Research Methods

· Course Project Note You will be working with the Sun Coast data in this unit. There are six data tabs in the spreadsheet and each tab relates to one of the six Sun Coast problems that have been identified. You will also need to install the Excel Toolpak add-in to your Excel program. The directions are in the Course Project Guidance Document. Do not worry about breaking anything. If you happen to delete data from the file, or make any other mistake, you can simply download a fresh data set.

When using the Excel ToolPak program to generate a histogram and descriptive statistics to test assumptions for parametric procedures it is only necessary to use the dependent variable(s). For example, you will only look to see if the dependent variable is normally distributed using a histogram. When creating the histogram, the bin range should be left empty.

Please note that when using the t test and ANOVA the independent variables are the grouping variables (e.g. air, water, soil, training) while the dependent variables are the criterion you are measuring (e.g. ROI). You will always have at least two groups (e.g. pre-exposure lead vs. post-exposure lead), therefore, you will have at least two histograms and at least two sets of descriptive statistics to generate for these statistical procedures. If you have four groups, as in the case of the Sun Coast ANOVA, you will generate four histograms and four sets of descriptive statistics.

Correlation: Input range = Mean Annual Sick Days per Employee Bin range = leave blank Simple Regression: Input range = Lost Time Hours Bin range = leave blank Multple Regression: Input range = Decibel Level Bin range = leave blank Independent Samples t test: Input range = Group A Prior Testing Bin range = leave blank Input range = Group B Revised Testing Bin range = leave blank Paired Samples t test: Input range = Pre-Exposure μg/dL Bin range = leave blank Input range = Post-Exposure μg/dL Bin range = leave blank ANOVA: Input range = Air Bin range = leave blank Input range = Soil Bin range = leave blank Input range = Water Bin range = leave blank Input range = Training Bin range = leave blank