The fun side of the world of statistics is sometimes unappreciated by some. This might be because of our seemingly “allergic reaction” when we encounter numbers. Though jokingly, numbers are always around the corner, haunting us wherever we go and whatever we do. But what’s even worse? Doing a research. A research involves more complex procedures wherein data analysis is among the essential and more critical parts.

Luckily, there is an answer to that imminent need. Strategic Research and Development Center, Inc. or STRAND-Asia offers a series seminar-workshops on statistics. One of which is the Research Writing and Statistical Analysis In-Depth Seminar-Workshop held on May 22-25, 2018 at DACS Training Center, Davao City.

There were more than a hundred participants to the activity. The class was a mixture of individuals belonging to different institutions like the academe, LGUs, NGAs and private enterprises. For PSA RSSO 7, five attendees were sent, with each province represented accordingly and one staff from the regional office.

The four-day workshop tackled highly technical topics in conducting a research. The first speaker, Mr. Rene N. Argenal of the University of San Carlos, had a comprehensive discussion on the step-by-step process and ethical standards in research writing. He also included topics on survey design, sampling, questionnaire construction, Chronbach’s Alpha, and Data Analysis preparation.

Mr. Arturo J. Patungan, a professor at UST, was the resource person for the statistical analysis using IBM SPSS, a software widely used by statisticians for data compilation and analysis. The speaker presented the steps in performing factor analysis, cross tabulation, parametric and non-parametric tests, and multivariate analysis with regression using SPSS.

At the end of the seminar-workshop, the knowledge in statistical analysis of the attendees was refreshed, reinforced and enhanced.