Discussion: Random Selection:
By Saturday, July 25, post your response to the discussion in the Discussion Area below. Write your initial response in 4 paragraphs. through Wednesday, July 29, review, and comment on at least two peers’ responses.
A random selection of files from a student counseling center revealed the following reasons why college students seek services:
| Mental health issues | 25 |
| Learning/school issues | 15 |
| Relationship issues | 5 |
| Other | 5 |
- What does it mean to say the files were randomly selected?
- How would the researcher randomly select files? In other words, what does the process look like?
- What is the probability that if we pulled another student file from the counseling center the student would fall in each of the following categories a) mental health issues, b) learning/school issues OR relationship issues, c) any category except other?
- Would our probabilities and results be different if we used convenience sampling? Why or why not?
Assignment 2: Conducting a z-Test
A researcher predicts that watching a film on institutionalization will change students’ attitudes about chronically mentally ill patients. The researcher randomly selects a class of 36 students, shows them the film, and gives them a questionnaire about their attitudes. The mean score on the questionnaire for these 36 students is 70. The score for people in general on this questionnaire is 75, with a standard deviation of 12. Using the five steps of hypothesis testing and the 5% significance level (i.e. alpha = .05), does showing the film change students’ attitudes towards the chronically mentally ill?
- What does it mean to set alpha at .05?
- What is your null hypothesis? Alternate hypothesis?
- Is this a one-tailed or two-tailed hypothesis?
- What is the critical z?
- Calculate the obtained z. Do you reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?
- State in words what you have found.
