Data Interpretation

201LON Data Interpretation

End-of-module Coursework: Research Report

Your task:

Write a report on a research topic of your choice. The report must analyse original data that you gathered from your own survey.  The survey can be designed and conducted in groups, but the data analysis and report writing is an individual task where collaboration will be considered as academic impropriety.

Parts of the data analysis will be either actually done or demonstrated in seminars to verify the originality of your work.

Word count: 1,500 – 2,000 words in core text excluding tables and diagrams.

Conditions:

1. You must make use of all the following data types in your analysis.
   1. Categorical
   2. Numerical: Discrete
   3. Numerical: Continuous
2. Your data analysis must test hypotheses and include:
   1. Describing a group (or several groups)
   2. Inference about one group
   3. Comparing two (or more) groups
   4. Analysing the relationship between two groups

Aim at using all four tasks for combinations of numerical and categorical data.

3. Organise and visualise your data and results clearly, using tables and figures as appropriate.
4. Explain your findings clearly.
5. Draw conclusions from your findings. This may include recommendations where appropriate, depending on your topic.
6. All statistical workings (Excel or SPSS output) must be shown in the appendix and in class. Failure to do either will trigger a viva voce.

Report Structure:

1. Introduction
   1. Explain the use of your survey, justify why it is interesting to do.
   2. State your overall research question(s) / objective(s).
   3. State and shortly justify your hypotheses (min. four)

Note: There is no literature review required in this coursework. In later research reports, your literature review would come here, after your introduction, and provide the basis for your hypotheses.

2. Data and Research Methods
   1. Explain the metrics of your survey – sampling method, sample size, etc.
   2. Limitations (either here or under 4.)
3. Findings
   1. Test your hypotheses and provide your findings here.
   2. Summarise your findings in a professional way. Lengthy tables should be appended.
4. Conclusion and Recommendations

Front matters include:

1. Title page
2. Table of contents, automatically created with your word processor’s index function
3. Lists of tables and figures, automatically created with your word processor’s index function

End matters include:

1. List of references (Harvard style)
2. Appendix

Marking Criteria:

• – Justification of topic
• – Relevance of research questions / objectives
• – Relevance of hypotheses
• – Accuracy of hypotheses
• – Justification of hypotheses
• – Accuracy and explanation of research methods
• – Awareness of limitations
• – Appropriate use of data for hypothesis testing
• – Amount of data analysis
• – Spread of data analysis techniques
• – Accuracy of data analysis
• – Appropriate use of statistical software for data analysis
• – Relevance of findings
• – Accuracy of findings
• – Relevance of conclusions
• – Accuracy of conclusions
• – Presentation of data
• – Overall presentation of report
• – Use of word processor functions

• – Clarity and completeness of appendix