Education Two Part Assignment

Module 2 Practice Homework

Purpose

This assignment is intended to help you learn to do the following:

· Display different types of data using appropriate visualization/display techniques.

· Interpret output of data visualization in given context.

· Evaluate the accuracy of data visualization in given context.

· Reflect on the role of data visualization and representation in data communication and decision making.

Overview of the Project

This assignment requires you to apply the knowledge and skills you gained from the content of Module 2. In particular, the assignment is meant to assess your competencies in selecting, creating, and interpreting data graphically in ways that show patterns, support analysis, effective communication, and decision making. The assignment has three parts, and you are required to address each part.

Part 1: You are required to identify and categorize two variables and create visual representations of those variables.

Part 2: You are required to find a graph that you believe is misleading or incorrectly designed and critique it.

Part 3: You are required to reflect on your experience working on this assignment.

Please review the grading rubric on Canvas before you begin so you have a clear idea of the expectations for your work.

Part 1

In this part, you are required to identify and categorize two variables and to create visual representations of select variables.

Download the Dataset:

Begin by downloading the dataset from the link on Canvas. The data are in an Excel file with four tabs. You cannot view all four tabs in Canvas, you must download the file to your computer to see them. Once the file is downloaded, you will use the sheet with the data from your program. Import the selected sheet from Excel into SPSS to create the visualizations. (See the video link at the end of this document for assistance on importing data.) The variable names do not include spaces due to naming limitations in SPSS.

Let’s Set Our Goals:

The details of each dataset are described at the end of this document. You are to focus on two of the variables in one of the datasets for this assignment. The variables you are to use are listed below:

Program	Variable 1	Variable 2
DBA	WholeSalePrice	RetailPrice
DHA	Weight(kg)	SystolicBP(mmHg)
EdD-IDL	AvgTest	GPA
EdD-OL	Project2	UnitTest

Use these variables to complete the following:

1. Identify and categorize the selected variables, that is, explain if each variable is categorical (nominal or ordinal) or quantitative (discrete or continuous)

2. For each given variable, create the following visualizations using SPSS or any similar software.

a. Bar Chart

b. Histogram

c. Boxplot

d. Stem-and-Leaf

3. For each chart, label all axes and legends clearly, and write 2-4 sentences interpreting the chart. (Hint: Consider how each chart illustrates the trends in the distribution for a variable. Is one format better than another?)

Part 2

Find a published graph from either a scholarly article, news media, or social media that you believe is misleading or incorrectly designed. Address the following based on the visualization:

1. Explain specific issues that make you believe the representation is misleading or inaccurate.

2. Suggest at least two improvements and, if possible, recreate the visualization correctly.

3. Discuss ethical implications of poor data visualization in decision-making and/or public perception.

Part 3

For this part, write a reflection that responds to the following prompts in 300-500 words.

1. What principles guide effective data visualization/representation?

2. What challenges did you encounter working on this assignment?

3. How does graphical integrity relate to statistical ethics?

4. How can poor data representation/visualization distort interpretation even if data is accurate?

What to Submit

1. Submit a single document in .docx format with all assigned material for Parts 1, 2, and 3.

a. Do not copy and paste the assignment instructions into the document.

b. Provide headers that clearly identify the sections in the document (i.e., “Part 1”, “Part 2”, and “Part 3”).

c. For Part 1, copy and paste the visualizations from the SPSS output into the document. Be sure to clearly label each chart using complete words rather than the variable names.

d. For Part 2, copy and paste the misleading visualization into the document. Be sure to clearly identify the source.

e. For Part 3, please make sure your response is between 300 and 500 words.

f. Throughout, your writing should be clear, concise, well organized and lacking grammatical or spelling errors. Adopt a tone that is academic and professional.

2. Submit the SPSS data (.sav) file

3. Submit the SPSS output (.spv or .spwb) file

Policy on Use of Artificial Intelligence

You are not authorized to use artificial intelligence to generate text, to create visualizations, or to analyze data for this assignment. Unauthorized use of AI will result in a minimum penalty of a zero for the assignment.

