Statistics

Scenario Background:A marketing company based out of New York City is doing well and is looking to expand internationally. The CEO and VP of Operations decide to enlist the help of a consulting firm that you work for, to help collect data and analyze market trends.You work for Mercer Human Resources. The Mercer Human Resource Consulting website lists prices of certain items in selected cities around the world. They also report an overall cost-of-living index for each city compared to the costs of hundreds of items in New York City (NYC). For example, London at 88.33 is 11.67% less expensive than NYC.More specifically, if you choose to explore the website further you will find a lot of fun and interesting data. You can explore the website more on your own after the course concludes.https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/Insights/ cost-of-living-rankings#rankingsAssignment Guidance:In the Excel document, you will find the 2018 data for 17 cities in the data set Cost of Living. Included are the 2018 cost of living index, cost of a 3-bedroom apartment (per month), price of monthly transportation pass, price of a mid-range bottle of wine, price of a loaf of bread (1 lb.), the price of a gallon of milk and price for a 12 oz. cup of black coffee. All prices are in U.S. dollars.You use this information to run a Multiple Linear Regression to predict Cost of living, along with calculating various descriptive statistics. This is given in the Excel output (that is, the MLR has already been calculated. Your task is to interpret the data).Based on this information, in which city should you open a second office in? You must justify your answer. If you want to recommend 2 or 3 different cities and rank them based on the data and your findings, this is fine as well.Deliverable Requirements:This should be ¾ to 1 page, no more than 1 single-spaced page in length, using 12-point Times New Roman font. You do not need to do any calculations, but you do need to pick a city to open a second location at and justify your answer based upon the provided results of the Multiple Linear Regression.The format of this assignment will be an Executive Summary. Think of this assignment as the first page of a much longer report, known as an Executive Summary, that essentially summarizes your findings briefly and at a high level. This needs to be written up neatly and professionally. This would be something you would present at a board meeting in a corporate environment. If you are unsure of an Executive Summary, this resource can help with an overview. What is an Executive Summary?Things to Consider:To help you make this decision here are some things to consider:Based on the MLR output, what variable(s) is/are significant?From the significant predictors, review the mean, median, min, max, Q1 and Q3 values?It might be a good idea to compare these values to what the New York value is for that variable. Remember New York is the baseline as that is where headquarters are located.Based on the descriptive statistics, for the significant predictors, what city has the best potential?What city or cities fall are below the median?What city or cities are in the upper 3rd quartile?

1. Birthweights of babies in the US may be modeled with a normal distribution with mean 3254grams and standard deviation 530 grams. Draw a sketch of the normal curve that models thebirthweights of babies in the US.2. Label and shade your normal curve above to show the area that represents the babies that hadbirthweights between 2500 and 3500 grams. Calculate the percent of babies represented in thisshaded area and explain what tool(s) you used to find the percent.3. If a local hospital had 2000 births in 1 year, how many babies should have birthweights between2500 and 3500 grams?Please show all work!

Think of a scenario where you could use hypothesis testing. Describe how you would set up the problem and solve it.

Suppose that you have two sets of data to work with. The first set is a list of all the injuries that were seen in a clinic in a month’s time. The second set contains data on the number of minutes that each patient spent in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. You can make assumptions about other information or variables that are included in each data set. For each data set, propose your idea of how best to represent the key information. To organize your data would you choose to use a frequency table, a cumulative frequency table, or a relative frequency table? Why? What type of graph would you use to display the organized data from each frequency distribution? What would be shown on each of the axes for each graph?

Analytical Methods

Module 3: Sampling and Estimation

Scientists rarely collect data from the entire group or population they want to study. For example, if researchers want to study characteristics of individuals serving prison sentences in state and federal correctional institutions, they will find that the most recent data collected was at year-end 2016 and that 1,505,400 individuals were incarcerated at that time (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2018). Because 1.5 million people is a large group or population which would be impractical and expensive to collect data of interest, researchers need to break the sample down into smaller sample groups that, hopefully, are representative of the larger population. From the smaller samples, researchers can estimate population information using inferential statistics.

