RESEARCH METHOD COHEN ok

546 QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
Here, for example, one can say that there is a
shared perception between the leaders/SMT and
the teachers on the attention given to teaching
and learning in the school, even though it is
that the attention given is poor (means of 5.53
and 5.46 respectively). The fact that there is
asharedperception–thatbothpartiesseethe
same problem in the same way – offers a positive
prospect for development and a shared vision, i.e.
even though the picture is poor, nevertheless it
is perhaps more positive than if there were very
widely different perceptions.
In reporting the t-test here the following form
of words can be used:
The mean score for the leaders/SMT on the variable
‘The attention given to teaching and learning
at the school’ (M = 5.53, SD = 2.114) did not
differ statistically significantly (t = 0.510, df = 998,
two-tailed ρ = 0.610) from that of the teachers
(M = 5.46, SD = 2.145).
The t-test for independent examples is a very
widely used statistic, and we support its correct use
very strongly.
Less frequently used is the t-test for a paired
(related) sample, i.e. where the same group votes
on two variables, or the same sample group is
measured, or the same variable is measured at two
points in time. Here two variables are paired, with
marks awarded by the same group (Box 24.41).
Box 24.41
Means and standard deviations in a paired samples
t-test
Pair 1 The attention
given to
teaching and
learning at the
school
Paired samples statistics
The quality of
the lesson
preparation
Mean N SD SE mean
5.48 1,000 2.134 0.067
7.17 1,000 1.226 0.039
One can see here that we are looking to see if the
mean of the 1,000 respondents who voted on ‘the
attention given to teaching and learning in the
school’ (mean = 5.48) is statistically significantly
different from the mean of the same group
voting on the variable ‘the quality of the lesson
preparation’ (mean = 7.17) (Box 24.42).
Here we can move directly to the final column
(‘Sig. (2-tailed)’) where we find that ρ = 0.000,
i.e. ρ