Analysing and Interpreting Data from World Value Survey for New Zealand

Your task for the second lab report is to analyse and interpret data from the World Value Survey in the following ‘role-play’ scenario.

Scenario:

You are a team of social scientists working in a research unit within Te K?wanatanga o Aotearoa | New Zealand Government. Your team’s research expertise is from a range of backgrounds related to psychology, but each team member has a strong understanding of research methods and statistics. You received a request from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to investigate 1) how New Zealanders perceive ethical values, and 2) its relationship to key indicators of psychological wellbeing and quality of life.

The request for analyses and interpretation came with a dataset and a codebook. The dataset is the latest three waves of New Zealander’s responses in the World Values Survey; Wave 1 collected in 2017, Wave 2 collected in 2019, and Wave 3 collected in 2021 (NEW_WAVE variable).1 Both dataset and codebooks were downloaded from the World Values Survey’s website (https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp). Jacinda would like you to report back in APA- style, in case these results can be publishable in academic outlets, but she is keen to hear your professional opinion on the quality of the findings.

You are asked to:

1. Recommend how to use the ethical values scale (Q177-Q195 variables) in the World Values Survey for analyses with statistical justifications by exploring the factor structure of Wave 1 responses and confirming it using Wave 3 responses.

2. From your decision at 1), carry out analyses investigating only one of the following research questions using Wave 3 responses:
a. Do attitudes regarding societal reform (Q42 variable) and personal experience of crime (Q144 variable) have an influence on ethical values? Does their interaction have an influence on ethical values?
OR
b. What is the relationship(s) between ethical values and happiness (Q46 variable), and is it (are they) influenced by a sense of security (Q131 variable)?
3. Comment on the limitations of the research methods and how they impact your final interpretation of the data and its quality.

4. Comment on if these findings are of value for New Zealand (i.e., what are the implications for society?).

5. Suggest one future research study that either:
a.  Builds on the current research findings, answering new research questions.
OR
b. Improves the current research design, answering the same research questions.

Learning outcomes:

This lab report will assess the following student competencies:

• Ability to prepare and organise a dataset for statistical analyses
• Ability to justify and execute a plan for statistical analyses
• Experience in reporting research findings in APA-style
• Ability to critically reflect on the quality of a research project by evaluating elements of research methods, including research design, measurement, and sampling