Details for the DBA Data

Suppose you have been tasked with evaluating the quality and quantity of widgets produced by four different manufacturers. The variables are as follows:

Variable Name	Description
Manufacturer	The manufacturer of the widget coded as manufacturer A, manufacturer B, manufacturer C or manufacturer D
WidgetType	The material used to build the widget as taken from the manufacturer’s design plans
NumberProduced	The number of widgets produced for this analysis.
ProductionCost	The cost of producing a single widget in dollars. It is the sum of the costs involving labor, materials, warehousing and quality control testing.
RetailPrice	The average amount the consumer pays per widget at the point of sale.
WholeSalePrice	The recommended wholesale price for the widget in U.S. dollars. It’s the minimum price needed to recover the costs of manufacturing, selling & shipping the widget.
PriceofGold	The price for an ounce of gold at the time these data were collected
Defectsper100	The number of defective widgets per 100 produced

Details for the DHA Data

Suppose these data represent information about a sample of 100 young adults who had a specific medical procedure. The variables are as follows:

Variable Name	Description
ID	A numeric code to identify each individual patient.
DateofBirth	The patient’s date of birth
YearofBirth	The patient’s year of birth
EthnicityRace	The race / ethnicity category identified by the patient
Height(cm)	The patient’s height in centimeters
Weight(kg)	The patient’s weight in kilograms
SystolicBP(mmHg)	The patient’s systolic blood pressure reading immediately before the procedure, measured in millimeters of Mercury
Cscore	A score used to identify the potential risk for infection following this procedure. It’s measured on an interval scale, with scores less than 11 indicating very low risk, scores from 11 to less than 20 measuring moderately low risk, scores measuring 20 to less than 30 indicating moderate risk, and scores of 30 or above indicating high risk.
ImmunizationStatus	This variable indicates whether the patient is fully vaccinated (has had all recommended vaccinations), is up to date (has had all required vaccinations but not all recommended vaccinations) or has an incomplete vaccination history
InsuranceStatus	This variable indicates the type of health insurance coverage the patient has
Expenditure	The charge to the insurance company for the procedure
RecoveryTime	The number of days until the patient has recovered sufficiently from the procedure to be able to return to all their usual activities

Details for the EdD-IDL Data

Suppose you have been asked to evaluate the performance of 96 sixth grade students as a function of qualities of their curriculum. The variables are as follows:

Variable Name	Description
ID	A numeric code to identify each individual student
SubArea	The academic subject evaluated. 1 = Mathematics, 2 = English / Language Arts, 3 = Social Sciences, 4 = Hard Sciences
SubAreaName	The academic subject evaluated. MATH = Mathematics, ELA = English / Language Arts, SOCIAL_SCI = Social Sciences, HARD_SCI = Hard Sciences
RdyLevel	The student’s performance based on grade-level placement according to the i-Ready assessment program. 1 = Introductory, 2 = Intermediate, 3 = Advanced
RdyLevelName	The student’s performance based on grade-level placement according to the i-Ready assessment program.
DesnThry	The design theory type influencing the course’s curriculum, activities, and assessments. 1 = Constructivist, 2 = Universal, 3 = Problem Based Learning, 4 = Cognitive Load Theory
DesnThryCode	The design theory type influencing the course’s curriculum, activities, and assessments. CON = Constructivist, UNI = Universal, PBL = Problem Based Learning, CLT = Cognitive Load Theory
AvgTest	The student’s average grade on tests in the course, represented as the percent of possible points.
AvgProject	The student’s average project grade in the course, represented as the percent of possible points.
FinGrade	The student’s final course grade calculated as a weighted average of grades on tests and projects in the course. It’s represented as the percent of possible points for the course.
GPA	The student’s grade point average, calculated on a four point scale.

Details for the EdD-OL Data

Suppose the data represent the performance of 18 students in a curriculum unit from a high school history class. The variables are as follows:

Variable Name	Description
Student ID	A numeric code to identify each individual student
Student Name	The student’s name
Group	A numeric code to identify the student’s assigned group for in-class work
Learning Style	The student’s preferred learning style as indicated in the student’s responses to a quick survey about how they believe they best learn
Quiz 1	The number of points earned out of 100 on the first quiz
Quiz 2	The number of points earned out of 100 on the second quiz
Writing 1	The number of points earned out of 100 on the first writing assignment
Writing 2	The number of points earned out of 100 on the second writing assignment
Project 1	The number of points earned out of 100 on the first project
Project 2	The number of points earned out of 100 on the second project
UnitTest	The number of points earned out of 100 on the unit test

Helpful Resources

Here are some additional links that you may find helpful.

· How to Import Data to SPSS

· Data Visualization: Best Practices

· Franklin’s APA Guide

· Reporting Research in APA Style/Tips and Examples

· How to Make a Frequency Table & Histogram in SPSS

· Creating and Interpretting Boxplots in SPSS