This exercise is about answering several questions based on a provided data set.

The data set is

simulated and based on a fictitious intervention aimed at supporting scientists in maximizing the
social impact of their research. Before you begin to work on the individ-ual tasks listed below, please
read the intervention description carefully. The data set is provided in SPSS-, Stata-, and Excel-
format. For those of you using Excel, there is an extra variable list containing variable names as well
as the respective descriptions and value labels.

When you process the tasks, please note the following:

• If not already specified in the task, you must select a suitable statistical procedure yourself to
process the respective tasks. Please justify your choice in these cases.
• It is not sufficient to simply present the results (e.g., in the form of SPSS or Stata outputs). A
description and interpretation of the results is essential.
• The written version of the exercise should contain at least 3000 words and should not exceed 6500
words. However, the quality, not the length, of the written work is decisive for the grade.

Task 1: Describe the Data Set

Please describe all variables in the data set (except for questionnaire ID) using appropriate univariate
statistical methods. You can use measures of central tendency (e.g., median, arithmetic mean, mode)
and measures of variation (e.g., standard deviation, quantiles, etc.) as well as graphical methods or
frequency distributions. Please describe and interpret the results of the descriptive analysis like you
would do in an evaluation report.

Task 2: Compare the Intervention with the Control Group

In order to find out whether participation in the intervention had an effect on the two dependent
variables of the participants, the next step is to compare the intervention with the comparison group.
If participants have significantly higher outcomes than non-partic-ipants, this may be an indication of
the effectiveness of the intervention. Since the groups were randomized and the internal validity of
the study is thus high, counterfactual causal statements can be made at this point.

Please select an appropriate statistical procedure (e.g., t-test, analysis of variance, etc.) and compare
the dependent variables of the members of the intervention group with the dependent variables of the
members of the comparison group. Make statements on the absolute dependent variable differences
between the groups, the statistical significance of observed differences, and the effect size (e.g.,
Cohen’s d, Eta-squared, etc.). Please de-scribe and interpret the results of the comparison like you
would do in an evaluation re-port. 2
Task 3: Estimate the intervention effect under control of potential confounders
Since the allocation to the intervention and the comparison group was random, it is pos-sible to
attribute the observed differences in the dependent variables between the groups to the intervention.
However, although the assignment to the two groups supposed to be random, it is still possible that
there is an unnoticed bias (e.g., due to questions of the specific study set up, specifics of the case
selection procedure). That’s why it can be of added value to test whether different distributions in
third variables (so-called ‘covariates’) could be respon-sible for observed differences. Moreover,
calculating a multivariate model also helps to get insights into the concrete causal mechanisms that
are crucial for a given phenomenon.

For this reason, the intervention effect on the dependent variables of the participants is to be
estimated in a final step of the analysis under control of several covariates. If the in-tervention effect
does not change due to the inclusion of control variables, this is an indi-cation that the intervention
actually might have had a robust causal effect. If, however, the intervention effect disappears after
controlling for covariates, this shows that the ob-served effect is nothing more than a spurious
correlation, since differences in the depend-ent variables between the groups were actually caused by
different distributions of the covariates.

To perform the analysis, please estimate a linear multiple regression model. The depend-ent variable
of the model is the change of the bibliometric social impact variable (dif-ference between t1 and
t2) of the persons. Please include all other variables in the data set (except for questionnaire ID and
the other dependent variables) as independent variables. Please check the fit of the overall model (F-
test and variance explained) and the effects of the individual variables (unstandardized/standardized
regression coefficients and t-tests). Interpret the individual effects with a special focus on what they
say about the effectiveness of the intervention. Also compare them with each other. Please describe
and interpret the results of the comparison like you would do in an evaluation report.

Task 4: Reflection – Discuss the strengths and limitations of quantitative data anal-ysis in
evaluation practice and potential ways to improve data quality.

a) What are the risks of the empirical approach implemented in the project? How do you assess the
procedure? What are possible unanticipated effects? Is it useful to quantify research performance of
this kind, especially on an individual level? What could be alter-natives to measure the social impact
of research? Do you have ideas for good indicators?

b) Against the backdrop of the previous exercise, the transfer question arises of how you assess the
advantages and disadvantages of quantitative data analysis in evaluation prac-tice. Are there any
limitations in your opinion (with regard to the exercise but also in general or regarding your personal
experience)? Are there particularly suitable applica-tion scenarios? Application scenarios describe
how a user interacts with a planned system by means of a realistic example. Clearly defined users
(personas/user roles) represent the key players. From their view a working process is designed. When
is the application less advisable and what are potential alternatives?An alternative is defined as an
option. Corn as a side dish to an entrée is an example of an alternative. A situation presenting a
choice between two mutually exclusive possibilities. People facing the alternative of selling their
homes or going bankrupt. How can data quality be achieved in evaluatCompleteness.
Completeness relates to whether all required information is present in the dataset. ... Validity. Data is
characterized as valid if it matches the rules specified for it. ... Timeliness. Timeliness relates to
whether the information is up to date for the intended use. ... Consistency.Do mix ed method
approaches offer solutions? Please discuss such situational opportunities and challenges of
(quantitative) data analysis procedures in practice. 3
Qualitative research focuses on social world and provides the tools to study health phenomena from the
perspective of those experiencing them. Identifying the problem, forming the question, and selecting an
appropriate methodology and design are some of the initial challenges that researchers encounter in the
early stages of any research project. These problems are particularly common for novices.The paper
provides personal comments on the experiences of a researcher in conducting pure qualitative research in
the field of health. It offers insights into the practical difficulties encountered when performing qualitative
studies and offers solutions and alternatives applied by these authors, which may be of use to others.
→ Formal requirements
• • PDF format
• • Font size 12pt (Times New Roman)
• • Justification with hyphenation 1,5 line spacing; Side margins 3 cm right and left, 2.5 cm top
and bottom
• • Comply with academic writing standards
• • APA reference style
• • six to eight pages altogether; +/- 10% is allowed