SPSS Assignment Part 1 Instructions

Describing a Normative Sample

When it comes to the use of psychological tests, one approach that both researchers and clinicians take in trying to understand participants’ performance is a norm-referenced approach.  With a norm-referenced test, the test is given to a large, representative group of participants known as the “normative sample” (a.k.a. “norm group”). Then, the scores of all subsequent test-takers are compared to the scores of the norm group.  In order for the norm group to be a valid comparison group, it has to be representative of the population who will be taking the test.

So how do we know if the normative sample is representative?  When summarizing the psychometric properties of a test, test developers and publishers usually describe the norm group with their demographic variables.  Demographic variables are characteristics of the participants like: gender, age, ethnicity, relationship status, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation etc.  A description of the normative sample allows examiners to decide if the test of interest can be used with their intended examinees.  For example, if the normative sample were 95% male, then you likely could not logically compare their scores to females test takers!  That is why readers need to know what the normative sample looks like.

The purpose of the current assignment is for you to provide a verbal (and graphical) description of a fictional normative sample of research participants.

In the Assignment Instructions folder, there is an SPSS data file that will be the basis for your analyses. The data provided are fictional and were created solely for the purposes of our SPSS assignments.  This data file includes: 1) demographic information for a normative sample of 428 participants, and 2) participants’ scores on a test called the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D scale).

The CES-D Scale is utilized to measure symptoms of depression.  It is a self-assessment that is completed by the individual.  The CES-D contains 20 items rated on a 4-point scale (0 = Rarely or None of the Time to 3 = Most or All of the Time). The phrase “During the past week…” prefaces the questions in order to emphasize currentdepressive mood. Scores on the total scale are summed and can range from 0 to 60.  Traditionally, individuals with scores over 16 are identified as “depressed” (Weissman, et al., 1977), though due to high false positive rates, a score of 27 is considered a more useful cut-off (Zich, et al., 1990).  The full scale can be accessed at: https://nts122.chcr.brown.edu/pcoc/cesdscale.pdf.  Items 4, 8, 12, and 16 are worded in reverse to avoid response set (i.e., “yay-saying” or “nay saying”).  The CES-D includes four subscales—depressive affect, well-being, somatic, and interpersonal—that assess specific features of depressive symptomology.  Several studies have validated the four subscales across a variety of subgroups (Hertzog et al., 1990; Knight et al., 1997).

With this first SPSS assignment, you will learn how to go from raw demographic data to describing a normative sample in an APA 6th ed formatted reportJ  

representativenessat least one scriptural citation

Be sure to carefully review the Grading Rubric posted in the Assignment Instructions folder so that you know exactly what is expected of you when completing this assignment.

This assignment is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 2.

References

Hertzog, C.; Van Alstine, J.; Usala, P.D.; Hultsch, D.F.; & Dixon, R. (1990).  Measurement properties of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in older populations.  Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2(1), 64-72. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.2.1.64

Knight, R. G., Williams, S., McGee, R., & Olaman, S. (1997). Psychometric properties of the 

Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in a sample of women in   

middle life. Behavior, Research, and Therapy, 35(4), 373-380.  doi: 10.1016/S0005-

7967(96)00107-6

Weissman, M. M., Sholomskas, D., Pottenger, M., et al. (1977). Assessing depressive symptoms in five psychiatric populations: a validation study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 106, 203-214.

Zich, J. M., C. C. Attkisson, & Greenfield, T.K. (1990). Screening for depression in primary care clinics: the CES-D and the BDI. International Journal of Psychiatry and Medicine, 20(3), 259-277.

Question:Main Question : Specifically for Home Depot, why does its innovative Enhanced Voice Recognition System fit the criteria of the “NON-SUBSTITUTABLE” characteristic based on the Resource-Based Theory? Please provide thorough analysis and references. Thank you.

Background Information:

Enhanced voice search – Thanks to smart assistants like Google Home and Siri, voice technology has become a part of many people’s everyday lives. For the first time, customers can speak to the Home Depot app as they do a smart assistant. Using new voice technology powered by Googles Dialogflow, the app can understand conversational questions and commands and deliver better, more relevant search results. The app can also search through the more than 1 million items on homedepot.com using text, barcodes or images.

Resource Based Theory: resource-based view (RBV) is a way of viewing the firm and in turn of approaching strategy

VRIN Characteristics:

·      Valuable – When resources are able to bring value to the firm they can be a source of competitive advantage.

·      Rare – Resources have to deliver a unique strategy to provide a competitive advantage to the firm as compared to the competing firms. Consider the case where a resource is valuable but it exists in the competitor firms as well. Such a resource is not rare to provide competitive advantage

·      Inimitable – Resources can be sources of sustained competitive advantage if competing firms cannot obtain them. Consider the case where a resource is valuable and rare but the competing organizations can copy them easily. Such resources also cannot be sources of competitive advantage

·      Non-substitutable – Resources should not be able to be replaced by any other strategically equivalent valuable resources. If two resources can be utilized separately to implement the same strategy then they are strategically equivalent. Such resources are substitutable and so are not sources of sustained competitive advantage.