Starting your analysis

Most students get quite excited when they finish entering data and they have a data file to analyse. However, before diving in to address all your research questions there are a few things you need to do first. I have listed these below, along with the related chapter in the SPSS Survival Manual.

Chapter 6

Check the characteristics of the subjects that make up your sample. You will need this information for the method section of your report.

Chapter 6

Obtain descriptive statistics for each of the variables you will be using in your study. These should include means, standard deviations, kurtosis, skewness, and minimum and maximum values. Check that these values are appropriate.

Chapter 5

Check all the variables in your data file for errors (particularly out-of-range values).

Chapters 5, 6 & 7

Check the distribution of scores on each of your variables—depending on the variable, you will need to use histograms, boxplots, bar graphs or stem and leaf plots. Look out for very skewed distributions or any unusual pattern of scores. Also check for extreme outliers—these can affect some analyses and may need to be recoded or removed.

Chapter 8

Perform the necessary data manipulation procedures (e.g., recode, compute) to create any new variables you need. This is important when creating total scores on a scale, or collapsing down a variable into a smaller number of categories. Afterwards, always run Frequencies on these new variables to check that the procedure has been done correctly.

Chapter 10

When choosing which statistical technique to use for your analysis, always check that you have the right type of variables (categorical/continuous). Consider whether a parametric or a non-parametric technique is the most appropriate.

Chapter 9

Check the reliability of the scales you intend using in your analyses. What are the Cronbach alpha values for each scale? How do these results compare to those reported in the literature?

Parts Four and Five

Check with your statistics books and the SPSS Survival Manual to ensure you are not violating any of the major assumptions for the analyses you intend to conduct. This might involve checking that you have enough subjects in your groups, that the variance for each group is similar, or that the distribution of scores on your variables is not too skewed.

Chapter 11

For your continuous variables, check the pattern of intercorrelations. How strongly and in which direction are your variables related? How does this compare with the results reported in the literature? You may also need to obtain scatterplots of the correlation between pairs of your major variables. These are useful for checking for linear relationships between variables.

SPSS Survival Manual

Remember that SPSS will conduct the analyses that you ask it to do, whether or not these analyses are appropriate. The old saying 'Garbage in, garbage out' applies. It is up to you to ensure that you understand what you are doing and also what the output means.

A few additional tips

  1. Save your output regularly so that if the computer crashes you have not lost too much work. All output files will be saved with a .spv extension. Give your output file a suitable name so you will able to identify it later, for example survey8aug2020.spv. Keep a list of your output files with details of what is included. SPSS produces a lot of output and it is very easy to get lost, so get organised - it will save you a lot of time.
  2. If you need to recode a variable, always create a new variable. Keep the original variable so that if there are any problems you have not lost the data.
  3. If you create any new variables, always check in your codebook that the name you intend to use has not already been used. Otherwise you will lose all the original information. Record the name and explanation of the new variable in your codebook. Keep detailed notes of everything you do. This should include details of cut-off points you use to recode variables, reasons for doing things, reminders to yourself about how to do the analyses, problems that might have occurred etc.
  4. Finally, make sure that when doing your analyses, you get up stretch and walk around at least every hour. SPSS can be addictive, a bit like eating peanuts - just one more, and then, just one more ... Plan what analyses you intend to do, break your analyses into blocks, and give yourself time to digest the output.

Preparing a report

Once you have completed your data analysis, the next step is to write your research report. The format that you use to do this will vary according to the purpose of the report (lab report, thesis, journal article), and the discipline in which you are studying. Different disciplines (e.g., psychology, education, medicine, business) have different conventions for presenting reports, so you should consult your lecturer or supervisor for the specific requirements of your report.

Surviving a research project

Organisational ability

Given the short period of time for completion of most projects, you must be very well organised. You will need to set clear goals, write yourself 'to do' lists, and develop a way of organising the enormous number of photocopies of journal articles and book chapters that you will acquire.

Time management strategies

Research projects always take a lot longer than anticipated. Given that it is likely that you will be pressed for time, you will need to develop strategies for managing your time effectively.

Stress management techniques

Most students find completing a research project quite stressful. There are a lot of things to do, and not enough time to do them. You should monitor your stress levels, implement strategies to keep stress under control, and seek help if you feel you're not coping.

Ability to use library resources effectively

To access suitable articles and books on your topic area you must be able to use the library effectively. You should know how to use the catalogues and databases easily and efficiently to search for the material you want. Arrange to do a library orientation session as early as possible in the semester.

Writing skills

Research reports and theses must be written clearly and concisely. No matter how good your research, if you are not able to describe and discuss it clearly, using appropriate language, grammar and punctuation, your thesis will not receive a good grade. If writing is not a strong point for you get help early on. Improving your writing takes time and practice. Don't leave it until the end of the year.

