Quantitative Research Methods

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SOC20260
Quantitative Research Methods
Trimester 1, 2020
Assignment 2
Assignment 2 (2500 words): Research Report (60%)
Due: Friday 18th December 2020, 3pm
What to do
This assignment will test your knowledge of data analysis and reporting. There are four
components:
1. From the following lists of variables, choose one dependent variable from column one,
and three independent variables from column two. Justify your choices (See Table 1).
2. Provide graphs, and descriptive statistics with a brief commentary, for each of your chosen
variables.
3. Specify three hypotheses to be tested using your chosen variables.
4. Explore, or test your hypotheses using any of the following techniques covered in the
module: t-test for comparison of means, correlation, or bivariate regression. Try to use as
many different tests as possible.
Table 1: List of Variables

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Dataset
The data for this assignment is from the European Social Survey dataset you have been working
with in tutorials this year. The assignment2data.sav file contains all of the variables mentioned
above. Please do not use any other dataset for this assignment.
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General Guidelines
1. SPSS
You must use SPSS to analyse the data. Graphs, descriptive statistics and results and any
other tables or charts you wish to use must be generated through SPSS. Start your assignment
early, do not depend on software at the last minute. This goes for SPSS, Word, or any
programme for any other module.
2. Word Count
The word count for this assignment is 2500 words, excluding your bibliography/list of
references. The word count may be 10% under or 10% over the word count; which means that
assignments between 2250 – 2750 words will be accepted.
3. Referencing
Please use the Harvard referencing system for this assignment. The Harvard guide is available
from the library website and on Brightspace. All sources used must be cited. The in-text citations
must match the list of references in your Bibliography and vice versa.
4. Submission
Upload your assignment in a single file to Brightspace by 3pm Fri 18th of December 2020. All
assignments must be submitted online, and no paper submissions will be accepted.
Please familiarise yourself with departmental late policy, and policies on extensions. All extension
requests must go through the school office – extension request form is available on Brightspace
under my learning. All extension requests must be submitted before the deadline and no
extensions will not be granted via email. Supporting documents e.g. medical certificates are
required and can be uploaded with the extension request form. Please direct administrative
questions at sociology@ucd.ie
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How to do it
1. From the following lists of variables, choose one dependent variable from column
one, and three independent variables from column two. Justify your choices.
The variable you choose as your dependent variable will largely decide the subject of your
assignment. For example, if you choose trstplc, then your assignment will focus on analysing
factors associated with different levels of trust in the police. This will make selecting readings,
choosing variables, and reporting the research easier. Treat the assignment as telling a short
story through a preliminary research report, with the course dataset.
Your three independent variables are variables which you think may be related to or may explain
variation in your outcome (dependent variable). For example, levels of happiness (happy) may
be influenced by whether someone has reported feelings of depression (fltdpr), or marital status
(maritalb). Some of the independent variables can be used to explain a number of dependent
variables: age may be related to levels of happiness (happy), or to religiosity (rlgdgr), and so on.
There is no single way, or no ‘correct’ choice of variables to match from column one to two, they
can be combined in many different ways. Your choices of variables, should, however, be justified.
‘Justify your choices’ means state why your three chosen independent variables may be related
to your dependent variable – use literature and empirical evidence for justification.
2. Specify three hypotheses to be tested using your chosen variables.
Formulate some testable hypotheses about the associations/correlations/relationships under
study. This should be largely based on prior empirical knowledge and/or theoretical
considerations. Please cite articles on these topics when you deduce the hypotheses.
Each of your three hypotheses should specify a relationship between your dependent variable,
and one of your independent variables. For example, let’s say you have chosen rlgdgr as your
dependent, and agea as one of your independents. Your hypothesis could be constructed as
follows:
Ha: there is a statistically significant, relationship between religiosity and age
Ho: there is no statistically significant relationship between religiosity and age
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3. Provide graphs, and descriptive statistics with a brief commentary, for each of your
chosen variables.
For each of your chosen variables, give a graphical summary (a bar chart, histogram, boxplot
etc.) Be creative. If you wish – split the results of a bar chart by categories or limit your selection
of cases in a histogram. Pay attention to the level of measurement of the variable – certain types
of chart are only appropriate for certain kinds of variables.
