Session 1.4

Tools

Collecting and Interpreting Quantitative Data

Abstract

Faculty are often overwhelmed by the volume of assessment data to be collected and interpreted. In this workshop we will cover statistical sampling techniques to reduce the quantity of required data. We will also cover statistical inference techniques that can be used to draw conclusions based on the sample data. Workshop participants will work in groups, developing sampling strategies and interpreting data.

Target Audience

This workshop will be useful for assessment administrators and faculty who are responsible for

· developing or implementing the assessment process;

· writing reports to interpret the results of the assessment; or

· modifying a program based on assessment results.

We will assume participants have minimal or no prior knowledge of statistics and no prior knowledge of available software tools.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:

recognize the advantages of using a statistical approach in assessment
develop a process for collecting a random but representative sample
determine how many samples to collect in the sampling process
find a sample mean, sample variance, and a confidence interval about the mean
make an inference about the population mean based on the sample mean and confidence interval
determine whether the difference between two mean scores is statistically significant
use statistical results to identify areas for program improvement and to assess previously implemented program changes

Conducted by:

Deborah van Alphen is a professor of Electrical Engineering at CSU, Northridge. She is currently the assessment coordinator for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and serves on college and university-level assessment committees. She also teaches short courses in digital communications, neural networks, cellular systems, and statistics for industry and government.

Robert Lingard is a professor of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at CSU, Northridge. He currently serves as Chair of the College Assessment Committee, as Coordinator for Assessment within the Department of Computer Science, and as a member of the University’s Academic Assessment Committee.