Assessment 3 Instructions: Analyzing Data With Descriptive Statistics

• PRINT
• Use a data generator to produce data for the questions you developed in the previous assessment.
  

  Introduction

  Note: Complete Assessment 2 before completing this assessment .In this assessment, you will use a data generator to produce data for your previously developed questions. You will then summarize the data by calculating various descriptive statistics and present the results graphically.

  Demonstration of Proficiency

  By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria.

  • Competency 1: Interpret a data set’s central tendency and variability using descriptive statistical procedures.
    • Calculate proportions correctly.
    • Calculate means correctly.
    • Calculate medians correctly.
    • Calculate modes correctly.
    • Calculate standard deviations correctly.
    • Calculate ranges correctly.
  • Competency 4: Solve problems in your personal and professional life by applying statistical procedures.
    • Explain interesting findings or comparisons as a table, graph, or chart.

  Note: Complete Assessment 2 before completing this assessment.The following resources are required to complete Assessment 3. For this assessment, it very important that you have a good grasp on using Excel for numerical calculations and graphing. Review the resources as needed before attempting Assessment 3.

  Data Generator Link

  Use the Survey Data Generator, which will provide you with simulated data for the questions you specified in Assessment 2. Enter the minimum value, maximum value, and expected value/typical response value you specified for the quantitative questions (Q5 and Q6) in Assessment 2. Then, click “Download Excel Spreadsheet.” The Excel file will be saved in the download folder of your computer.Note: You might receive an alert about the file extension of the downloaded Survey Data Generator file. Click “Yes” to open the file.

  Software

  Capella University requires learners to meet certain minimum computer requirements. As a Capella learner, to purchase some required or recommended software at a substantially reduced price, visit the Capella Software Store. Some software required for a course may exceed these requirements, in which case it will be provided to you via a virtual desktop or as part of your course materials. The following software is required to complete learning activities in this assessment.

  • Microsoft Excel: Version 2010 or newer.
    • Windows PC users: The Analysis Toolpak in Excel is a free add-in program—it provides data analysis tools that allow you to complete more complex statistical functions. If you do not yet have the add-in available in Excel, see instructions in Microsoft’s Loading the Analysis Toolpak in Excel.
    • Mac users: MS Excel 2016 has an available Toolpak add-in. For all other Mac users: StatPlus: mac LE is the free equivalent for Apple users, but must be downloaded from AnalystSoft.

  Microsoft Office/Excel Resources

  • Microsoft Corporation. (n.d.). Office support. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support
    • Loading the Analysis Toolpak in Excel. Retrieved from https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Load-the-…
  • AnalystSoft. (n.d.). StatPlus: mac LE. Retrieved from https://www.analystsoft.com/en/products/statplusma…

  After having defined your survey questions in Assessment 2, you are now able to produce data. This will be done by using a data generator tool that generates hypothetical data for the questions you developed in Assessment 2. The data generator gives you information similar to what you might get when conducting the survey with actual persons.Once you have obtained the data by using the generator tool, use Excel to conduct your analysis and interpret the data using descriptive statistics and visual representations of the data.

  Data Generation and Preparation

  Step 1: Generate Data Using the Survey Data Generator.

