Sexual attitudes and lifestyles.
a) Please give details of the research on which you are reporting Title: Sexual attitudes and lifestyles Author(s): Anne M. Johnson, Jane Wadsworth, Kaye Wellings, and Julia Field Date of publication/completion: 1994 Publisher or source: b) Outline of the Research design (210-300 words) You should state the objective of your chosen piece of research, and use this section to outline how the researcher/s carried out their research. You should describe the aims of the research and the research methods that were used. (You may wish to consider sample size, access to sample, ethics etc.) Johnson et al aimed to research sexual behaviour due to the emergence of AIDS in the 1980s. Before this study, the study of sexual behaviour was much neglected due to attitudes towards it. The Conservative government declined to finance the survey due its belief that personal business should be 'kept behind closed doors'. People working in the fields of fertility, sexual health and education were hindered in their work by the shortage of data. Luckily the 'Wellcome Trust' funded the research. With the emergence of the AIDS epidemic, up-to-date research was required. This study was the largest and most comprehensive survey of sexual behaviour ever conducted. The information was collected from over 19,000 randomly selected British representatives selected through the Post office postcode
An investigation to determine the effect of temperature on the permeability of beetroot cells.
Katie Ruck An investigation to determine the effect of temperature on the permeability of beetroot cells Evaluation Although an apparent trend is illustrated by the experimental data plotted, I am reluctant to formulate a valid conclusion on the effect of temperature on the permeability of beetroot cells due to the variability of the results obtained. Although five repeats were performed, the data collected is not reliable because of variation within the sets of results. This could have been due to various limitations of the experiment. At 30oC for example, the reading for absorbance of light in arbitrary units, was 0.12%. When compared to the results collected from other repeats at this temperature, this appears to be an unusually high value. Further examples of possible anomalous data were 0.03% at a heat treatment of 40oC together with 0.06% at 50oC. If these anomalous results were not included in the mean absorbance plotted, this could have had a significant effect on the overall conclusion. For example, had the reading at 40oC not been included in the mean, the reading plotted at this temperature of heat treatment may not have been lower than the mean result plotted at 30oC, as is shown on the graph by a slight dip. The size of the range bars causes one to question the reliability of the experimental data. These are especially large at higher temperatures of
Practical Applications of Statistical Concepts
Practical Applications of Statistical Concepts Charity Maynard QNT 530: Statistics & Research Methods for Managerial Decisions Sid V. Soben, PhD, Instructor September 29, 2004 Practical Applications of Statistical Concepts Statistics are objective measurements that describe a characteristic of a sample according to Lind, Marchal, and Mason (2002). Statistics provide useful information for observers involved in many different aspects of life such as sports, business, or politics to name a few. A thorough understanding of statistical concepts will allow managers to make informed decisions as they become skilled in identifying trends and predicting future outcomes thus, increasing their probability for success. Skilled managers will be better prepared to make informed business decisions as they learn to practically apply statistical concepts such as central tendency; mean, median and mode; sampling; and the empirical rule. To begin with, statistics can be presented or measured in various forms. A measure of central tendency as defined by Lind et al. (2002) is a single value that summarizes a set of data by locating the center of the values. This typical single value can be used by managers to transform raw data into something useful. For example, knowing the average cost of hiring a new employee may prompt managers to explore less expensive retention programs among
Critical Analysis of a Research Paper The paper I am going to analyse is taken from the journal of strength and conditioning research. It was written by Ledford, A., and Branch, J,D. The paper focuses on the effects of creatine supplementation on peak
Critical Analysis of a Research Paper The paper I am going to analyse is taken from the journal of strength and conditioning research. It was written by Ledford, A., and Branch, J,D. The paper focuses on the effects of creatine supplementation on peak power production and work capacity. The author develops this theory by performing repetitive wingate tests in women. The paper includes research methods and statistical results. Title The title of the paper is very simple and direct. It has all the key words needed to notify the reader of the subject of the research. The language is specific to sport by using key terminology like 'creatine' and 'wingate test.' The title is written in a large bold font which signifies the importance of the text. The authors are listed in a smaller font, informing who contributed to the paper. Abstract This section elaborates on the title and declares the hypothesis of the study. It is very informative and clearly states what the research is about. When people access the journal via the electronic database, this small section is understandable, interesting and makes the reader want to carry on. The abstract follows on to give a more detailed account of the research with a summary of results. There is also a sentence at the end which outlines the conclusions found. It states that 'the practical application of the study is that 5 days of
Quantitative Analysis for Business.
Quantitative Analysis Quantitative Analysis for Business Summarising Data Part of the reason why we analyse data is to see patterns. It is difficult to see patterns in data without summarising the data in some way. The most common way to summarise data is to convert the data into a summary table, into a graph or picture, or to use summary measures like the average. The benefit of this type of summary is that it gives us an instant picture of what is going on in our data set. The problem is that we often lose the detail of the original data. Frequency Distributions Suppose you have collected some data on the number of children in people's families. The variable we are measuring is 'number of children in the family'. The values that this variable can take are numbers like 0, 1, 2 or 3. These are discrete data, in that they can only be measured as whole values. You can't measure children in ever more accurate values like you can time or distance. When you can measure data in continuously more accurate measures (providing you have an appropriate measuring instrument), we call this type of data - continuous data. Start by turning your data set on the variable, number of children, into a frequency distribution. A frequency distribution is a table that shows the values that a variable can take on the left hand column and then the frequency with which we observe the
Racial Profiling and Data Collection.
