Statistics for Business and Economics - Research Paper Example

?Aims and objectives Computers are an important part of today’s highly technology-driven world. People use it all the time and one’s education us highly dependent on computers as well. This study is designed to find out the behavior of computer usage of students of Coventry University. The particular interest of this study includes the distribution of Coventry University students in terms of computer ownership. This study also wants to determine the type of computers that students of Coventry University own. It is also the interest of this study to find out the main purpose of Coventry University students for using computers, how long they use them in a day, and how frequent they use them. In addition, the study wants to determine how important computers are for students of Coventry University. Coventry University has extensive computer facilities and services. This study wants to find out whether or not students are able to take advantage of the facilities and services of Coventry University. More importantly, this study also wants to know whether or not students are satisfied with the facilities and services of Coventry University’s computer center. Sampling strategy and sample size The sample size of 30 was pre-determined by the requirements of the assignment. The sampling strategy used was purposive sampling. This type of sampling strategy allows researchers to find respondents that would serve the particular purpose of the study (Anderson, Sweeney, & Williams, 2009). For this particular investigation, the researchers gave the questionnaire to 30 university students who passed by the campus cafeteria. Questionnaire design The questionnaire makes use of 10 questions that aim to assess the behavior of computer usage of students of Coventry University. In order to determine the relevant demographic characteristics of the respondents, the questionnaire required that respondents’ sex and academic level be noted down. The study wants to know the extent of computer ownership of Coventry University students and so this was made as the third question. Nowadays, some people use more than one computer and so for the fourth question which asked the type of computer owned by students, multiple answers were allowed. The study wanted to know whether or not Coventry University students used the computer center and so this was made as the fifth question. Computers are used for a number of reasons and in order to find out what were the purposes of Coventry University students for using computers, up to three multiple answers were accepted for question 6. The amount of time and the frequency of use of computers by Coventry University students were explored in questions 7 and 8, respectively. Finally, the importance of computers for Coventry University students and their satisfaction with the university’s computer services and facilities were assessed in questions 9 and 10, respectively, Analysis and presentation of findings In order to find the behavior of computer usage of students at Coventry University, the data gathered was collated, summarized, and analyzed. Results of the analysis are given below. Table 1 shows the frequency and percentage distribution of respondents grouped by sex and academic level. The figures indicate that there were a total of 14 (46.7%) male respondents and 16 (53.3%) female respondents. Moreover, 22 (73.3%) of the respondents are at the Undergraduate level of their studies while 8 (26.7%) of the respondents are at the Post-graduate level of their studies. Figures from Table 1 also indicate that 90% of the respondents have their own computer (n = 27) while 10% do not have their own computer (n = 3), all of whom are undergraduate students, with 1 male and 2 females. Table 1. Frequency and percentage distribution of respondents by sex and level (N = 30) Sex Level With Own Computer Does not own computer Total Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Male Undergraduate 9 30.0 1 3.3 10 33.3 Post-graduate 4 13.3 0 0.0 4 13.3 Total 13 43.3 1 3.3 14 46.7 Female Undergraduate 10 33.3 2 6.7 12 40.0 Post-graduate 4 13.3 0 0.0 4 13.3 Total 14 46.7 2 6.7 16 53.3 Grand total 27 90.0 3 10.0 30 100.0 It is of this study’s interest to find out what type of computers Coventry University students use. Figure 1 shows the percentage distribution of computer owners by the type of computers that they own. The figure shows that 40% of computer users own a desktop PC, 74.1% own a laptop, and 44.4% own a handheld PC. Figure 1. Percentage distribution of computer owners by the type of computers they own Figure 2 reflects the percentage distribution of respondents who use the computer facilities and services of Coventry University. The figures indicate that 73% of the respondents use the computer facilities and services of the university while 27% do not use the computer facilities and services of the university. Figure 2. Percentage distribution of respondents who use Coventry University’s computer services and facilities Figure 3 shows the purpose of Coventry University students for using computers. The Figure 3. Percentage distribution of respondents by the purpose of using computers. figure indicates that all