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Appendix David Rowland 1.1 Goals of this Appendix Computer technology has permeated every phase of research and experimentation in the social and health sciences; and within related fields such as business and education, the computer has become an indispensable tool, from marketing research and consumer behavior to trend analysis and forecasting. One of the first and primary uses of the computer for social scientists has been that of data analysis. Clearly, it is this single aspect of computing that has enabled social scientists to grasp the truly complex nature of human behavior and social organizations. It is not surprising, then, that as students of statistics, our focus is on the computer's ability to manage, process, and analyze data. Nevertheless, social and health scientists have come to involve the computer in nearly every component of their research, from the literature search, to the implementation of experiments, and to the writing of the manuscript on a word processor. There are several elementary goals in this appendix: we first review several basic ideas about the nature of research and different kinds of research. Then we discuss the critical role that computers play in this process. We give you just enough understanding of computer functioning so you can feel computer-literate. Next, we provide a general introduction to statistical software packages used for data analysis. Finally, we explain some of the terminology we use in providing instructions throughout the text and illustrate ways you can access help from within SPSS. |