Navigating The Dissertation
  • I: From Start to Proposal Defense
    • 1: Types >
      • Introduction for Types of Dissertations
      • Overview of the Dissertation
      • Self-Assessment Exercise
      • What is a Dissertation Committee
      • Different Types of Dissertations
    • 2: Overview >
      • Introduction for Overview of the Dissertation Process
      • Responsibilities: the Chair, the Team and You
      • Sorting Exercise
      • Stages of a Dissertation
      • Managing Your Time
      • Create Your Own Timeline
      • Working with a Writing Partner
      • Key Deadlines
      • Self Assessment Exercise
      • Additional Resources
    • 3: Background >
      • Purpose and Goals
      • Read and Evaluate Chapter 1 Exemplars
      • Draft an Introduction of the Study
      • Outline the Background of the Problem
      • Draft your Statement of the Problem
      • Draft your Purpose of the Study
      • Draft your Significance of the Study
      • List the Possible Limitations and Delimitations
      • Explicate the Definition of Terms
      • Outline the Organization of the Study
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 4: Lit Review >
      • Purpose and Goals
      • Purpose of the Literature Review
      • What is the Literature?
      • Article Summary Table
      • Writing a Short Literature Review
      • Outline for Literature Review
      • Synthesizing the Literature Review
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 5: Methods >
      • Purpose and Goals
      • Purpose of the Methodology Chapter
      • Topics to Include
      • Preparing to Write the Methodology Chapter
      • Self-Assessment Exercise
      • Confidentiality
      • Building the Components for Chapter Three
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 6: Qualify Exam & IRB >
      • Preparing for Your Qualifying Exam (aka Proposal Defense)
      • What is Needed for Your Proposal Defense?
      • Submitting Your Best Draft
      • Preparing Your Abstract for IRB
      • Use of Self-Assessment
      • Preparing Your PowerPoint
      • During Your Proposal Defense
      • After Your Proposal Defense
  • II: Data Collection and Analysis
    • 1: IRB
    • 2: Data Collection >
      • Pre-observation – Issues to consider
      • During Observations
      • Wrapping Up
      • Recommended Resources and Readings (Qualitative)
      • Quantitative Data Collection
      • Recommended Resources and Readings (Quantitative)
    • 3: Data Analysis >
      • Qualitative: Before you Start
      • Qualitative: During Analysis
      • Qualitative: After Analysis
      • Qualitative: Recommended Resources and Readings
      • Quantitative: Deciding on the Right Analysis
      • Quantitative: Data Management and Cleaning
      • Quantitative: Keep Track of your Analysis
  • III: Findings, Discussion, and Final Defense
    • 1: Chapter 4 >
      • The Purpose of Chapter 4
      • The Elements of Chapter 4
      • Presenting Results (Quantitative)
      • Presenting Findings (Qualitative)
      • Chapter 4 Considerations
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 2: Chapter 5 >
      • The Purpose of Chapter 5
      • Preparing Your Abstract for the Graduate School
      • Draft the Introduction for Chapter 5
      • Draft the Summary of Findings
      • Draft Implications for Practice
      • Draft your Recommendations for Research
      • Draft your Conclusions
      • Recommended Resources and Readings
    • 3: Preparing for Defense >
      • What is Needed
      • Submitting Your Best Draft
      • Use of Self-Assessment
      • Preparing Your PowerPoint
      • What Happens During the Final Defense?
      • What Happens After the Final Defense?
      • Graduation
Quantitative: Deciding on the Right Analysis
​Topic 3: Data Analysis
Deciding on the appropriate analysis technique to address your research questions depends on several considerations, such as:
  1. Whether you are conducting descriptive research or correlational/causal research (i.e., have an independent (IV) and dependent variable (DV)).
  2. The level of measurement (e.g., nominal, ordinal, continuous) of each of your variables.   
  3. The nature of the inference in the research question you are asking. For example, each of the following inferences requires a different analytical approach:  
    1. to determine a relationship between variables
    2. to predict the magnitude of one variable based on another
    3. to examine the differences between groups
    4. to describe a population or sample
    5. to look at change over time. 
  4. Whether your data violate any of the assumptions of a specific analysis technique. In that case, you may have to choose another test.
    1. For example, perhaps your data are not normally distributed, but you want to examine the differences between two groups.  Rather than using the parametric approach (t-test), it may be more appropriate to use the nonparametric approach (chi-square). 

Before deciding on the appropriate technique for analyzing your data, make sure you have considered each of the points outlined above. You should also consult one or more of the following resources prior to beginning your analysis:
  • Creswell, J. W. (2008).  Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. (p. 164, Table 8.3)
  • Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS Survival Manual (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
  • Salkind, N. J. (2011). Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications.
  • William M. K. Trochim’s web application for selecting statistics: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/selstat/ssstart.htm
  • The Dissertation Support Center Fellows.  
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