Assignment 2: Correlation and Bivariate Regression in Practice

For this Assignment, you will continue your practice as a critical consumer of research. You will critically evaluate a scholarly article related to correlation and bivariate regression.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Use the Course Guide and Assignment Help found in this week’s Learning Resources and search for a quantitative article related to correlation and bivariate regression.

For this Assignment:

Write a 2- to 3-page critique of the article you found. In your critique, include responses to the following:

• Why did the authors use correlation or bivariate regression?
• Do you think it’s the most appropriate choice? Why or why not?
• Did the authors display the data?
• Does the results table stand-alone (i.e., are you able to interpret the study from it?) Why or why not?

Use proper APA format, citations, and referencing.

Assignment 1: Testing for Correlation and Bivariate Regression

You had the chance earlier in the week to practice with the correlation and simple linear regression and obtain peer feedback. Hopefully you are excited about the potential these tests hold; equally important is that you recognize some of their weaknesses. Now, it is once again time to put all of that good brainstorming to use and answer a social research question with the correlation and simple linear regression. As you begin the Assignment, be sure and pay close attention to the assumptions of the test. Specifically, make sure that your variables are metric level variables that can easily be interpreted in these tests.

For this Assignment, you will examine correlation and bivariate regression testing.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and media program related to regression and correlation.
• Using the SPSS software, open the Afrobarometer dataset or the High School Longitudinal Study dataset (whichever you choose) found in the Learning Resources for this week.
• Based on the dataset you chose, construct a research question that can be answered with a Pearson correlation and bivariate regression.
• Once you perform your correlation and bivariate regression analysis, review Chapter 11 of the Wagner text to understand how to copy and paste your output into your Word document.

For this Assignment:

Write a 2- to 3-paragraph analysis of your correlation and bivariate regression results for each research question. In your analysis, display the data for the output. Based on your results, provide an explanation of what the implications of social change might be.

Use proper APA format, citations, and referencing for your analysis, research question, and display of output.

Discussion: Correlation and Bivariate Regression

Similar to the previous week’s Discussion, this Discussion assists in solidifying your understanding of statistical testing by engaging in some data analysis. This week you will once again work with a real, secondary dataset to construct a research question, perform a correlation and bivariate regression model, and interpret the results.

Whether in a scholarly or practitioner setting, good research and data analysis should have the benefit of peer feedback. For this Discussion, you will post your response to the hypothesis test, along with the results. Be sure and remember that the goal is to obtain constructive feedback to improve the research and its interpretation, so please view this as an opportunity to learn from one another.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and media program related to regression and correlation.
• Review Magnusson’s web blog found in the Learning Resources to further your visualization and understanding of correlations between two variables.
• Construct a research question using the General Social Survey dataset, which can be answered by a Pearson correlation and bivariate regression.

By Day 3

Use SPSS to answer the research question. Post your response to the following:

1. What is your research question?
2. What is the null hypothesis for your question?
3. What research design would align with this question?
4. What dependent variable was used and how is it measured?
5. What independent variable is used and how is it measured?
6. If you found significance, what is the strength of the effect?
7. Explain your results for a lay audience; explain the answer to your research question.

Be sure to support your Main Post and Response Post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA Style.

By Day 5