This assignment aims at establishing a basic familiarity with fundamental concepts of research methods including research design, data collection, quantitative research, statistical analysis and report writing. On completion of this assignment, you should be able to have basic understanding of:

• Quantitative research

• Statistical analysis for quantitative research Specififications:

(1) Data collection : Collect the data from at least 20 observations at difffferent time from the library. For each observation at a time, you obtain a counting result of the number of computers which have been occupied during the particular time. Provide a table in the research eport to give the counts and the time the data was collected and give an explanation about how data was collected.

(2) Statistical analysis using One-sample T-test:

• a. Give a hypothesis about the mean usage of computers (the mean number of computers occupied), which reflflects your research problem;

• b. Carry out your T-test with statistical computing software (e.g., R);

• c. Draw a research conclusion, including an analysis about your fifinding.

(3) Future work:

Now assume you aim at determining if the average usage of computers in the morning equals to that in the afternnon. Illustrate some key points of your research, including the hypothesis testing method you will adopt, the main steps for the testing and possible conclusions. Bear in mind that you do not need to truely collect data and write code for this sub-task. Just discuss your strategy and potential conclusions.

Introduction

Research is a systematic process of collecting and evaluating information regarding a particular issue to establish an affirmative conclusion or solution to the problem studied. Researches are conducted to further the development of knowledge about a given theoretical topic. In performing a research study, scientific and mathematical methods are used to describe, clarify, predict, and control a phenomenon investigated in society. These methods comprise of deductive and inductive strategies used in analyzing and verifying an observed event. The purpose of research entails identifying the problems facing a given organization or society and augmenting a concrete reason. To research and report a problem, some methodology instruments are used to collect data and perform statistical analysis on the data. In most cases, quantitative research, which involves measuring data, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis may be used to infer the meaning of the information. This requires defining specific variables that can be quantified using a measurement scale. After conducting a research study, the importance of the study is enhanced through interpretation and documentation of the findings. In this paper, the fundamental concepts of research methods are explored both theoretically and practically through the development of research, collection of data and performing statistical analysis. The study examines the behavior of computers’ usage in the University of Wollongong Library.

Background about the University Library

The University of Wollongong is located in Australia. It provides quality education to students from different backgrounds. To meet its goals of offering quality education, the university has a student library building that provides learning materials and digital services to students and library visitors. The University of Wollongong library building comprises of the ground floor where the library services are optimally provided. The library services are provided on normal weekdays and weekends excluding specific holidays on the country’s calendar. On normal weekdays, the University of Wollongong Library is always open from 8 am to 10 pm. On the other hand, weekend services are provided between 10 am to 8 pm. Students are supposed to access the library within these timelines. Apart from learning materials, the university also provides students to access computers installed on the ground floor, which accommodates most of the library activities. Students can occupy one computer at a time and use it for online research studies and access to digital materials that may not be available in the library in hardcopy form. An estimate of 60 computers is available on the ground floor of the University of Wollongong Library. Recently, the university launched research to investigate the frequency of use of computers and determine the number of computers that are occupied by students at most times. Besides, the institution indents to know the periods at which the library computers are fully accommodated and if there is a need to add more devices in the building.

Research purpose

The research study aims to understand the statistical concepts and design approaches used in research; this is to be done by studying the usage of computers on the ground floors of the University of Wollongong library with the help of statistical analysis tools.

Research question

What is the tendency of the usage of the 60 computers on the ground floor of the University of Wollongong library?

Hypotheses

The formulation of the null and alternative hypotheses is important in conducting a research study that requires inferential statistics. Hypotheses are used in test statistics to determine the association of variables with a presumed condition. The null and alternative hypotheses for the study are formulated and displayed below.

The null hypothesis, H₀: the 60 computers on the ground floor of the UOW library are all occupied.

H₀: mean (µ) = 66

The alternative hypothesis, H₁: Not all of the 60 computers on the ground floor of UOW are all occupied.

