Communication Research Statistics

by John C. Reinard

• ISBN13: 9780761929871
• ISBN10: 0761929878
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-20
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

a??While most books on statistics seem to beA written as though targeting other statistics professors, John Reinard's Communication Research Statistics is especially impressive because it is clearly intended for the student reader, filled with unusually clear explanations and with illustrations on the use of SPSS.A A I enjoyed reading this lucid, student-friendly book and expect students will benefit enormously from its content and presentation.A Well done!" --John C. Pollock, The College of New Jersey Written in an accessible style using straightforward and direct language, Communication Research Statistics guides students through the statistics actually used in most empirical research undertaken in communication studies. This introductory textbook is the only work in communication that includes details on statistical analysis of data with a full set of data analysis instructions based on SPSS 12 and Excel XP.A A Key Features: A A Emphasizes basic and introductory statistical thinking: The basic needs of novice researchers and students are addressed, while underscoring the foundational elements of statistical analyses in research. Students learn how statistics are used to provide evidence for research arguments and how to evaluate such evidence for themselves. Prepares students to use statistics: Students are encouraged to use statistics as they encounter and evaluate quantitative research. The book details how statistics can be understood by developing actual skills to carry out rudimentary work.A Examples are drawn from mass communication, speech communication, and communication disorders. Incorporates SPSS 12 and Excel: A distinguishing feature is the inclusion of coverage of data analysis by use of SPSS 12 and by Excel. Information on the use of major computer software is designed to let students use such tools immediately. A dedicated Web site: http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/jreinard/constats.htm ,A includes a glossary, data sets, chapter summaries, additional readings, links to other useful sites, selected a??calculatorsa?? for computation of related statistics, additional macros for selected statistics using Excel and SPSS, and extra chapters on multiple discriminant analysis and loglinear analysis.A A Intended Audience: Ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses in Communication Research Statistics or Methods; also relevant for many Research Methods courses across the social sciences A

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction to Statistical Analyses	p. 1
Using Statistics to Conduct Quantitative Research	p. 3
A World of Statistics	p. 4
Why Do Quantitative Research?	p. 6
Typical Steps Involved in Quantitative Research	p. 8
Collecting Data on Variables	p. 17
Variables and Hypotheses	p. 18
Measurement of Variables	p. 24
Sampling	p. 28
Descriptive Statistics	p. 43
Central Tendency	p. 45
Doing a Study and Reporting Descriptive Information	p. 46
Typical Measures of Central Tendency	p. 47
Relations Among Mean, Median, and Mode	p. 58
Looking at Variability and Dispersion	p. 61
Assessing Dispersion	p. 62
The Relationship Between Measures of Central Tendency and Variability	p. 72
Examining Distributions	p. 74
Correlations	p. 87
The Notion of Correlation	p. 88
Elements of the Correlation	p. 91
Computing the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation	p. 96
Matters Affecting Correlations	p. 100
Methods of Correlations	p. 102
Alternative Forms of Association	p. 111
Ensuring Reliability and Validity	p. 117
The Notion of Measurement Acceptability	p. 118
How to Do a Study of Measurement Adequacy	p. 118
Reliability	p. 121
Validity	p. 136
The Relation of Validity of Reliability	p. 140
Inferential Statistics	p. 143
Statistical Significance Hypothesis Testing When Comparing Two Means	p. 145
Doing a Study That Tests a Hypothesis of Differences Between Means	p. 146
Assumptions in Parametric Hypothesis Testing	p. 153
Comparing Sample and Population Means	p. 159
Comparing the Means of Two Sample Groups: The Two-Sample t Test	p. 164
Comparing Means Differences of Paired Scores: The Paired Difference t	p. 170
Assessing Power	p. 174
Comparing More Than Two Means: One-Way Analysis of Variance	p. 179
Hypothesis Testing for More Than Two Means	p. 180
The Analysis of Variance Hypothesis Test	p. 185
What After ANOVA? Multiple Comparison Tests	p. 190
Extensions of Analysis of Variance	p. 200
Factorial Analysis of Variance	p. 213
Doing a Study That Involves More Than One Independent Variable	p. 214
Types of Effects to Test	p. 216
Computing the Fixed-Effect ANOVA	p. 220
Random and Mixed-Effects Designs	p. 229
Nonparametric Tests	p. 247
Nonparametric Tests for Categorical Variables	p. 249
The Notion of "Distribution-Free" Statistics	p. 250
Conducting a Study That Requires Nonparametric Tests of Categorical Data	p. 251
The Chi-Square Test	p. 254
Alternatives to Chi-Square for Frequency Data	p. 274
Nonparametric Tests for Rank Order Dependent Variables	p. 281
Doing a Study Involving Ordinal Dependent Variables	p. 282
Comparing Ranks of One Group to Presumed Population Characteristics: Analogous Tests to One-Sample t Tests	p. 283
Comparing Ranks From Two Sample Groups	p. 289
Comparing Ranks From More Than Two Sample Groups: Analogous Tests to One-Way ANOVA	p. 305
Advanced Statistical Applications	p. 313
Meta-Analysis	p. 315
Meta-Analysis: An Alternative to Artistic Literature Reviews	p. 316
Conducting the Meta-Analysis Study	p. 319
Using Computer Techniques to Perform Meta-Analysis	p. 342
Multiple Regression Correlation	p. 345
Contrasting Bivariate Correlation and Multiple Regression Correlation	p. 346
Components of Multiple Correlations	p. 348
How to Do a Multiple Regression Correlation Study	p. 353
Extensions of Multiple Regression Correlation	p. 381
Using Categorical Predictors	p. 381
Contrasting Full and Reduced Models: Hierarchical Analysis	p. 388
Interaction Effects	p. 389
Examining Nonlinear Effects	p. 396
Exploratory Factor Analysis	p. 403
Forms of Factor Analysis	p. 404
The Notion of Multivariate Analyses	p. 404
Exploratory Factor Analysis	p. 407
Confirmatory Factor Analysis Through the Amos Program	p. 427
The Notion of Confirmatory Factor Analysis	p. 428
Using the Amos Program for Confirmatory Factor Analysis	p. 434
Modeling Communication Behavior	p. 451
The Goals of Modeling	p. 453
How to Do a Modeling Study	p. 455
Path Models	p. 463
Using the Amos Program	p. 475
Using Excel XP to Analyze Data	p. 489
Getting Ready to Run Statistics With Excel	p. 489
Handling Data	p. 490
Using the Menu Bar	p. 492
Toolbars	p. 498
How to Run Statistics From the Analysis ToolPak	p. 498
Using Functions	p. 500
Using SPSS 12 for Windows	p. 503
How to Enter and Screen Your Own Data in SPSS	p. 503
How to Enter Data From a Word Processor	p. 507
How to Create Indexes From Scales	p. 508
Commands in the SPSS System	p. 511
Dealing With Output	p. 517
Alternative Editing Environments	p. 522
Tables	p. 523
References	p. 553
Index	p. 569
About the Author	p. 583
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