1 Getting to know the data

This semester we will use the same dataset each week to develop your skills and knowledge. The dataset is from Woodworth et al. (2018) and you can find an explanation of the data here Web-based Positive Psychology Interventions: A Reexamination of Effectiveness.

There is a walkthrough video of this chapter available via Zoom.

1.1 Activity 1

Read through the study to familiarise yourself with the data you will be using over the coming weeks and answer the below questions.

When you get the correct answer, the answer box will turn green. Sometimes this doesn’t work on Internet Explorer or Edge so be sure to use Chrome or Firefox.

  • What does the AHI measure? (Hint, use a single word)

  • What does the CES-D measure? (hint, use a single word)

  • How many participants were there in this study?

  • How many questions (items) are there on the AHI?

  • How many questions (items) are there on the CES-D?

1.2 Activity 2

Download the files for Psych 1A here

The files are stored in a zip file. A zip file is a folder that contains files that have been compressed to make the file size smaller (like vacuum packed food) and enables you to download multiple files at once, however, before you use the files from a zip folder you first need to extract them.

  1. If you haven’t already, make a folder on your computer for Psych 1A.
  2. Click on the above link to download the folder and save it in your Psych 1A folder. If your computer does not ask you where to save the file, chances are it has saved it in your Downloads folder. If this is the case, once it has downloaded go to your downloads folder and then move it to your Psych 1A folder
  3. Navigate to the zip file and open it. You will see all the files it contains but don’t use these - click “Extract all” on the top ribbon.
  4. You will be asked to select a location to save the unzipped files. Assuming that you followed step 2, the default option should be your Psych 1A folder
  5. You can now use the unzipped files. Save the zip folder for now, we’re going to use it again in chapter 3.

1.3 Activity 3

Now that you’ve unzipped the folder, you should see that you have eight files. Three of these files are the data from Woodworth et al. - code-book.pdf, ahi-cesd.csv and participant-info.csv. Open and review each of these files and use the code book to figure out what the data in each variable (column) represents.

  • How many variables/columns data does participant-info.csv have?

  • How many variables/columns data does ahi-cesd.csv have?

  • What does a response of 1 for sex mean?

The remaining five files are “stub files” that you will use as you work through this book, so don’t worry about them just now.