AEA Course: Intro to Quantitative Methods

eStudy 030: Introduction to Quantitative Methods for Evaluators - Katherine McKnight 

Dates: Tuesdays May 7, 14, 21, & 28, 1:30 to 3pm Eastern Time

Length: 6 total contact hours 

Description: Quantitative data offers opportunities for numerical descriptions of populations and samples. The challenge is in knowing which analyses are best for a given situation. Designed for the practitioner needing a refresher course and/or guidance in applying several univariate quantitative methods to evaluation contexts, the workshop covers the basics of parametric statistics, as well as how to report your findings.

Mini-lectures, computer demonstrations, and homework will introduce methods and concepts. The instructor will review examples of research and evaluation questions and the application of specific statistical methods appropriate to developing a quantitative data-based response.

This eStudy course will occur in 4 90-minute sessions (with a 5 minute break in the middle of each to reflect and catch up on notes) and will include preparation materials sent before, between, and after the sessions.

Day 1: Measures of central tendency & dispersion (e.g., means & std deviations), the basic General Linear Model, and the t-test

Day 2: Extend session 1 to ANOVA models

Day 3: Extend the application of the GLM to correlational analyses, i.e. bivariate correlation

Day 4: Finish with multiple correlation, i.e. linear regression

All 4 sessions will make a conceptual tie to the GLM and show how tests of means (e.g., t-tests & ANOVAs) and tests of correlation (bivariate and multiple regression) are extensions of the GLM and are therefore related.

Presenter: Katherine McKnight applies quantitative analysis as Principal Director of Research for Pearson’s Center for Educator Effectiveness and is co-author of Missing Data: A Gentle Introduction (Guilford, 2007). Additionally, she teaches research methods, statistics, and measurement in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Register: https://www.eval.org/webinar_reg/Registrationtop.asp 
Last day to register is Wednesday April 30