Chapter Four. Data Analyses and Presentation of the Findings

Transcription

1 Chapter Four Data Analyses and Presentation of the Findings The fourth chapter represents the focal point of the research report. Previous chapters of the report have laid the groundwork for the project. Those chapters provided an explanation of the purpose behind the research, an outline of the research questions and hypotheses explored, and a description of how the project fits within the overall body of research related to the subject under consideration. This chapter moves on to a presentation of the findings produced by the original quantitative analysis conducted as a part of this research project. The presentation of findings is probably the most routine and easy to write as long as the research design has been constructed properly and the data has been collected carefully. These findings are then used to provide the foundation for the conclusions and implications outlined in the final chapter. The chapter should begin with two or three introductory paragraphs. Make the transition from chapter three and provide a very brief review of the overall research design. It is not necessary to list all of the secondary questions and hypotheses at the beginning of the chapter, but the introductory section of the chapter should focus the reader's attention on the primary research question and hypothesis. Discuss the main objectives of the project and a describe the organization and content of the chapter.. The bulk of the chapter will consist of the presentation of findings for the secondary questions and hypotheses set forth in Chapter 3. This presentation of findings will vary based on the specific research design and statistical methodology employed, but should be a very systematic process in all cases. A description of this process involving a regression oriented research design and a research design centering on the use of difference tests is included in this

2 manual. Most students will employ one of these general approaches and others should be able to apply these instructions to other contexts with little difficulty. Students employing a research design drawing on the testing of regression models should begin this section of the chapter by presenting the overall regression model and briefly describing the manner in which the model was tested. The results of the quantitative should then be 1 presented in clear and well defined table. These results should then be used to address each of the substantive hypotheses developed in Chapter 3. Use the information from the table to evaluate each null hypothesis and draw statistical conclusions. Go beyond merely accepting or rejecting the null and draw initial statistical conclusions based on the outcome of the regression. Describe the nature of the relationship between the variables included in the model in this portion of the chapter. Do not extend this discussion to the point of drawing overall conclusions about the broad research question driving the research process or the implications of these findings. Those tasks should be saved for the final chapter of the report. Some form of organization should be employed when discussing the variables in the model. Try to group them by subject area or some other mechanism to give this portion of the chapter greater internal unity and flow. Those who develop a research agenda involving the use of difference tests will present their findings in a slightly different manner. They will present the findings of each statistical test separately, drawing the necessary statistical conclusions before proceeding to the next area of consideration. Each step in this process should begin with a statement of the research question. State the null hypotheses to be subjected to quantitative testing. Identify the variables used for the tests and explain how they have been defined (i.e. Partisanship was defined as..., or An event 1 Instructions for table creation and a few examples are attached to the end of the chapter.

3 was classified as a militarized dispute if... No actual data will be provided in the chapter, so it is important that the testing procedures that were employed are made very clear to the reader in this chapter. The results of the statistical test employed should be presented next. Present the outcome of the statistical test in narrative form and use a table to summarize and reinforce what is included in the text of the paragraph. Students are free to construct tables as desired, but they must be clear and precise and conform to the general guidelines for table construction provided at the end of this chapter in the research manual. The discussion of each research question and hypothesis should end with an explanation of the conclusions drawn based on the outcome of the statistical test employed. State the statistical conclusions drawn at both the 95% and 99% levels of confidence (Was the null hypothesis accepted or rejected at each of these levels?). This discussion should also include preliminary research conclusions. Explain how the research question under examination should be answered based on the outcome of the statistical test that has been conducted. The process is repeated at least seven times until all of the findings produced by testing of each of the secondary hypotheses have been presented. Effort should be made to avoid employing exactly the same terminology or an extremely formulaic approach in the discussion of each question and hypothesis, but some redundancy will be inevitable in this chapter given the nature of its requirements. Work hard to ensure that the presentation of each set of findings paints a clear picture of the results produced by the quantitative analysis. Finish the chapter with a brief conclusion outlining what has been done and a transition to the next chapter which will focus on the overall conclusions and implications of the findings that have been presented. The final part of this chapter in the research manual includes a few tools that may prove useful. The first of these tools is a short outline of the chapter. Guidelines for table construction

