Question 1

The analysis of data in social work research can be used to ______.

Accepted Answer

The analysis of data in social work research serves both to describe people (or phenomena) and to test hypotheses in explanatory research, making option C the correct answer.

Question 2

What step in the research process comes before the analysis of data?

Accepted Answer

The development of the knowledge base is a step that typically precedes the analysis of data in the research process. It involves reviewing existing literature and understanding the current state of knowledge in the field to inform the research question and methodology.

Question 3

If you had a question on a questionnaire that asked for the respondent to mark either Male or Female for the variable of gender, you would have a variable that is measured at what level?

Accepted Answer

The variable is measured at the nominal level because it categorizes respondents without any inherent order or ranking.

Question 4

Which of the following is a descriptive statistic?

Accepted Answer

The mean is a descriptive statistic because it summarizes or describes a set of data by finding the average.

Question 5

The proportion is ______.

Accepted Answer

The proportion refers to the percentage of individuals or items that fall into a specific category, making it a way to describe how a part relates to the whole. It is not an inferential statistic, an average of interval-level measurements, or specifically related to the most dominant answer in ordinal measurements.

Question 6

A descriptive statistic that could be calculated for a variable measured at the ordinal level but not the nominal level is the ______.

Accepted Answer

The median is a measure of central tendency that can be calculated for data measured at the ordinal level, as it involves ranking the data. Nominal data, which consists of categories without a natural order, does not allow for the calculation of a median.

Question 7

The standard deviation is a measure of ______.

Accepted Answer

The standard deviation is a measure of variance, indicating how spread out the numbers in a data set are.

Question 8

Inferential statistics are used to ______.

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics are utilized to test hypotheses and make inferences or predictions about a population based on sample data.

Question 9

What are two of the questions you must answer in order to select an inferential statistic?

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics involve making inferences about populations based on samples. The choice of an appropriate inferential statistic depends on the level of measurement of the variables (e.g., nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) and the number of variables involved in the analysis. These factors determine the assumptions that can be made about the data and, consequently, the statistical tests that are appropriate to use.

Question 10

Suppose that you have the following study hypothesis: Males will report higher salaries than females when years of experience and position level are taken into consideration. What is the independent variable in this hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated or categorized to see its effect on another variable. In this hypothesis, gender (male vs. female) is the variable being categorized to examine its effect on reported salaries, making it the independent variable.

Question 11

Suppose that you have the following study hypothesis: Males will report higher salaries than females when years of experience and position level are taken into consideration. How many variables are in this hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

The hypothesis involves three variables: gender (male or female), salary, and a combination of years of experience and position level.

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of the structure of your data when you are seeking a statistic for testing your study hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

Matched pretest and posttest scores are used to test hypotheses about changes or differences due to an intervention, making it a suitable structure for hypothesis testing.

Question 13

A correlation coefficient ______.

Accepted Answer

A correlation coefficient specifically measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables, not the other aspects mentioned in choices B, C, and D.

Question 14

Suppose you have composed the following study hypothesis: There is a positive relationship between grades in school (measured numerically rather than by letters) and scores for self-esteem. What statistic would be appropriate for testing this hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

The Pearson correlation coefficient is the appropriate statistic for testing the hypothesis of a positive relationship between grades in school and scores for self-esteem, as both variables are measured at the interval level.

Question 15

A perfect empirical relationship that is positive would be indicated by a correlation coefficient of ______.

Accepted Answer

A correlation coefficient of 1.0 indicates a perfect positive linear relationship between two variables, meaning as one variable increases, the other variable increases in a perfectly linear manner.

Question 16

When you compute the effect size in a one-group pretest-posttest study using a score for measuring depression, an effect size of 1.0 would mean that ______.

Accepted Answer

An effect size of 1.0 indicates that the average score change (e.g., reduction in depression scores) from pretest to posttest is equivalent to one standard deviation of those scores. This measure of effect size does not directly address statistical significance (A, C, D) but rather the magnitude of change or difference observed.

Question 17

Suppose you have the following hypothesis: Scores for anxiety for a single client will be lower during the treatment period than the one score taken for the baseline. What statistic would be appropriate for testing this hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

The one-sample t test is appropriate for testing this hypothesis because it is designed to compare a set of scores (in this case, scores during the treatment period) with a single score (the baseline score). This test checks if the mean of the treatment scores significantly differs from the baseline score, which aligns with the hypothesis stated.

Question 18

In evaluative research, you can report that your data supported your study hypothesis when the data ______.

Accepted Answer

In evaluative research, data supporting the study hypothesis typically means that the data went in the hypothesized direction and were statistically significant, indicating that the results are unlikely to have occurred by chance.

Question 19

What should the study conclusions of your research report start with?

Accepted Answer

The study conclusions should start with a summary of the data in relation to the main research question, as this directly addresses the outcomes and findings of the study.

Question 20

The dependent variable is the variable that is believed to be ______.

Accepted Answer

The dependent variable is the one that is expected to change as a result of manipulating the independent variable, meaning it is caused by the independent variable.

Quiz 16: Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions