Introduction
To obtain the mean score of a given data set, the total number of observations made is divided by the number of items being surveyed. The mean provides the average score of a given data set. The mean gives the expected behavior of given number of respondents in a research process. The mean can be represented graphically by the use of pie charts or bar graphs. These charts provide the percentage representation of the individuals being sampled.
The graphs indicate the visual representation of the variables being surveyed, together with the number of items in each slot. A percentage number can be obtained to provide each portion of the graph (Bernstein, 2012). Obtaining the mean is important because the behavior and characteristics of the population can be drawn from a sample. In most cases, the population will assume the same mean as the sample (Wilcox, 2010).
Question 1
The mean for the question is 1.80 (Table 1), and this indicates that most of the respondents preferred variable 2 to variable 0. From figure 1, 90% of the respondents provided 2 as the preferred answer. Only 10% of the respondents preferred variable 0 while 90% of the respondents preferred variable 2. The total number of respondents was 10, and therefore, most of the respondents preferred variable 2 to variable 0.
Question 2
The mean for question 2 is 1.40 (Table 2), and this indicates that most of the respondents preferred variable 2 to variable 0. From the pie chart, it evident that variable 2 had a higher number of respondents (70%) than variable 0 (30%) (Figure 2). This is an indication that the respondents preferred variable 2 to variable 0.
Question 3
The mean for question 3 was.20 (Table 3) because most of the respondents provided variable 0 to variable 2. From the pie chart, (Figure 3) variable 0 was the best rated (90%) while variable 2 was provided a low rate (10%). This case is different from the previous cases because most of the respondents preferred variable 0 to variable 2.
Question 4
The mean for question 4 is 2.00 (Table 4) because all the respondents preferred variable 2. A pie chart could not be developed from this question because all respondents provided one variable. For a figure to be developed by SPSS program, it is important to have more than one variable. When respondents prefer only one variable, it becomes impossible to compare with any other variable. The charts are developed from a comparison of two or more group of dependent and independent variables (Field, 2010).
Question 5
The mean for question 5 is.20 (Table 5), and this indicates that almost all respondents preferred variable 0 to variable 2. From Figure 4 variable 0 had a preference rate of 90%; while on 10% of the respondents preferred variable 2.
Overall analysis
The total number of respondents was 10, and the overall analysis provides a general overview of the responds given. The ten respondents provide responds for all five questions in the survey. The overall analysis is important because it provides a mean for all the variables used in the research. There were five questions that each respondent was supposed to answer. The variables to be examined were variable 0 and variable 2. The mean for the overall analysis is 1.12 (Table 6). This indicates that most of the respondents replied that variable 2 is the most preferred. From Figure 5 it is evident from the pie chart that, most of the respondents preferred variable 2 (56%) to variable 0 (44%).
Qualitative and quantitative analysis
Qualitative analysis helps understand the behavior of human beings, and helps provide better solutions to problems affecting people. The reasons as to why human beings behave in a particular manner are explored by the use of qualitative analysis. Therefore, qualitative research helps develop inferences in psychology. Inferences are the expected behaviors that are predicted by the use of sample information. On the other hand, quantitative analysis applies mathematical computations to develop the variables in a research. Qualitative analysis combines the findings of quantitative analysis to explain the behavior of human beings.
Therefore, the two types of research are important in explaining the behavior of people. Inferences can be drawn from a sample by the use of either qualitative or quantitative analysis (Johnson & Christensen, 2012).
From the above findings, it is found that there is no adequate information about the independent and dependent variables in the test. The test can be improved by collecting accurate data concerning all the variables affecting the dependent variables. A lot of information is required to develop better analysis for the dependent and independent variables. The information that is available concerns students and various questions.
Each question has been provided with responses from each student. However, the author doers not explain fully the expected behavior of all variables in the survey. The information provided does not explain what is happening in the research. Therefore, the analysis part of the essay becomes difficult because no adequate information has been provided concerning the variables. In this case, more variables should be included to improve the understanding about the research topic. This will help develop a better conclusion about the behavior of the dependent variables when exposed to different independent variables (Field, 2010).
To improve this research, the author needs to explain the variables, and their relationship. On the other hand, hypothesis of the research can be provided to give direction of the research. The hypothesis will help identify the overall theme of the paper. It will also give direction to be followed when developing analyzing the findings of the paper. Background information is required to provide the readers with better understanding of the research. The background information helps improve the understanding of the reader and guides on how to improve the findings and hypothesis (Field, 2010).
Conclusion
Statistical mean provides the average observations made in a research. This allows researchers identify the expected behavior of the population from a sample. In the hypothetical data provided, the mean of most questions is more than 1. This shows that most of the respondents preferred variable 2 to variable 0. The graphical representations have also provided the percentage number of respondents preferring either variable 2 or variable 0. The survey has a weakness that many dependent variables are not provided to explain the characteristics of the characteristics of independent variables.
The research has applied both quantitative and qualitative research methods to explain the findings obtained. There is need to improve the survey by adding dependent variables. This will help establish the behavior of the sample, and the characteristics of the population will be easily obtained.
References
Bernstein, D. A. (2012). Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Field, A. (2010). Discovering statistics using SAS. London: SAGE.
Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. B. (2012). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications.
Wilcox, R. R. (2010). Fundamentals of modern statistical methods: Substantially imporving power and accuracy. New York [etc.: Springer.
Appendices
Table 1: Mean for question 1.
Table 2: Mean for question 2.
Table 3: Mean for question 3.
Table 4: Mean for question 4.
Table 5: Mean for question 5.
Table 6: Mean for overall analysis.
