SXU4004

ASSIGNMENT THREE

Practical exercise using secondary data, SPSS and basic statistical analysis

Task:
The purpose of the following exercise is to give you some familiarity with using official data, and
practice in evaluating it as a tool for applied social research. You will find it helpful to review
topics from SPSS_1 to SPSS_5 and use what you learned during the data analysis and SPSS
sessions.

Links to four SPSS datasets and their associated user guides are provided beneath the link to this
file. The 4 datasets are: Welsh Health Survey; Crime Survey for England & Wales; Quarterly
Labour Force Survey; and National Survey for Wales.

You should complete the following steps.

1. Bearing in mind the 4 datasets, select a specific issue of public concern and/or policy
relevance in recent media reporting (e.g., a particular crime trend, health care strategy,
demographic change and pension provision, ethnic inequalities, educational achievement, etc.).
2. Choose one of the 4 datasets relevant to the selected issue and download the SPSS file and
user guide.
3. Extract some quantitative data to illuminate the problem.
4. Provide a brief methodological evaluation of the data, including its strengths and weaknesses
for informing policy debates about the selected topic.

Remember, keep to a well-defined topic and focus on the quantitative data.

Format:

Analytical report of 1500 words (plus tables as appropriate).

Assessment criteria:

Competence in understanding, interpreting and evaluating quantitative data in a research

context. Marks will be awarded for
- research question scope and definition
- download of relevant data
- appropriate presentation of the data (tables, charts or figures)
- presentation of descriptive statistics
- use of simple statistical model(s) to test the research question

Due date:

Friday 20th January 2023.