Research Tips with Dr. Juliana

You run your reliability analysis in SPSS, and there it is: Cronbach's alpha = .68. Now you are wondering: “Is my questionnaire unreliable? Do I need to throw away the scale? Will my supervisor or journal reviewer reject my study?” Not so fast. A Cronbach's alpha below .70 deserves attention, but .70 is not a magical pass-or-fail line . The meaning of an alpha coefficient depends on the number of items, how closely the items are related, the nature of the construct, the purpose of the research, and the evidence that the scale is measuring a coherent construct. In this article, we will look at what Cronbach's alpha actually tells you, what α = .70 means, what to do when you obtain something like α = .68 , and the mistakes you should avoid when reporting reliability in a thesis or journal article. Quick answer: An alpha of .70 is commonly used as a rule-of-thumb benchmark for acceptable internal consistency, but it should not be treated as a universal cutoff. A...

Infographic explaining correlation vs regression for students using SPSS and Chapter Four data analysis. Writing Chapter Four of a dissertation is often the most stressful part of the research journey. You have your data, you’ve opened SPSS , and suddenly you’re faced with a big question: “Do I need a correlation or a regression?” While they both look at how variables relate to each other, they tell very different stories. Understanding the difference is the key to a successful data analysis and a defense-ready project. What is Correlation? At its simplest, correlation measures the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables. It asks: "Do these two things move together?" In a correlation, there is no "boss." Neither variable is causing the other; they are simply associates. We use the Pearson Correlation Coefficient ($r$) to measure this. ·        Positive Correlation: Both variables go up together (e.g., Study hours and Ex...