About Research

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nonparametric Tests The tests of statistical significance discussed in the two previous sections are known as parametric statistics. A parameter, you will recall, is a population score, whereas a statistic is a score for a sample randomly drawn from the population. Parametric statistics make certain assumptions about population parameters. One assumption is that the scores in the population are normally distributed about the mean; another assumption is that the population variances of the comparison groups in one’s study are approximately equal. When large deviations from these assumptions are present in the research data, parametric statistics should not be used. Instead, one of the nonparametric statistics should be selected since, as their name implies, they do not make any assumptions about the shape or variance of population scores. Parametric statistics assume that the scores being analyzed are derived from a measure that has equal intervals. The s

In carrying out your review of the literature, you will observe that all research articles are organized in essentially the same manner. Theses and dissertations follow this same organizational pattern, but because they are less restricted in length, some topics are covered more thoroughly than in the published research article. Figure 21.1 is an outline giving the usual organization of the thesis or dissertation. Some variations in this outline will be found in the requirements of different universities. Students often wait until all data have been collected and all analysis has been completed before starting to write their thesis or dissertation. It is more efficient; though, for the student to prepare some portions of the research report much earlier. It seems to be an almost inevitable features of research that the student encounters some periods when she is extremely busy and some periods when she must sit and wait. These lulls in the research routine can be used profitably