A great deal of thought, planning, and attention to procedural detail is necessary when sampling from a larger population. Study samples must not only generate a sample that is likely to be representative of the larger population but must also generate a sufficient number of cases/observations that will provide enough statistical power to produce meaningful data. In criminal justice recidivism studies, researchers interested in specific types of recidivism are often faced with sampling difficulties because base rates (the rate at which some phenomena are observed in the real world—such as sex offender recidivism—is relatively low). Medical researchers face the same challenges when studying the causes of certain diseases that may have low base rates of occurrence.

Module 3 lays important groundwork for understanding sampling, probability sampling, normal distributions, and inferential statistics. It also provides important information on the degree of confidence researchers strive for (confidence intervals) in their estimates or predictions.

Learning Outcomes

Distinguish probability sampling from non-probability sampling.
Understand sampling distribution and the central limit theorem.
Comprehend the relationships among sample size, confidence level, and confidence intervals.
Interpret confidence intervals.

Please take note that the Module 3 Discussion (initial post due on Thursday at 11:59PM) is an evaluation of a published research study dealing with predictors of satisfaction between police-prosecutor relationships. Take some time to read the study so that you can provide a thorough answer to the discussion question. Also, be aware that the Module 3 Portfolio Project Milestone focuses on identifying at least one published research study on your topic of interest, and the creation of a research question and hypothesis. This is worth up to 25 points and is due Sunday at 11:59PM. Again, ask your instructor if you need guidance in any of the above areas and they will be glad to help.

For Your Success & Readings

In data analysis, we need both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Remember that descriptive statistics summarize the attributes of the unit(s) of measurement in your sample (e.g., age, race, education, income, gender). In criminal justice, nearly every research study (whether the study examines offenders, victims, or criminal justice personnel) contains data on group differences relative to the variables measured. Module 2 covered how to generate descriptive statistics in SPSS, and how to describe and summarize data utilizing tables, graphs, and histograms.

Module 3 covers inferential statistics, which are appropriate when analyzing relationships among variables or assessing population parameters. For example, if we want to know the extent to which mandatory sentencing guidelines have influenced time served in prison vs. the extent to which discretionary sentencing by judges has influenced time served in prison, we would utilize statistical tests that produce data on how the variable of sentencing guidelines is correlated with prison time served. Another example relates to the extent to which correctional treatment completion (or a lack of correctional treatment completion) predicts recidivism.

Understanding the concept of sampling is important to learning inferential statistics, because inferential statistics aim to judge a population using sample data. Module 3 covers the groundwork, evolving from the types of samples, to sampling distribution, to the relationship between sample size, and confidence intervals. Type of sample determines a sample’s representativeness of the target population; sampling distribution provides a major simplification en route to statistical inference based on a probability sample; and sample size determines the preciseness, or the level of confidence, of the sample estimates.

Required

Chapters 6 & 7 in Social Statistics for a Diverse Society
Chapter 9 in Logic of Hypothesis Testing in Online Statistics Education: A Multimedia Course of Study

Recommended

Kuang, K., & Liang, B. (2015). Efficiency and justice and fairness: An empirical analysis of criminal appeals in hunan province, China. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 21(4), 565-590.
Williamson, E. J., Stricker, J. M., Irazola, S. P., &Niedzwiecki, E. (2016). Wrongful convictions: Understanding the experiences of the original crime victims.Violence and Victims, 31(1), 155-166.

Next

References

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2018). Prisoners in 2016. 

United States Census. (2017). A basic explanation of confidence intervals. 

Project Purpose: Design a research study where you apply the statistical methods that you learned and discussed this past semester.

First: Select a topic. Your topic must be approved by your instructor (2 points)

You will want to select a large topic where you can gather background information.

Topic Ideas:
• Weight loss among children
• Weight loss among adults
• Increase SAT scores among high school students
• Stress management among US workers
• The time students spend on social media
• Do certain subpopulations get mammograms more frequently than others?
• Smoking cessation programs
• Contraceptive use
• Blood pressure reduction
• Depression among US citizens
• Cholesterol management among women
• Cholesterol management among men
• Diabetes management among children
• Diabetes management among adult
• Driving and texting
• Suicide prevention
• Alcohol abuse among teenagers.
• Pollution and the environment
• Animals in captivity vs the wild
• Alternative medicine to controlling allergies.
• Faith healing and depression

Project Requirements:

