MANA 420 REVIEW

Testing bivariate hypotheses:

Differences between groups

Use the t-test when:

Variable

1 = Nominal with 2 levels (2 groups)

Variable 2 = Interval or Ratio

Use one-way Analysis of Variance

(ANOVA) when
Variable

1 = Nominal with 3 or more levels

Variable 2 = Interval or Ratio

Testing hypotheses

Associations among continuous

variables

Use the correlation coefficient when

there are two variables
Variable

1 = Interval or Ratio
Variable 2 = Interval or Ratio

Use multiple regression when

There

is more than one independent variable, and

all i.v.s are Interval or Ratio
Dependent variable is Interval or Ratio

Which statistical test

Independent
variables(s)

Dependent variable

Statistical test

Nominal
(only 2 categories)

Interval or ratio

T-test

Nominal
(more than 2
categories)

Interval or ratio

One-way ANOVA

Interval or ratio
(only 1 independent
variable)

Interval or ratio

Correlation coefficient

Interval or ratio
(more than 1
independent variable)

Interval or ratio

Multiple regression

Which statistical test to use??

1.

2.
3.

4.

Full-time employees are more engaged than part-time

employees T-test (one-tailed)
Wealth has an effect on individuals levels of compassion (
Job performance is a function of employee motivation, ability,
and experience
Birth order (children born first, in the middle or last)
matters for entrepreneurial motivation

Write up results

Include
All

means
The test statistics value (t(t test), F(ANOVA),
r(correlation))
The p value
Whether the test was significant, marginally
significant or not significant
Whether the hypothesis was supported or not

Internal Validity Threats

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN (manipulation/random assignment)

Experimenter effect
Selection effect
Subject effect
CORRELATIONAL DESIGN (measurement; no manipulation)
Reverse causation
Spurious relationships
Subject effect
LONGITUDINAL DESIGN (study conducted over time; can be
correlational or experimental)
History threat
Maturity threat
Mortality threat
Subject effect

External Validity

Generalizability of the results of a study

to other research settings
How

representative is the sample of the

population?
Did it take place in an artificial or real setting for
the participants?

Employee weight-loss programs

Giving money to overweight workers can be a good incentive for them to drop
those extra pounds, and cost-effective for companies, according to a new study.
Researchers found that people paid to trim down lost more weight than hefty
employees who had not been given a financial boost to get fit.
We had a few people who lost a lot of weight, said Eric Finkelstein of the nonprofit research organization in North Carolina. He and his colleagues divided
207 people, who had an average weight of 200 pounds into three groups to
compare their weight loss. The first group was not offered any financial incentive
to slim down. But people in the second group received $7 for every percentage
point of body weight lost, while the third group was offered $14.
The researchers, who reported their findings in the Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, discovered that after three months people in the $14
group lost an average of 4.7 pounds, compared to three pounds in the $7 group.
People who had not been paid lost about two pounds.
[Globe & Mail, 2007]

Moms job changes affect kids

Thompson, Montreal Gazette, 2 June 2003, A14
OTTAWA - Children of mothers who frequently change jobs tend to have higher levels of behavioural problems than children
whose mothers have stable, rewarding jobs or who stay at home, according to a study prepared for the federal government.
Changes in family composition can also have an impact, the study found, with more behavioural problems among children
whose parents are splitting up.
What were looking at is stability, said Paul Roberts, author of the study. Stability is important for children, whether it be
relating to family composition, whether it be relating to maternal employment or even maternal non-employment. In an era
where job security is elusive, the study raises questions about whether governments should adopt policies that bolster job
security. It points to job stability as being an important factor that governments have to look at for families, Roberts said.
The study, recently made public by Human Resources Development Canada, is based on data from the National Longitudinal
Survey of Children and Youth, a major federal government-funded research project that is tracking thousands of young
Canadians from birth to age 25. The survey, which began collecting data in 1994, is looking at a wide variety of elements in the
lives of those children and includes periodic testing of their development. The results of the research studies being done on the
basis of the data are playing a key role in shaping government policy on children and youth.
Robertss study, titled The Effect of Changes in Maternal Employment and Family Composition on Childrens Behaviour, found
that where women work can have a significant impact on their childrens behaviour. Nowhere was that more true than for women
who moved in and out of a number of jobs, said Roberts, a senior research analyst with the Canadian Council on Social
Development. Mothers who were experiencing high levels of transition, that is multiple employment changes over the period
from 1994-98, their children were most likely to have higher or elevated levels of behavioural problems.
The behavioural problems in those cases were most often forms of indirect aggression, said Roberts. Changes in family
composition, such as parents splitting up, tended to be linked more to physical aggression. However, not all transition was bad,
Roberts found. If the mother left one job for a better one, it tended to cancel out the negative effect of the transition. Children of
mothers with stable but unrewarding jobs also experienced higher levels of behavioural problems. The children with the fewest
behavioural problems were those whose mothers changed jobs the least and had the most rewarding jobs - whether they
worked in or out of the home.
The results mean that an economic downturn which throws many people out of work could result in higher levels of behavioural,
problems among children, Roberts said.