Assignment 6

Assignment-6

Insert name

Institutional affiliation

Assignment-6

Describe the purpose of data analysis.

Data analysis refers to the process of obtaining raw data and converting it into useful information that can be used in decision-making. The data collected is analyzed to either prove or disapprove hypothesis. As such, the purpose of data analysis is to extract important information from raw data to help in decision-making.

Why researchers need to interpret their results?

Interpretation of results involves determining whether the findings of the research conform or does not conform to previous studies or literature review on the phenomenon under investigation. It also provides insights or information on the issue under investigation. In quantitative studies interpretation of results involves determining whether the results conform to the research question or hypothesis. On the other hand, in qualitative studies the interpretation of results revolves around the themes of the research. For each question or theme, the researchers should go back the literature review and look at the main findings of previous studies on the issue. Interpretation of results is very important since all the work in the research leads to the interpretation of the findings of the research. In addition, other major sections of the discussion follow the interpretation of the research. These sections include implications, recommendations for future research, and the conclusions of the research.

What does hypothesis mean in research? Discuss the importance of hypothesis in a research.

Hypothesis is one of the fundamental tools used in research. It refers to a tentative solution to the issue under investigation in the research. The hypothesis should always be developed during the beginning of the research. This is because the hypothesis acts as a stimulus to the critical thoughts that offer insights into the phenomenon under investigation. The proposition may either be accepted or rejected. It offers the specificity what to study in addition to providing the solution to the problem or issue under investigation. The hypothesis is important since it acts as the “eyes of the researcher. It guides the research in undertaking further research by seeking answers tentatively. The hypothesis also focuses the research. Without it, the research would be unfocused like a random empirical wandering. The hypothesis provides the link between investigation and theory (Ross & Willson, 2018).

Discuss the steps involved in hypothesis testing.

There are seven major steps involved in hypothesis testing. The first step involves the stating of the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the opposite of the hypothesis. The second step is stating the alternative hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis is created so that if the null hypothesis is rejected there would be many possibilities. The third step is setting α. The typical value of alpha is 0.05. The fourth step is the collection of data. The fifth step is the calculation of a test statistic. The sixth step is the construction of acceptance or rejection regions. The last step is drawing a conclusion based on the fifth and sixth steps that have been outlined above.

What are the different types of statistical analysis?

There are two main types of statistical analysis – descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics summarizes data from a sample using indexes such as standard deviation or mean. On the other hand, inferential statistics draws conclusions from data that may have random variation. Descriptive statistics focused on two sets of properties of distribution – central tendency and dispersion (Ross & Willson, 2018).

Reference

Ross, A., & Willson, V. L. (2018). Basic and advanced statistical tests: Writing results sections and creating tables and figures. New York, NY: Springer.