H₁: mean (µ) ≠ 66

Methodology

To deduce answers for the above research question, a quantitative methodology is used to determine the tendency of computers used on the ground floor of the UOW library. Considering this is quantitative research, quantifiable data will be needed for the statistical analysis. In this case, the number of occupied computers on the ground floor of the library will be collected through an appropriate data collection method of choice. Importantly, it is essential to keep in mind that a library is a cool place used for studies. Therefore, a data collection method with minimum impacts on the study condition is used. The observation data collection suits this case. The data collection method will involve visiting the library and counting the number of computers that are occupied by visitors.

Data collection 

The observation techniques were used to observe and record the number of computers occupied on the ground floors of the UOW library. The data collection method was to provide measurable information about the usage of computers in the library. The process was perfumed by visiting the library 4 times each for one week, which included five weekdays and two weekdays. Therefore, a total of 28 observations were made to obtain a count of the number of occupied computers at a particular time. Specifically, the data collection process through observation involving activities such as observing and recording the number of computers in use. Also, the specific time at which the data collection happened was recorded in a notebook alongside the number of occupied computers. Therefore, the exercise required the use of motor skills and visionary help to view and note down the number of computers. Importantly, the data collection process was performed within the shortest time possible to maintain the ethics and standards of library use.

Generally, the formal observation data collection method was used in gathering information about the number of occupied computers on the ground floor. The data collection exercise was performed from 30^th September 2019 to 6^th October 2019. This took place from Monday 30^th September 2019 in the morning after the library was opened until Sunday 6^th October 2019 in the evening before 8 pm which is the official closure time. Before conducting the 28 observations, a request to do the exercise was made to the relevant authorities. Visiting of the library happened in the morning sessions, lunch session, afternoon session, and evening session. Morning sessions ranged from 8 am to 12 pm. Lunch sessions ranged from 12 pm to 3 pm. The afternoon session ranged from 3 pm to 6 pm. Finally, the evening session started at 6 pm and ended at 10 pm. The recorded number of computers was summarized in a table indicating the date of data collection, session of data collection, time of data collection and the exact number of occupied computers in the library. The table of the data collected is presented as summarized below.

Data collection date	Data collection session	Data collection time	Occupied computers
Monday (30th September 2019)	Morning	9:30 am	55
	Lunch	1:45 pm	40
	Afternoon	4:00 pm	31
	Evening	7:30 pm	23
Tuesday (1st October 2019)	Morning	10:00 am	38
	Lunch	1:45 pm	49
	Afternoon	5:15 pm	32
	Evening	9:30 pm	10
Wednesday (2nd October 2019)	Morning	11:30 am	29
	Lunch	1:45 pm	50
	Afternoon	4:00 pm	42
	Evening	7:30 pm	28
Thursday (3rd October 2019)	Morning	9:30 am	45
	Lunch	1:45 pm	49
	Afternoon	4:00 pm	40
	Evening	7:30 pm	20
Friday (4th October 2019)	Morning	9:30 am	57
	Lunch	12:50 pm	45
	Afternoon	4:30 pm	52
	Evening	7:30 pm	32
Saturday (5th October 2019)	Morning	10:30 am	44
	Lunch	12:45 pm	22
	Afternoon	4:00 pm	44
	Evening	7:30 pm	34
Sunday (6th October 2019)	Morning	8:30 am	43
	Lunch	2:45 pm	40
	Afternoon	5:00 pm	23
	Evening	6:30 pm	17

Table 1: Computer Observation

After collecting and presenting the data in tabular, statistical analysis and explanation of the findings were performed on the data as illustrating in the next sections.

Data analysis

Statistical analysis is a process that entails describing the nature of the data, and calculating important factors by using suitable data analysis software. Mathematical models are used to summarize the information in a way that helps in deducing the meaning of data. Statistical data analysis aims to determine the mean, standard deviation, maximum value, minimum value and other descriptive statistics from the population besides, inferential statistical analysis is also performed to suggest on the behavior of the variables in association with each other. A sample population of 28 observations will be included in the statistical analysis for this research. The research will provide a summary of the highest number of computers occupied on the ground floor of the library as well as the minimum number of occupied over the 7 days. This information will help in inferring the maximum number of computers required on the ground floor or whether there are enough computers. All the statistical test analyses are performed using the R statistical tool and the code scripts as well as outputs provided in this paper.

