Preparing your Data for Analysis: Principles of Database Management and Descriptive Statistics
Once you’ve designed your research study, the next step is to set up your database in a way that will allow you to answer the questions you’ve asked. In this workshop, you’ll learn the basic principles of database management for quantitative data, with an emphasis on creating files that can be easily understood by team members and, if desired, the public. Once the database is created and the data are entered, the next step is to get to know your data. Part of this workshop will be devoted to the foundations of descriptive analyses. In general, we will focus on concepts and skills that cut across software platforms, but will include screenshots from commonly used platforms, like Excel, SPSS, or R.
By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:
- Create a workable database and codebook
- Understand the utility of thorough, tidy data documentation
- Conduct descriptive analyses (i.e., data visualization, measures of central tendency, and frequencies) to get to know your data.
Audience: Faculty researchers seeking a refresher in the foundation of research design, graduate students or staff beginners
Format: A one-hour workshop will be delivered live via Zoom; a longer-form video will be available online after the live workshop has been delivered