SOCI332 Statistics * DUE ASAP*

Week 6 Forum

So far you have read about and practiced various tests of significance.  These tests work in two ways:

1. They allow us to see if our relationship is "statistically significant".  (Remember that this only shows us that there is or is not a relationship but does NOT show us if it is big, small, or in-between.)
2. It let's us know if our findings can be generalized to the population which our sample was selected from and represents.

This week you will decide which test of significance you will use for your project.  For this class your choices for tests will include one of the following:

• Chi-square
• t Test
• ANOVA

We will be using a process for hypothesis testing which outlines five steps researchers can follow to complete this process:

1. Write your research hypothesis (H1) and your null hypothesis (H0).
2. Identify and record your level of significance.  These are usually .05 or .01. 
3. Complete the test using SPSS.
4. Identify the number under Sig. (2-tail).  This will be represented by "p".
5. Compare the numbers in steps 2 and 4 and apply the following rule:
   1. If p < or = level of significance, than you reject the null hypothesis
6. Determine what to do with your null and explain this to your reader.  Be sure to go beyond the phrase "reject or fail to reject the null" and explain how that impacts your research and best describes the relationship between variables.