Mean of Number of Computers Occupied on the Ground Floor Library

The mean number of computers is calculated for the total of 28 observations made in the 7 days. The average number of occupied is summarized in the R output below.

> computers<-c(55,40,31,23,38,49,32,10,29,58,42,28,45,49,40,20,57,45,52,32,44,22,44,34,43,40,23,17)

> mean(computers)

[1] 37.21429

The mean number of occupied computers on the ground floor is 37.21 computers.

Standard deviation of Number of Computers Occupied on the Ground Floor Library

The standard deviation is an important descriptive statistic that illustrates the deviation of the mean number of occupied computers in the sample of 28 observations. It estimated using R code and the output displayed in this research paper as shown below.

> computers<-c(55,40,31,23,38,49,32,10,29,58,42,28,45,49,40,20,57,45,52,32,44,22,44,34,43,40,23,17)

> mean(computers)

[1] 37.21429

> sd(computers)

[1] 12.57086

The estimated standard deviation of the number of occupied computers on the ground floor of the university library of 12.57. Therefore, the mean number of occupied computers on the ground is 37.21 with a deviation of 12.57.

Maximum and Minimum Number of Occupied Computers

> computers<-c(55,40,31,23,38,49,32,10,29,58,42,28,45,49,40,20,57,45,52,32,44,22,44,34,43,40,23,17)

> max(computers)

[1] 58

> min(computers)

[1] 10

> range(computers)

[1] 10 58

> range=max(computers)-min(computers)

> print(range)

[1] 48

The maximum number of occupied computers in the library is 58 computers. On the other hand, a minimum of 10 occupied computers was recorded over the 7 days. Therefore, the occupied computers on the ground floor ranges between 10 and 58 computers.

Graphical Presentation of the Number of Occupied Computers in the Ground Floor of UOW Library

The graphical presentation uses a bar chart to illustrate the number of computers in column form. The bar chart is to generate din R software and presented below.

Figure 1: Bar plot of computers

t-test estimation

To test the hypothesis that the number of occupied computers on the ground floor of UOW library is 60, a one-sample t-test is performed using R software. An alpha value of α= 0.05, is used for hypothesis testing. The calculated statistics are summarized below to be used in inferential analysis.

> computers<-c(55,40,31,23,38,49,32,10,29,58,42,28,45,49,40,20,57,45,52,32,44,22,44,34,43,40,23,17)

> t.test(computers, alternative=”less”, mu=60)

One Sample t-test

data:  computers

t = -9.5913, df = 27, p-value = 1.725e-10

alternative hypothesis: true mean is less than 60

95 percent confidence interval:

-Inf 41.26073

sample estimates:

mean of x

 37.21429

Findings

The findings from the research indicate that the mean number of occupied computers on the ground floor is 37.21 computers. The one-sample t-test shows that at a t-statistic value of -9.5913, the p-value if 0.000. Therefore, the null hypothesis will be rejected. The range of occupied computers on the ground floor is 48 computers.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the usage of computers on the ground floor of the UOW library is not maximized. With a range of 48 computers occupied, it is deduced that about 12 computers remain unoccupied. On a busy day, 58 computers are occupied on the ground floor of the library. Therefore, the university library management should determine the days or times when the high computer occupancy is encountered. This will enable the institution to purchase more computers to prevent unexpected cases of over-occupation of computers.

Future work 

According to the descriptions, the future work will focus on determining the mean number of occupied computers in the morning and afternoon. Considering that these cases will result in two independent populations, a two-sample t-test can be used to compare the means. This will involve calculating the mean for the morning population and the mean for the afternoon population and equating to test a hypothesis for the equality in the averages.