4 are also provided along with a few examples of acceptable tables. Finally, a sample page from the fourth chapter of a research report completed in the past is provided. Outline for Chapter Four I. Introduction to the Chapter. A. Produce a transition from chapter three. B. Provide a brief overview of the research project. 1. What is the overall research question? 2. What is the overall hypothesis? 3. Brief review of the research objectives. C. Describe the purpose of the chapter. D. Explain the organization of the chapter. II. Data Analyses and Presentation of the Findings. A. Brief introduction to this section. B. Present findings for each sub-hypothesis in a narrative form. 1. State secondary research question. 2. State null hypothesis. 3. Present the statistical results in a table. a. Include data source in a table footnote. 4. Draw statistical conclusions for accepted and rejected hypotheses. a. These are dual conclusions for both accepted and rejected hypotheses. 5. Draw a preliminary research conclusion. a. Dual research conclusions for both accepted and rejected hypotheses. III. Conclusion and Transition to Chapter Five

5 Table 4.1 (option 1) A Comparative Analysis of the Median Samples n Mean SD t Probability Men 25 11, A A Women 40 12, Data Source: Statistical Abstracts of the United States, (2000), p Table 4.1 (option 2) A Comparative Analysis of the Median Incomes Samples n Mean SD t Probability.05 Hypothesis.01 11, Men Accept Accept 12, Women 40 Data Source: Statistical Abstracts of the United States, (2000), p Table 4.1 (option 3) A Comparative Analysis of the Median Incomes Samples n Mean SD t Probability.05 Hypothesis , Men Accept Accept 40 12, Women Data Source: Statistical Abstracts of the United States, (2000), p. 873.

6 Table 4.2 (option 1) Regression Analysis of Vote Totals Model Summary Sum of df Mean F. Sig. r 2 Square Square Regression Residual Total Coefficients Variable Coefficient T Sig. Race Education Income Constant Data Source: The National Election Studies 2002 NATIONAL ELECTION STUDY dataset Table 4.2 (option 2) Regression Analysis of Vote Totals Variable Coefficient T Sig. Race Education Income Constant Model Statistics F=29.76 r =.26 Model Sig.=.000 Data Source The National Election Studies 2002 NATIONAL ELECTION STUDY dataset Table 4.2 (option 3) Regression Analysis of Vote Totals Variable Coefficient T Sig. Race Education Income Constant F= r =.26 Model Sig.=.000 Data Source The National Election Studies 2002 NATIONAL ELECTION STUDY dataset

7 (SAMPLE PAGE FOR CHAPTER 4) [Variable] SAT scores are general educational outcomes which could be influenced by many variables. [Discussion] One of those variables may be the percent of high school students enrolled in private schools. If states have a higher percentage of students enrolled in private schools and those private schools provide a better education, then higher mean SAT scores may be logical outcomes. Of course this assumption is based on the contention that these standard tests are valid and reliable measures of academic success. It should be noted that the validity of SAT tests has been challenged, especially by minority groups. [Research Question] The research question is: Are SAT scores higher in states with higher percentages of students enrolled in private schools? [Null Hypothesis] The null hypothesis for SAT scores is that there is no statistically significant difference between the mean SAT scores for states with higher private school enrollments and the mean SAT scores for states with lower private school enrollments. The SAT score findings are presented in Table [Table] Table 4.11 SAT Scores for States With Higher and Lower Private School Enrollments Samples n Mean d.f. t MAXP A A MINP Data Source: The World Almanac (1997) p. [Stat Conclusion] The null hypothesis was accepted at both the 95% and 99% confidence levels. There is no statistically significant difference between the mean SAT scores for states with higher private school enrollments and the mean SAT scores for states with lower private school enrollments. [Research Conclusion] The mean SAT scores are the same for both samples. SAT scores are not higher in states with higher percentages of students enrolled in private schools.