thinkPhD

I turned in my last assignment in MGT5028 Statistics this week and Dr. S graded it and submitted my final grade. I got an “A” in the course – which hardly reflects the number of hours I put into the assignments! The 12th and final assignment had 4 sections. Using the renal.sav file, I had to perform a nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test, a Kruskal-Wallis H test, a Chi-square test and then a Correlation and Regression in SPSS. The directions required analysis of each of the test results and points were awarded based on the responses. I looked back over the assignments focusing on these tests and followed the analyses, as I had received good marks on those papers.

MGT5028 completes all the core courses for the degree. Now I begin the first research phase course RSH9101B – Research Topic, Problem, Purpose and Questions. I just keep pinching myself! I don’t think it has really hit me yet that I am ready to start the intensive work for the PhD. I have a few options in front of me now. I can start right now, or wait up to 45 days and still be considered as continually enrolled. I know my father must have some more surgery so I plan to wait and begin June 1st. We are also planning a trip back home to Alabama/Georgia soon so this will give me some time to visit without thinking about school. A breather! I really need it, too!

One of the questions I answered for Assignment 10 in MGT5028 was a little vague. I pulled together what I thought was a pretty good answer. When I proofread my paper, I took out a portion because it seems off target based on what the question was asking; it seemed as though I had overreached the goal of the question. It was as though the question was asking for an “apples-to-apples” comparison, but I had written an “apples-to-apple cobbler” response with a more in-depth analysis. So I turned in my paper, thinking I had been succint. And right.

Got back my paper yesterday, and Dr. S said that I missed a certain part; which was also the part that I had taken out. Bummer! I thought I had read too much into the question and overthought my answer. Overanalyzing can be good in many instances, but sometimes the more obvious answer is the right one. It’s really hard to say how much is the right amount when answering some of these questions. Putting on my educator hat, the question was poorly written and subject to too much leeway to answer. I have had to ask myself several times in this course, how much of an analysis is the right amount?  

This weekend I turned in Activity 9 and Dr. S. just graded and returned it. I can’t hardly believe I am to this point! There are 12 assignments and as I am not a statistics guru, I am quite relieved that I am doing well. My average is 99% for the course. The three remaining assignments are worth 38 points together. I have working on activity 10 most of the day, and am almost finished. I should be able to turn it in on Tuesday. I have a meeting after work on Monday and won’t have time to finish this one up. This course ends on April 24 so I should be OK.  

The activities build on each other. Every third activity (which can consist of multiple assignments) is a “project” in which you emply the statistical tests learned in the previous two. Activities 3, 6, 9, and 12 are “projects.” Typically these are worth more points than the activities leading up to them. Some students complain that they cannot post multiple assignments, but for this course, it is a good thing. I look to see Dr. S’s comments on an assignment, and make sure that I modify the project to reflect her wording. For example, it is more correct to state, “fail to reject the null” rather than “accept the null.” In one assignment, I used the words, “accept the null.” I made sure when I got to the project that I used the words “fail to reject the null.”

I have found some wonderfully helpful sites from other universities. I don’t know why NCU does not have a statistics website. I learn from example and even though the answers may be different, the methods help me walk through the rationale for my explanations. I am certainly collecting lots of statistics notes to help me through my dissertation.

Activity 9 includes a one sample t-test, an independent samples t-test, and a one-way ANOVA. This assignment builds on Activity 7 (t-tests) and Activity 8 (one-way ANOVA). I did well on both of these so I am hopeful that #9 will follow along. I did have issues with #7 as I found it was the most difficult of all the assignments to date. I am finally getting the hang of reading SPSS output, which is very different from what the old Minitab output looked like during my MBA days. That course also forced us to do many of the calculations ourselves. I am finding that just plunking the numbers in SPSS does not help me understand the concepts, which is necessary because the assignments require this analysis.