Introduction (15 points)
• State your topic
• Choose a sample and a population
• We discussed different sampling techniques. Choose a sampling technique, and how you will apply it to your research.
• Will this be an observational or experimental study? How?
o Discuss the strategies to address this issue. You can create strategies, or you can research other strategies that have been used. You are allowed to replicate another study, but you must state and cite that you are replicating another study. YOU CANNOT COPY SOMEONE ELSE’S RESEARCH. YOU MUST TAILOR IT FOR THIS PROJECT AND ITS REQUIREMENTS.
• What do you hope to achieve?
• How long will this research occur?
• Who are the stakeholders? A stakeholder is someone who has a vested interest in a program/project.
• How will you measure success?
• This should be about one to two paragraphs

Background Information. (15 points)
• You need one to two paragraphs about why this topic is an issue. How have other researchers addressed this issue? How have other researchers succeeded or failed?
o Some of the topics may have a lot of information, so you may want to narrow your focus.
• For the background information, you need to include at least two charts and/or graphs that we discussed this past semester. Copy and paste those charts in this paper and provide citations.
o Provide a paragraph describing and analyzing the data in those charts.
o Discuss why the information presented in those charts is relevant to your research. You have to use charts that we discussed this past semester: pie chart, bar graph, stem plot, frequency table, dot plot, and box plot.
• What will you do different/similar?

Research Methods: (40 points)

(You are required to use the statistical strategies discussed in this class.
• What background information will you need on your research participants?
• What variables will you measure in your study?
o For example, if we are studying weight loss, some variables will include, height, weight BMI, gender, age.
• Are those variables qualitative or quantitative, discrete or continuous, nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio level or measurement or neither. You can even use a chart to describe the information. I have provided a sample.
• Which measures of center and variation will apply to each variable?
• Variables of interest can include survey questions.

Variable of interest
Qualitative or Quantitative or neither
Continuous or discrete or neither
Measures of Center that will be used
Measures of variation that will be used.

• You must use two additional statistical methods from the list the following list and describe how it applies to your research. Remember each statistical procedure has its own requirements and those requirements must be satisfied.
o Binomial probability distributions
o Central Limit theorem
o Confidence Interval
o Hypothesis testing
• How will you measure success?

Bias (8 points)
• How will you control and reduce bias in your research? Every research is subject to some sort of bias.

Limitations of your research: (5 points)

• Every research will have a set of limitations. Do not feel embarrassed about mentioning the limitations of your research.

Conclusions (5 points)
• What lessons will you learn from this research?
• How will it benefit other researchers?
• What would you improve in the future?

Works Cited Page will be required. (5 points)

There are several assumptions associated with regression analysis (regression modeling). Discuss some assumptions that must be considered when using statistical modeling.

Power Point Slide

The presentation should be 30-35 slides. The last slide should not be a reference slide since the full reference for the article being critiqued will appear on the first slide. Present the information in the order listed in the following guideline with an appropriate title on each slide.Please note: When writing about a study that has been done, past tense is used
1~ Title Slide – Identify the title of the article and the author(s) full names, credentials and affiliation. Also, include your name and credentials, NU512-50HY and date. Using APA format, cite the complete reference in a smaller font (size 18) than the rest of the title slide.

2~ Comment on the qualifications of the author(s).

3 ~ Describe why this study is of interest personally and professionally. ~ Purpose of the Study (quote and provide the page number using APA) ~ Research Design (ex. Cross-sectional, Correlational, 1 group tested twice, 2 groups, longitudinal, etc.) ~ Sample Size ~ Description of Sample (describe the actual participants, not the inclusion/exclusion criteria) ~ Provide details from the article and critique each area that follows. Be concise, use titles, use bullet points, and support with information from the book where appropriate and reference.

4 ~ Research Purpose ~ Is the purpose identified clearly? Where does it appear in the article, what section(s) and page #(s)? ~ Is it significant–does the researcher provide a good argument for significance? ~ How is it relevant to nursing/health care ~

5 Literature Review ~ Is it balanced, presenting literature that supports and that differs from the researcher’s position? ~ Is the review written critically (giving strengths and weaknesses of previous work)? ~ Is the review composed only of primary sources? Are references current, or a combination of current and classic?

