Although participants are reminded that their participation is voluntary and that they could exit anytime, we had used a feature in our Google Form that helped us to make sure that the participants answered every item if they choose to participate. No participants backed out from the research.
We did the frequency table and found that there was no missing values nor outliers since the participants had answered all of the items on both times.
Frequency table for DASS-21
Frequency table for Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale
As for the preparation of our data, we computed the reverse scores of the items in Self Esteem scale as per the instructions given.
Transforming variables
Reverse scoring (name)
Reverse scoring (value)
In the instructions, Strongly Agree = 3, Agree = 2, Disagree = 1, Strongly Disagree = 0.
However, in reverse scoring, the values are opposite i.e. Strongly Agree = 0, Agree = 1, and so on and so forth. These criteria were specified through SPSS by changing the old value into a new value, and then computed to a different variable.
Hence, our new score is calculated which we have to use instead of the raw score.
The next step of preparation involves the calculation of the total scores of both scales in both times.
As mentioned in an earlier post, the DASS scores need to summed up and then multiplied by 2 for the final score. As seen below, the formula has been specified, whereby all the item scores are added first before being multiplied by 2. This new score is then computed to a new variable labelled 'Total Score DASS' followed by the time of testing (1 or 2).
Computing variables for DASS-21 data
The total score for Self Esteem has also been calculated using the same Compute Variable function. The scoring for Self Esteem is relatively easier, as we only have to add all scores. However, the reverse scores have to used in the computation instead of the original score, thus, we have a blend of non-reverse scores and reverse scores, as seen below.
Computing variables for Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale data
This marks the end of the Preparation stage as well. The next post will focus on the rechecked Codebook after our calculations above.