Knowledge of the correct format and conventions

The presentation and formatting of a research report or thesis must conform to certain conventions. In the social sciences this is often the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (referred to as APA style). Make sure you know what is required in your situation, particularly in relation to referencing, abbreviations etc.

Statistical skills

You have full responsibility for the choice and execution of the statistical techniques in your project. You should have a good understanding of these techniques, their purpose, when they are appropriate to use, and their interpretation. Go back and review the major statistical techniques, and get help if you need it.

Good computer resources and skills

You should have access to a good, reliable computer and printer for both data analysis and writing up of your report/thesis. Ensure you can use a word-processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word) effectively, and are able to save, copy, backup and retrieve files. Effective use of your computer will save you a lot of time and heartache. Always save and backup your work - computers have a nasty habit of crashing!

Knowledge of SPSS

SPSS is reasonably easy to learn and use, but you do need to practise to become skilled. Carefully follow the instructions in the SPSS Survival Manual when you are first learning a technique, but also explore and experiment as you build up your confidence. Make use of the SPSS Help menu to explore other options and techniques.

Proofreading and presentation skills

One of the easiest ways to get a poor grade on your report/thesis is to present it in a sloppy, difficult-to-read format, with lots of spelling and grammatical errors. The thesis is a major piece of work and it should be presented in the most professional looking manner possible. Check and double check for typos and get an obliging friend or relative to read through it for you. Finish and print out your thesis in plenty of time. Don't leave it until the last day as inevitably something will go wrong with your computer, printer etc. Allow time for unexpected disasters.

Research Tips

I have listed below some general tips for surviving a research project with your sanity, health, sense of humour and personal relationships intact.

  1. Get organised right from the start. The more organised you are the more efficiently you can get through the mountain of work you have to do to complete your research project. You will need to be organised both in terms of your time and also in how you go about storing and using the information you will collect. Remember, all of the work you do will eventually culminate in a report/thesis, so make sure you can find the material when the time comes to pull it altogether.
  2. Get yourself a folder with plastic sleeves for storing your photocopied articles and readings. Keep a list of what you have so that you don't double-up. This saves both paper and money - think of the trees and your bank balance!
  3. Try to summarise or at least highlight the main points in your articles as you get them. Make note of where they might be useful later on, in terms of potential scales to use, which statistics to use and how to present your results.
  4. In a notebook keep a list of the useful journals and books you come across and where they can be found (library and call numbers). This will save you a lot of time later. This notebook might be a useful place to keep instructions on how to use the library catalogue etc. and any useful tips you learn along the way.
  5. Collect together examples from the literature of how to present the results of your research. Use these as role models in preparing your own report/thesis.
  6. Research is much easier and more enjoyable if you do it as part of a team rather than on your own. Try to team up with a number of other students. Agree to pass on to them any useful looking references that may be applicable to their topic; at the same time, they can keep an eye out for material for you.
  7. Belonging to a group can also be helpful while you are learning the many skills you will need to acquire - for example, searching the databases, learning to use SPSS for Windows. If you belong to a self-help group you can all help one another when you hit problems. It also helps to know that there are other people struggling, not just you.
  8. To write up your final report you will need access to, and the skills to use, a word-processing package. Your library should have a number of computers with Word for Windows installed. At times during the year these can be in heavy demand so you should probably get in early if you can and book a machine. If you are just a 'beginner' with computers and word processors, develop your skills as early in the year as possible - do a course, ask a fellow student to teach you, or borrow or invest in a teach-yourself book (the Word for Idiots or Word for Dummies books are quite good in this respect).
  9. Throughout the year, particularly during the busy patches, keep an eye on your stress levels (you will become an expert at spotting the symptoms once you have done some of the readings!). Make sure you keep things in perspective, seek lots of social support from your fellow students and, if you can, keep a healthy sense of humour throughout the whole process.

Further resources

In this section I have included a list of additional readings, useful websites, and downloadable computer programs. This latter section includes the software needed to conduct Parallel Analysis referred to in Chapter 15 Factor Analysis.

Additional readings

Some of the articles and books I have found most useful for my own research and my teaching are listed here. Keep an eye out for new editions of these titles; many are updated every few years. I have classified these according to different headings, but many cover a variety of topics. The titles that I highly recommend have an asterisk next to them.

Research design

Bowling, A. (2014).Research Methods in Health: Investigating health and health services(4th edn). Buckingham: Open University Press.

*Boyce, J. (2004).Marketing Research(2nd edn). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

*Cone, J. & Foster, S. (2006).Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish(2nd edn). Washington: American Psychological Association.

Goodwin, C.J. (2012).Research in Psychology: Methods and design(7th edn). New York: John Wiley.