The textbook, Norušis’ SPSS 16.0 Guide to Data Analysis (2009), is not particularly helpful but it does have examples. If you can follow the examples you can infer how to complete the assignments at the end of the chapters. However, some of the questions are asked in such a way that I have to read them several times to “get” what I am looking to answer. Each chapter has a few answers in the back of the book but these are pretty basic answers. It’s not like every odd answer is in the back like some texts.

MGT5028 has 12 assignments so I suppose I am 75% complete, having finished 8 assignments. I turned in #8 yesterday and am starting on #9 today. In addition to the Norušis text, I have a several others plus a bunch of website favorite links. A course like statistics is pretty tough to learn through independent study, which is pretty much what I am doing. I keep telling myself this is my last core course before the research phase of my coursework. I am pretty pumped about that!

Here’s part of Activity 9 so that you can get an idea of the assignment:

One sample t-test

Use renal.sav and do the following: Using “length of stay” as the test variable, conduct a hypothesis test on whether the average length of stay is 14 days. State the hypothesis to be tested. State the reject/not reject decision and conclusion. You should state the variables you are analyzing, display the SPSS output, and add a brief analysis of the output. The analysis should be a brief write up of what you conclude from the output and any insights you might have.

Sounds pretty straightfoward so I hope to finish this activity this weekend. With plenty of coffee and ibuprofen, I should be able to make that happen!

I wanted to make sure that I was on the right track with my statistics MGT5028 course, so I contacted a fellow learner to help me. We set up an hour of tutoring over the phone. I found that she was very encouraging and she said that I was doing well. We talked about assignment 5 and this was a good exercise for me. My problem on the assignments is knowing what to right for the analysis section. How detailed should I be? How deep can I draw conclusions? I am doing just fine so far with grades, having got three 100% right in a row. But I do know that the assignments build on each other so I want to make sure that I have a good foundation. I have also discovered that there are many stats websites to help students. Sometimes just reading something a different way helps to bring clarity. I feel pretty good about statistics right now, and I hope to complete this course in less than the allowed time frame. This is my last core course and then I start the research phase.

Today is the first day of MGT5028 Business Statistics. There are 12 activities, each building upon the previous. Some of the activities have two parts. I am now working on part b of assignment 3, which is called “Data Analysis Project 1.” This activity includes running a frequency in SPSS and analyzing the output. It is my understanding that the activities become more involved as we go along so I don’t want to get behind. I have also set up a tutoring appointment with a fellow learner next Sunday so that I can make sure I am on the right track. I am certainly nervous about this course. I had statistics years ago and believe I understand the basics, but I am not familiar with SPSS. I want to make sure that I am looking at the right things and making the right choices.

I sent a note to another learner who is taking the course as well. She said that Dr. S. prefers “short, thorough analysis of the output data.” This is good info to know. I will be turning in the first assignment today. Wish me luck!

So, I am all finished ECM5006 with four assignments, with a 95, 98, 100 and 100. This works out to a 98% which carries forward my 4.0 average in these post grad courses at Northcentral University. I start MGT5028 on 02/01/09 but since I have the syllabus and text, I started the assignments today.

MGT5028 uses SPSS, which is a computer program for statistical analysis. The book required by the syllabus is: SPSS 16.0 Guide to Data Analysis & 16.0 OS/WIN PK by Marija J. Norusis. The software has only two opportunities to open so I decided to go ahead and purchase rather than buy used. I searched around and found that mypearsonstore.com was cheaper than the school store by about $20. Mypearsonstore.com also gives free shipping! About three days later I received a package and opened it up….and there was a PHYSICS book in the box! I called Pearson and they told me to donate the book and they would send the correct text that I ordered, which they did Next Day Shipping.

You know, it is rare these days to find a company willing to accept their error and do whatever it takes to make the customer satisfied. Pearson definitely has my loyalty! I am just kinda sorry that I did not know about this website sooner. Of course, Pearson has a lot of wonderful titles so I am sure to use them in the future.

My experience got me thinking about how customer service makes a difference in the success of a company. Most companies (even my employer) considers customer service to be an entry level position. I find it hard to understand why a firm would allow new employees to be their front line to the customer!