the respondents use computers for research (100%). This seems to indicate that the main purpose of Coventry University students for using computers is educational in nature. The next main use for computers is for social networking (63.3%), which has become very popular with the advent of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumbler, among others. Tied for the third most popular purpose for using computers are playing computer games and downloading of media, such as pictures, songs, and videos (23.3%). This also shows that students use computers for entertainment purposes. Other uses of computers include online shopping (13.3%) and watching online videos (3.3%). Figure 4 indicates that most Coventry University students use their computers for 8 to 11 hours a day, suggesting that they are heavily dependent on computers for the purposes previously indicated. Figure 4. Length of computer usage per day. Figure 5 shows that all the respondents use the computer at least two to three times a week, with 60% of the respondents actually using the computers everyday. Again, these figures indicate how much computers are a part of the life of Coventry University students. Figure 5. Frequency of computer usage Respondents were also asked how important were computers for them on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 indicating the highest score. Calculations indicate that the mean score was 4.60, with a standard deviation of .50, indicating that Coventry University students consider computers as a very important part of their student life. This result supports the earlier findings which pointed toward the extensive use of computers by Coventry University students. Respondents were also asked to rate Coventry University’s computer facilities and services on a scale of 1 to 5, still with 5 being the highest possible score. Calculations indicate that the mean score is 3.87, with a standard deviation of .90, indicating that Coventry University students are only slightly satisfied with the computer facilities and services of the school. Conclusion In summary, it can be seen that computers are truly a big part of the lives of students of Coventry University. Majority of Coventry University students own computers, with some owning more than one type of computer. Computers are primarily used for research, and also used for social networking and entertainment. Coventry University students are heavy users of computers, with majority of students spending many hours of the day using computers, almost everyday. It is therefore no wonder that Coventry University students consider computers as a very important part of their student life. Moreover, majority of the respondents are able to take advantage of the facilities and services of Coventry University’s computer center. However, they are only slightly satisfied with the facilities and services being offered. Critical evaluation The process of creating a survey was quite challenging in the beginning especially in deciding what aspect to conduct the survey on. Once the topic was determined, the next challenge came in deciding what questions to include in the questionnaire. By setting up the main aims and objectives of the study, deciding on the survey questions came almost automatically. The task of administering the survey was also quite difficult as it entailed asking strangers to complete a survey form. Although the survey only utilized 30 respondents, it took quite some time to have 30 students answer the questionnaire. Despite the challenges, the end result proved to be worth the effort as a picture of the computer usage of Coventry University students were shed light on through this study. References Anderson, D. R., Sweeney, D., & Williams, T. (2009). Statistics for Business and Economics. Mason, OH: Thomas Higher Education. Bluman, A. (2004). Elementary statistics: a step by step approach, 5th ed. McGraw-Hill. Creswell, J. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Appendix Survey Questionnaire Computer Usage of Coventry University Students Pls mark the appropriate space with an X. 1. Sex _____ Male _____ Female 2. Level of Study _____ Undergraduate _____ Post-graduate 3. Do you have your own computer? _____ Yes _____ No 4. What type of computer do you have? (Please mark all that apply.) _____ Desktop PC _____ Laptop _____ Tablet/Handheld _____ Doesn’t own 5. Do you use Coventry’s computer facilities and sevices? _____ Yes _____ No 6. What do you usually use the computer for? (Please choose at most three.) _____ School work / research _____ Social Networking _____ Online gaming _____ Watching videos _____ Online shopping _____ Media download 7. How many hours a day do you use the computer? _____ Less than 3 hours _____ 4 to 7 hours _____ 8 to 11 hours _____ 12 hours or more 8. How frequent do you use the computer? _____ Everyday _____ 2 to 3 times a week _____ Once a week _____ A few times a month 9. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score, how important is the use of computers in your life as a student? _____ 10.On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score, how do you rate Coventry’s computer facilities and services? _____ ***** Thank you so much for your time! ***** Read More