Reference no: EM133276261
Part 1: Measurement and Coding
As a researcher, you plan to survey the public's opinion about voting and elections for the upcoming 2022 midterm elections in November. Describe four methods of administering a survey and the pros and cons associated with each method. (Keep in mind that your answer must not simply describe the four methods. Your answers must be framed in the context of conducting a survey of public attitudes and behaviors regarding the upcoming midterm elections). Next, discuss problems regarding both reliability and validity as it relates to question wording and sampling strategy (15 points).
You decide to conduct a quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of public service delivery programs in New Mexico. Through a survey research design of local governments across counties, you collect data on the following variables for each city: (1) population size; (2) percentage of different racial groups; (3) form of government; (4) educational service delivery options; (5) median household incomes; and (6) level of support for school choice.
For each of the six variables below, identify the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio).
If you supplement this study with interviews of public officials, what types of questions would you ask? What are the benefits and cons of conducting interviews with them? What are some threats to validity and reliability?
Part 2: Experimental Design
Describe the classic experimental design. What is an experiment? What is the purpose, and what are the advantages? Why is randomization important and how does this cancel out spuriousness? (Remember to define the terms randomization and spuriousness in your response.) Also, what are the major disadvantages of an experiment?
Part 3: Quasi-Experimental Methodologies
Describe and compare the different qualitative and quantitative research methods. For example, what are the features of each method? What are the purposes of using each? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What are threats to reliability and validity? Please use sufficient examples to explain in detail.
Part 4: Statistical Application
Assume you are part of an educational policy project examining student enrollment in public four-year colleges and universities in the United States. Use the SPSS file provided for this test (titled "midterm data") to report information and execute the following tasks. Instructions provided separately.
Construct a variable for the average number of undergraduate students enrolled at each college ("avgenroll") from Fall 2011 to Fall 2020. (4 pts) Must be displayed in SPSS output file.
Examine the variable avgenroll. What is the average undergraduate enrollment figure for New Mexico State University-Main Campus?
Produce descriptive statistics and frequency tables for the variables Fall 2020 to Fall 2011 and the avgenroll variable. (8 points)Must be displayed in SPSS output file.
Examine and compare the statistics provided in the Descriptives table vs. Frequencies table. Which table is more informative / useful and why?
Examine the "Mean" of avgenroll. Compared to the Mean of Fall 2020, has the Mean of avgenroll increased or decreased? Examine the "Median" of avgenroll. Compared to the Median of Fall 2020, has the Median of avgenroll increased or decreased?
Finally, which is a better measure of examining enrollment numbers, the Mean or Median? Why? Please explain in detail.