Lori Young (533992) Racial Profiling and Data Collection CJ- 246 Over the last several years, allegations of racial bias in traffic stops have become so common that the practice has been popularly labeled as "DWB" (Driving While Black.) Racial profiling is the practice of targeting or stopping a pedestrian or driver based primarily on their race, rather than any individualized suspicion or crime. Is racial profiling really discrimination or just good police work? I have found that it depends on whom you ask and what definition of "racial profiling" they believe. Yost Zakhary, Public Safety Director of the city of Woodway, Texas believes that racial profiling occurs, but not at the rate many claim. Zakhary, a native of India, says the percentages show blacks commit more crimes. Any violation of the traffic code is a legitimate reason for pulling a driver over, Zakhary says. He also mentions the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics that found that blacks comprised 12% of the American population and 50% of the prison population. He states that statistics show blacks are eight times more likely than non-blacks to commit a crime. "Unfortunately, Zakhary states, in racial profiling if blacks are more likely to commit crimes than whites, innocent blacks are more likely than innocent whites to have encounters with police. He gives the example of a description of a
Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative approaches to research methodology.
Title: Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative approaches to research methodology. It is within human nature and instinct to be aware and to seek an understanding of the natural occurrences within our environment. Therefore it can be said, in order to attain the understanding of the unknown, we must go through specific processes of experiences, reasoning and research (Mouly, 1978 cited in Cohen, L and Manion J, 2000). This brings to light the importance of research within our daily existence, where research is not just looked upon as a practical exercise, more however as an abstract tool with a view to perceive and understand the world in which we live in and how we interpret the knowledge but most importantly how we analyse the purpose of understanding. As 'To understand is hard. Once one understands, action is easy.' (San Yat Sen, cited in Cohen, L and Manion J, 2000) The purpose of research can be seen upon as to explore the information within our environment and consider their viability and effectiveness and whether these can add value for learners to the whole experience. Research Methodologies engage in methods of investigation and sampling techniques, researchers mainly use two types of research to obtain their information, firstly Primary data; this is where information is collected independently, Primary sources refer to specific materials
How to lie with statistics
How to lie with statistics using statistics in media is a good way to persuade people Nowadays, we are all becoming aware of the fact that using statistics in media is a good way to persuade people. The only problem is that statistics can be used to manipulate data in the way we want. Some of the techniques for data manipulation are going to be uncovered in this article. As a result, people, who believe in statistics from media, are in danger of being manipulated. Mark Twain once said: "there are three types of lies: lies, bare lies and statistics". So the main argument of this essay is: "statistical analysis is a mathematical way of making some inference about the data or summarizing it, hence the data analysed using formal methods is unbiased". In the first passage I would like to discuss the fact that averages hide a lot of information. Afterwards, I would like to present a case of O.J. Simpson and incorrect interpretation of conditional probabilities, which is a good example of unwarranted assumptions or in particular Black-and-White thinking. Final argument is how important is to make correct assumptions also known as false or misleading presuppositions. The first argument is that: "there are several types of averages such as median, mode and mean, so averages hide a lot of information" . Even though in most of the cases arithmetic mean is used as an average,
Four factors that determined the choice of car; miles per gallon, horsepower, service interval and price. Utilising SPSS, the subsequent report will aid in describing, manipulating, analysing and interpreting this sample of collected data.
Contents Table 1 Introduction.................................................................. .........3 2 The Sample............................................................................4 3 Description of Data....................................................................5 4 Bivariate analysis of data............................................................12 5 Conclusion.............................................................................19 Bibliography & References......................................... Introduction A random sample of 20 car users were consulted about four factors that determined their choice of car; miles per gallon, horsepower, service interval and price. Utilising SPSS, the subsequent report will aid in describing, manipulating, analysing and interpreting this sample of collected data. It will see if there is a relationship between variables and if one variable can predict another. The report will be split into the following sections: 2- Display of data that is to be used in SPSS. 3- Description of data using appropriate descriptive statistics 4- Using appropriate techniques to see if there is a relationship between variables and to see if one can predict another. 5- The report will conclude with a summary of all the findings. 2 The Sample The following is the data drawn at random from 20 car users. The
HND business decision making
INTRODUCTION Surrey County Council is considering the refurbishment and re-opening of the Spectrum leisure centre in Guildford. They wish to improve the facilities and services they offer with the customer in focus. Spectrum leisure centre will be improved in various places based on customer and public opinion. The needs of potential and existing customers are at the foremost of the refurbishment project. The basis of this report is that Surrey County Council need primary and secondary research to be conducted on various aspects of the project. Customer and public opinion of the centre is needed to judge what areas are in most need of improvement. The work will be carried out by local builders and building contractors. Research will be needed to find appropriate ones for this project. The aim of this report is to ensure the Spectrum Leisure Centre is number one in its market and ensures that it is ahead of its competition and ready for the future. This report will consist of procedures, findings and conclusions. TERMS OF REFERENCE This report is for the attention of Surrey County Council. The report is about the planned refurbishment of the Spectrum leisure centre situated in Guildford. The report will be presented to the Spectrum Committee on 18th January 2007. Surrey County Council requires research about the customers of the Spectrum leisure centre before