  • Open the Survey Data Generator. The Survey Data Generator will generate responses to the set of six survey questions you previously defined. It knows nothing about the particular subject of your study; it only generates a set of responses to question types that are pre-defined.
  • Type the minimum, the maximum, and the expected values for questions 5 and 6 into the Survey Data Generator. (These are values for the quantitative questions from Table 1 of your completed Data Collection Template.) Note that the generator has spaces only for the values for your two quantitative questions.
    • For the top set of boxes, enter the values for question 5.
    • For the bottom set of boxes, enter the values for question 6.
    • You must enter a single number for the minimum, the maximum, and the expected value for each of these questions.
    • Do not enter any commas, decimal points, or other symbols.
  • You will not enter anything into the generator for your binary questions (1–4). The tool knows that the only possible responses for these questions are 0 and 1. It will automatically generate 0s and 1s for the responses to your binary questions. Assign 0 and 1 to the two possible responses; it is up to you which response to assign 0 and which to assign 1. For example, if you asked “Are you male of female?” you could make Male = 0 and Female = 1, or vice versa.
  • The Survey Data Generator will create an Excel file that represents responses to your questions. Once you have your unique survey data in Excel, you can apply descriptive statistics to the data and present your results in different visual representations to help an audience easily scan and understand your results.
  • Explanation of data in Excel:
    • There will be six columns (A–F) in Excel: one column for each question (1–6).
    • Columns A–D represent the responses for questions 1–4 and should only contain 0s and 1s. Columns E and F represent the responses for questions 5–6 and should contain numbers between your minimum and maximum.
    • Each row will represent the responses from one survey participant. For example, the first row of answers represents the first survey participant’s answers to all six questions. The second row of answers represents the second survey participant’s answers to the questions, and so forth. The number of rows of answers is how many participants completed the survey.
    • If a column contains all the same numbers, you need to use the Survey Data Generator again. There has to be variation in these responses for you to statistically analyze the data. Check to see that columns 1 through 4 contain a mix of 0s and 1s and that columns 5 and 6 contain a range of different numbers between your minimum and maximum.

  Step 2: Prepare for Data Analysis in Excel.

  • To be able to create a histogram in Excel, you need to be able to access the Data Analysis command. It should be visible on the Data tab, in the Analysis group to the far right in Excel. If it is not visible, you will need to install the Analysis ToolPak add-in.
    • For instructions on loading the Analysis ToolPak add-in as well as for creating histograms, which is one of your tasks in this assessment, follow the steps on the Microsoft Microsoft Office Support site. Mac users: StatPlus: mac LE is the free equivalent for Apple users, but must be downloaded from AnalystSoft. Note: MS Excel 2016 now has an available Toolpak add-in. For more information, see the Software section under Required Resources.
    • Enter the word “histogram” into the search box, and you will find information on how to install the ToolPak for your version of Excel as well as information on histograms.
  • If you are not familiar with using Excel and its functions, a variety of helpful resources are provided in the Resources. In addition, you can choose any of the Excel tutorials from the Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.
  • Technology note: You will need to sort or rearrange your data to accomplish some of these tasks. Be sure you keep a copy of your original Excel file as a backup.
  • Results note: Because the survey data generation is done without context, you will have to put aside any preconceived notions about how your data should look. Your task is to analyze, interpret, and communicate the unique results.

  Data Analysis and Interpretation

  Complete your analysis (Parts 1–3) on one Excel sheet. Include the following components in your analysis of the data. You may wish to refer to the Analyzing Data With Descriptive Statistics Example [PDF] for further explanation. Note that in order to cover all the survey questions, your submission should include more tables, graphs, and charts than you see in the example.

  Part 1: Questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 (Binary Questions)

  Each question 1–4 should have the following elements:

  • Sample size.
  • Sample proportion of each response.
  • Bar chart or pie chart.

  Part 2: Questions 5 and 6 (Quantitative Questions)

  Questions 5 and 6 should have the following elements:

  • Sample mean.
  • Sample median.
  • Sample mode.
  • Sample range.
  • Sample standard deviation.
  • Sample minimum and maximum.
  • Histogram.

  Part 3: Exploration of Data

  Next, explore your data a bit further. What are two interesting findings from your survey responses? You might investigate responses for selected variables based on responses to your binomial questions. For example, if the answer to question 1 was Male or Female and to question 6 was Annual Income, you might examine average annual income for males only and females only and compare these results. Present your findings in an appropriate table, graph, or chart. Then write, in the same Excel spreadsheet, a 1–2 paragraph summary of your findings.

  Assessment Submission Instructions

  Submit your Excel spreadsheet containing Parts 1–3. Before submitting your assessment, verify you have included all of the elements listed above for Parts 1–3. It is important to note that you should have:

  • Four bar graphs (or four pie charts), one each for questions 1–4.
  • Two histograms, one each for questions 5 and 6.
  • Two tables, graphs, or charts to represent interesting findings from your survey responses. Include a 1–2 paragraph summary of your findings.