User Guide for the TIMSS International Database.pdf - TIMSS and ...

Chapter 9
Performing Analyses with the TIMSS Data:
Some Examples
This chapter presents some basic examples of analyses that can be performed with the TIMSS
International Database using the sampling weights and scores discussed in previous chapters.
It also provides details on some SPSS and SAS code to conduct such analyses, and the results
of these analyses. Although the analyses presented here are simple in nature, they are
designed to familiarize the user with the different files and their structure, as well as the
relevant variables that need to be included in most analyses. All the analyses presented here
compute the percent of students in specified subgroups, the mean achievement in
mathematics for each subgroup, and the corresponding standard errors for the percent and
mean statistics. The analyses presented in this chapter, based on student and teacher data,
replicate analyses that are included in the TIMSS mathematics international report. Two tables
from the international report (Mathematics Achievement in the Middle School Years), shown
in Figure 9.1 and Figure 9.2, are replicated in Examples 1 and 2 in this chapter. The user is
welcomed to compare the results from these analysis to the tables in the reports, and is
encouraged to practice analyzing the TIMSS data by trying to replicate some of the tables
that are presented in the international reports. 1
In our examples we use macros written for SAS and SPSS that can be used to perform any of
the analyses that are described below. These are general subroutines that can be used for
many purposes, provided the user has some basic knowledge of the SAS or SPSS macro
language. The user with some programming experience in either one of these statistical
packages will be able to make the necessary modifications to the macros to obtain the desired
results. When using these macros, the code assumes that the user has already created a system
file in SPSS, or a data set if using SAS, that contains the variables necessary for the analysis.
As part of this chapter we also describe the control files included in the CD that can be used
to create SAS and SPSS data set system files.
1
Documentation regarding the computational methods used to obtain any derived variables included in the international
reports is presented in Supplement 4.
T I M S S D A T A B A S E U S E R G U I D E 9 - 1