Provide appropriate descriptive statistics for your variables with a short discussion of the results
– you may wish to report the mean, median, mode, range, or standard deviation, depending on
the level of measurement of the variable. You could also use frequency tables. Some points you
may wish to consider: what concepts are your variables measuring? Are you satisfied that they
are valid or reliable? Do the averages seem high or low? What is the general pattern of responses
in the variable?
You can provide descriptive statistics in the form of tables for ordinal/nominal variables and
summary statistics (mean, median, standard deviation) for scale/ratio variables.
4. Test your hypotheses using any of the following techniques covered in the module:
t-test for comparison of means, correlation, or bivariate regression.
It is then up to you to select an appropriate way to test your hypotheses. For example, for the
hypotheses stated below:
Ha: There is a statistically significant, positive relationship between religiosity and age.
Ho: There is no statistically significant relationship between religiosity and age.
You might use the Pearson correlation (to be covered in week 8) between religiosity and age. To
complete your assignment, you would then decide on appropriate tests for your remaining two
independent variables. Remember to pay attention to the type of variables you have chosen,
particularly their level of measurement. This will determine the kind of analysis you can use.
Layout
These word counts are a general guide, and not absolute requirements. It is fine to go a little over
or under word count across various sections. The stated word count should give you some idea
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of the relative important, and level of detail required of, the different sections. You should format
your assignment in sections using the following section headings (which is the layout followed by
many research reports).
Fig 1: Research Report Layout and Sections
1. Introduction to the research topic (400 words)
Use this section to outline your choice of variables, and to state the overall subject of your
assignment, based on your choice of dependent variable (trust, health, religion etc.)
2. Hypotheses (400 words)
State your three hypotheses as illustrated above, and comment on why you might expect
to find such an effect, association, or relationship, derived from existing literature.
3. Descriptive statistics and graphs (600 words)
In this section, include your summary statistics and graphs, and your interpretation of the
summary statistics.
4. Results (900 words)
Provide the results of your tests or analyses here, and report your findings, as suggested
above. You may wish to consider some of the following:
• Were your findings statistically significant?
• Why do you think there was a strong/negative/weak/no association between your
independent and dependent variables?
Research Report Layout
1. Introduction to the research topic (400 words)
2. Hypotheses (400 words)
3. Descriptive statistics and graphs (600 words)
4. Results (900 words)
5. Conclusion (200)
References
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• Remember to pay attention to the conventions of reporting and refer to lecture
notes and readings to make sure you have provided the necessary information (pvalue, and test statistics, or slope/coefficient if using regression).
5. Conclusion (200 words)
Summarize your main findings and what we can learn from them. You may point to some
limitations of your analysis.
References
Include a final list of all material cited in the assignment. At a minimum, we expect evidence that
you have read some of the core course materials and set readings. Additional background
reading is always encouraged. You should include references to literature you used to form your
hypotheses and/or on the subject represented by your dependent variable. You could use some
of the journals recommended for assignment 1 to look for relevant articles. Try to use
approximately three recently published articles (if possible within the last decade) to derive your
hypotheses from these.
Timeline for completion
The best way to approach this assignment is to decide, as early as possible, what your variables
will be, and to use your tutorials as a way of getting started with your analysis.
As the assignment is due 18th of December, we want you to be close to completion the week
before, with the final days given over to final write-up.
You already have enough information to complete sections one and two, along with the
knowledge your reading so far has given regarding interpretation of descriptive statistics. Over
the next few weeks we will cover various data analysis techniques which will enable you to
complete sections 3 and 4. The last few tutorials will focus specifically on working on your
assignments.
What if I have questions about this assignment?
If you run into difficulties or have questions about this assignment, please do the following:
1. Check Week slides and online lectures
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2. Check the Assignment 2 Guidelines
3. Post a question through the assignment 2 discussion forum.
Please note that all questions related to this assignment should be posted through
the forum and not in personal emails to me or the tutors.
4. Ask your tutors during your tutorial
5. Arrange a meeting with me during office hours (after the lectures).