6 ~ Concepts/Variables ~ Are the concepts (variables) defined clearly from a theoretical standpoint? ~ Are the concepts in the study appropriate to the problem? ~ Are the concepts relevant to nursing practice? ~ Are the means to measure the concepts appropriate?

7 ~ Design (overall) ~ Is the design clearly stated? What design was used? ~ How many times was data collected? Is this appropriate for the design being used? ~ Is the design appropriate to answer the research question?

8 ~ State the sample size and if there is more than one group being compared, the number of participants in each group? ~ Is the sample size adequate? Describe why. (Hint-Rule of 30.) Do not use a reported Power Analysis from the article.~ Is the sample likely to be similar to members of the appropriate population overall ~ Are the criteria for including and/or excluding people or items from the sample ~ clear and appropriate?

9 ~ Instrument: ~ How many instruments were used in the study? Provide the proper names. How many questions are on each instrument? ~ How are they scored (Likert scale, yes/no, true/false, etc.), and what do the scores represent (ex: the higher the score on HHI represents higher levels of hope). ~ What is the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient for reliability for each instrument completed by the participants in the study being critiqued?

10 ~ Data Collection: ~ Are the data collection methods described clearly? ~ Are the data collection methods appropriate? Could the researcher have affected the results of the study in some way related to the collection of data?

11 ~ Ethical Considerations ~ Does the researcher indicate that approval was obtained from appropriate institutional review boards? ~ Were the rights of human subjects protected (Was confidentiality maintained or were participants anonymous to the researcher? Freedom from coercion)? ~ Is there any possibility that the subjects might have felt pressured to participate or their responses influenced in some other way?

12 ~ Tables: (Address the 1st two items individually for each table; the remaining 6 items are about the tables in general ~ Describe what type of information has been displayed on each table. ~ Do the tables have a precise title? ~ Is the amount of information presented on each table appropriate? ~ Are the tables organized in a logical order? ~ Do the tables make it easier to understand the research findings? ~ Are the tables visually appealing? ~ Do the tables use an appropriate font type and font size? ~ Provide one suggestion to improve the display of information.

13 ~ Discussion and Interpretation of Findings: ~ Does the researcher discuss the findings in regards to previous research?~ Does the researcher discuss the findings in regards to the theoretical framework? ~ Does the researcher identify limitations of the study? How do these affect the quality of the study? Does the researcher discuss implications for practice? Are these appropriate? ~

14 Application to Nursing Practice:~ How applicable would the findings be to Advanced Nursing Practice in the U.S.?

15 ~ Suggest appropriate changes to the study’s research method that would improve the study (e.g. change in sample size, a more homogeneous group of participants different ways to collect data, additional times to collect data, etc.). Support comments with citations from your text or another scholarly source.

16 ~ Summary of what was presented in the powerpoint presentation and conclusions about the study critiqued~ You should use photos and/or graphs to enhance your presentation. Select words carefully, use bullets, and slides should appear uncluttered. Presentation should be visually appealing, as well as scholarly.

Assignment Six: Design and Data-Collection Methods
Clearly and concisely answer the following questions:
1. Introduction paragraph – Include your research question(s), hypothesis, PICO and variables. No more than one paragraph.
2. How will you collect the data for your study?
3. Will you conduct an experiment, administer a survey or questionnaire, implement focus groups or 1:1 interviews, and/or combine several of these methods (or perhaps utilize a different method)
4. When, where, and by whom will your data will be collected?
5. What expertise and experience qualifications will you seek in your data collectors, how will?you recruit and train them, and what will be done to avoid or minimize bias among them?
6. What are the feasibility issues that may need to be addressed (e.g., agency cooperation with your proposed procedures, recruiting participants, the amount of time it will take for respondents to complete your instruments or interviews, etc.)?
7. What are the strengths, weaknesses, cultural elements, and ethical aspects to consider.
8. Conclusion Paragraph
Each question needs to be its own section with its own heading – I want you to over write here and then you can cut and condense for the final. Lack of clarity will come with a deduction in points. Think through this as instructions – if I picked up your paper, could I do your research?

Discuss the quantitative research designs. For each design, detail issues of researcher control and responsibilities, data collection, data analyses, and presentation of results.