Benchmark - Analyzing and Reporting Data Accounting, Finance Essay

NOTE: This is 4 pages ( essay) + 2 PPT slides
This is a poster presentation as well as essay.
The purpose of this assignment is analyze a dataset and report findings to relevant stakeholders.
Read the Topic Material “Analyzing and Reporting Data – Overview” prior to beginning the assignment.
For this assignment, you will use IBM SPSS Statistics and one of the three datasets to conduct a basic statistical analysis and report the results by creating a scientific poster. MPH students can use this assignment as an introduction to the option of a larger secondary data analysis for their capstone project.
Select a public health topic that is of interest to you and complete the following using the "GCU MPH Poster Template."
Review the three datasets provided in the Topic Materials and brainstorm at least one potential research question that could be answered by one of the datasets. The question should be based on a topic that is of interest to you and is supported by existing literature.
Select the dataset and organize the data to complete the analysis.
Provide descriptive statistics that summarize the sample.
Select an appropriate statistical test and conduct the analysis.
Interpret the results of your analysis.
Prepare your poster presentation putting the results in the context of the larger story surrounding the purpose for the analysis. Consider the data source, assumptions, hypotheses, decision rule, and interpretation.
In addition to the poster, write a 1,000-word summary of the analysis that addresses the questions below. The summary should include additional discussion notes you would include for each section if you were presenting your poster at a professional conference. Typically, a poster presentation involves presenting your poster to small groups and providing an oral explanation as the audience reviews your poster.
Summary of the data source.
Variables used in the analysis.
The six steps of hypothesis testing.
Prepare and submit the PowerPoint poster and summary as two separate documents.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Analyzing and Reporting Data - Overview

The purpose of this assignment is to give you experience conducting a basic secondary data analysis using real-world surveillance data. Secondary data analysis is faster and cheaper to conduct compared to primary data collection. However, there are also significant limitations. The data were likely collected for a different purpose, and may not include the specific variables required to answer your question. The sampling strategy might not be random and may not be representative of your target population. These are examples of such limitations you should be aware of as you work with existing data.

A key question is whether the data should determine the research question, or if the research question should determine the type of data you use. In practice, you would want your research question or hypothesis to determine the dataset you select. In this assignment, you are limited to three datasets and may need to adjust your initial research question to accommodate one of the three datasets. Avoid “mining” for significant results and stick to your initial research question as much as possible. For this project, you will select one of the three example datasets to complete a basic analysis and communicate your findings through a scientific poster presentation.

These steps will help you get started:

1. Review the websites for each of the three datasets listed below. Be sure to understand the purpose of the survey, the sample used in the survey, and the main focus areas of each survey. Review the documentation provided on the websites to get to know the story behind the data and understand the population before reviewing the data.
2. Select the dataset that is most appropriate for your interest area.
3. Open the data in SPSS and get to know the data by reviewing the variables in “Variable View” mode. This view will allow you to read the variable labels and response labels for each variable.
4. Based on your research interest and question, select variables that will help increase your understanding about that topic.
5. Arrange the data as needed to organize and clean data, allowing you to focus on your specific question. Remember to save your analytic data file as a new file in case you need to go back to the original file. It is good practice to continually save new versions of the data file as you work with and manipulate the data.
6. Follow the hypothesis testing steps to carry out your secondary data analysis.

For additional information on conducting a secondary data analysis, read the Topic Material, “Conducting High-Value Secondary Dataset Analysis: An Introductory Guide and Resources.”

Dataset Documents

1. 1.      Demographic and Health Survey

The Demographic and Health Survey is a global monitoring survey administered by USAID. The sample dataset is the model data set put together by USAID to explore DHS data. The sample data is not from a specific country or year, but it gives you an idea of what can be obtained from various countries through these datasets. The datasets are free and publically available once you register with USAID to access the DHS data. For the purpose of this assignment, treat this dataset as coming from a country of your choice. Access to the Model Questionnaire, Recode Manual, and Data Video Tutorials, including a video on the sampling strategy, is found at http://dhsprogram.com/data/model-datasets.cfm.

Note: You do not need to worry about weighting strategies for this assignment.

Use the http://dhsprogram.com/data/Using-DataSets-for-Analysis.cfm link to review the “Step-by-Step Introduction to Analyzing DHS Data” for tips on how to access your own dataset for future use and to see what resources are available to help you navigate the model dataset for this assignment:

1. 2.      Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a national survey monitoring health behaviors among youth and young adults. It is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The example dataset for this assignment comes from the National Survey (not combined) dataset for 2015. General information about the survey is found at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyYouth/data/yrbs/index.htm.

Documentation and questionnaires can be found by accessing the “YRBSS Data and Documentation: website at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/data.htm.

Please read the 2015 YRBS Data User’s Guide, listed in the “National YRBS Datasets and Documentation” page at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2015/2015_yrbs-data-users_guide_smy_combined.pdf.

The dataset includes calculated variables not found in the questionnaire that you might find helpful in determining your analysis for this assignment. The crosswalk to match the questions with the dataset can be found by viewing the “YRBS Questionnaire Content - 1991-2017” found at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2017/yrbs_questionnaire_content_1991-2017.pdf. 

1. 3.      National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

The NHIS began in 1957, and has been used to monitor the health of the United States ever since. It is a household-level survey administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. Key topics in the survey include doctor’s visits, medical conditions, health insurance, and health behaviors. General information about the survey, including the sample design and data collection procedures, can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/about_nhis.htm.

A Survey Description of the 2015 National Health Interview Survey can be found at ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2015/srvydesc.pdf.

The sample dataset is from the 2015 adult survey at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/nhis_2015_data_release.htm.

Some of the variables have been deleted to decrease the size of the file, but none of the observations have been dropped. Please review the “2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Public Use Data Release” document at ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2015/readme.pdf.

Review the “2015 NHIS Public Use Variable Summary” at ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2015/samadult_summary.pdf.

After you identify a few variables you are interested in, review the complete description of the variable in the variable layout document at ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2015/samadult_layout.pdf.

Checking the variable frequencies will help you determine the range of answers for each variable of interest, including the number of missing observations. If the number missing is high, consider using another variable. Variable frequencies can be found at ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2015/samadult_freq.pdf.