include a reference page listing the bibliographic information for all sources cited in this report. This information should be consistent with the requirements specified in the American Psychological Association (APA) format and style guide.