Empirical Research Methods II

Spring 2000

Lab 1: Descriptive Data Analysis on The Advising Survey

 

This assignment is due on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, before class, but it should not take more than 2-3 hours, including the time you spend on it during this lab.  Besides this assignment guideline - you should have:

·       A printout of the Advising Survey we created

·       A data dictionary for how the variables in the survey are coded

·       A Minitab refresher

 

The data from the Advising Survey is in the file advising.mtw, which is stored in the course data directory:        /afs/andrew.cmu.edu/course/88/241/data

 

The first thing to do is download the file advising.mtp. If you don't know how to use ftp to do this, follow these instructions.

 

Figure 1. Calling FTP within a Command Prompt

 

1)    Go to the Programs menu under Start (bottom left of the screen). Find and select Command Prompt.

2)    At the prompt inside the Command Prompt window, change directories to c:\temp, a local directory you can write to while you are on the machine in this cluster, by typing: cd   c:\temp

3)    Now invoke ftp by typing: ftp  unix.andrew.cmu.edu  (see Figure 1). Login with your andrew id and password.

4)    Change directories on the andrew side by typing:

cd   /afs/andrew.cmu.edu/course/88/241/data

5)    Type: dir    to see what files are in the data directory.

6)    Get the file advising.mtw by typing: get  advising.mtp

 

Your assignment is to write a short report (3-4 pages) that summarizes your initial findings from the advising survey data.  The report should contain formatted tables, as well as graphical displays, if appropriate.  Your goal is to convey the results of our survey in a format that will be useful to the advising center staff.  Your report should be organized according to the following outline.  

 

I.  Introduction

Motivate the survey - describe what it was trying to get at.  Describe in few sentences how the survey was conducted - the sampling scheme, how it was administered, etc. 

 

II.  Characteristics of the Sample

Summarize the sample characteristics, e.g., what proportion are H&SS, what proportion are Freshman, etc..  We recommend that you summarize this information in a table and refer to it in the text.

 

III. Use of Advising

Summarize how the advising center is used by the respondents.  What services are sought often, and what are not. How does use differ across colleges.

 

IV.  Overall Satisfaction with Advising

  1. What is the overall level of satisfaction with the AAC? 
  2. How does overall satisfaction differ between H&SS and other colleges.
  3. How does satisfaction differ between other groups, e.g., by year, gender, happy vs. unhappy people in general, etc..  Choose one or two grouping variables that are interesting to you.

 

V.  Specific Areas of Satisfaction

A.      Examining only H&SS students, what advice that the advisors dispense are students particularly satisfied with, and what are they particularly dissatisfied with. 

B.      Again, examining only H&SS students, what features of the advisors are students pleased with, and what are they dissatified with. 

 

VI.  Miscellaneous

Highlight some interesting results from the miscellaneous questions (q9-q21).  These could include differences between H&SS and other colleges on specific items, or the proportion of people on academic probation.

 

VII.  Summary

  1. Summarize your main and most striking findings in a short paragraph.
  2. Describe future analyses and/or research you might do to learn more.