Harris, P. (2008).Designing and Reporting Experiments in Psychology(3rd edn). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Polgar, S. & Thomas, S.A. (2013).Introduction to Research in the Health Sciences(6th edn). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

Stangor, C. (2006).Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences(3rd edn). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

*Tharenou, P., Donohue, R. & Cooper, B. (2007).Management Research Methods.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Questionnaire design

*De Vaus, D.A. (2014). Surveys in Social Research (6th edn). Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

Scale selection and construction

Dawis, R.V. (1987). Scale Construction.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34, 481–9.

*DeVellis, R.F. (2012).Scale development: Theory and applications(3rd edn). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Gable, R.K. & Wolf, M.B. (1993).Instrument Development in the Affective Domain: Measuring attitudes and values in corporate and school settings. Boston: Kluwer Academic.

Kline, P. (1986).A Handbook of Test Construction. New York: Methuen.

Kline, T.J.B. (2005).Psychological Testing: A practical approach to design and evaluation. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Robinson, J.P., Shaver, P.R. & Wrightsman, L.S. (eds) (1991).Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes. Hillsdale, NJ: Academic Press.

*Streiner, D.L. & Norman, G.R. (2015). Health Measurement Scales: A practical guide to their development and use (5th edn). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Basic statistics

Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P.S. (2013).Business Research Methods(12th edn). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

*Gravetter, F.J. & Wallnau, L.B. (2012).Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences(9th edn). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Norman, G.R. & Streiner, D.L. (2014).Biostatistics: The bare essentials(4th edn). Shelton, CT: People's Medical Publishing House-USA

Motulsky, H. (2013).Intuitive Biostatistics: A nonmathematical guide to statistical thinking(3rd edn). New York: Oxford University Press.

Pagano, R.R. (2013).Understanding Statistics in the Behavioral Sciences(10th edn). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

*Peat, J. (2001).Health Science Research: A handbook of quantitative methods.Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

*Barton, B. & Peat, J (2014).Medical Statistics: A guide to data analysis and critical appraisal.Oxford: John Wiley and Sons.

Advanced statistics.

Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., Anderson, R.E. & Tatham, R.L. (2009).Multivariate Data Analysis(7th edn). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Pett, M.A., Lackey, N.R., & Sullivan, J.J. (2003).Making Sense of Factor Analysis: The use of factor analysis for instrument development in health care research.Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Stevens, J. (2009).Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences(5th edn). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

*Tabachnick, B.G. & Fidell, L.S. (2013).Using Multivariate Statistics(6th edn). Boston: Pearson Education.

Preparing your report

American Psychological Association (2020).Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(7th edn). Washington: American Psychological Association.

McInerney, D.M. (2001).Publishing your Psychology Research. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

Belcher, W.L. (2009).Writing Your Journal Article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Nicol, A.A.M. & Pexman, P.M. (2010a).Displaying Your Findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and presentations(6th edn). Washington: American Psychological Association.

Nicol, A.A.M. & Pexman, P.M. (2010b).Presenting Your Findings: A practical guide to creating tables(6th edn). Washington: American Psychological Association.

*Peacock, J. & Kerry, S. (2007).Presenting Medical Statistics from Proposal to Publication: A step-by-step guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Useful websites

In addition to the more traditional paper-based resources, there are many websites you may find useful. There has been an explosion in the number of statistics sites on the Web—some statistics texts are completely web-based. I have listed some useful starting points for you below. These sites also have links to many other potentially useful sites.

http://edpsychassociates.com/Watkins3.html

This site contains free downloads of a wide variety of statistics tools and calculators. It provides a programMonte Carlo PCA for Parallel Analysiswhich is discussed in Chapter 15 Factor Analysis.
Look down the list of available programs until you find "Monte Carlo PCA for Parallel Analysis". Choose the version that suits you (Windows or Mac). Click on the coloured icon on the left hand side to download the zip file.
The zipped file for the MonteCarlo PCA for Windows can also be downloaded here.

http://vassarstats.net/index.html

This is a link to the VassarStats website, which provides a range of tools for performing statistical computation. There is a companion online textbook that goes with this site available fromhttp://vassarstats.net/textbook/

http://www.uccs.edu/~lbecker/

A useful website that provides a quick and easy way to calculate effect size statistics. Effect sizes are discussed in the introductory section to Part Five and in Chapter 17 T-tests.

http://www.psycho.uni-duesseldorf.de/abteilungen/aap/gpower3/

From this site you can download G*Power: a very powerful program that allows you to conduct 'power analysis' to determine the numbers of cases you will need to obtain for your study. This issue of power is discussed in the introductory section to Part Five.

http://www.biostats.com.au/DAG_Stat

DAG_Stat provides a comprehensive range of statistics calculable from 2 by 2 tables that are useful in evaluating diagnostic tests and interrater agreement (this is discussed in Chapter 16 in the section on Kappa Measure of Agreement)