1 Quantitative Analysis Project: Assignment Overview Social support is critical to the well-being of children and adolescents (Hughes, 2011). Positive relationships with others promote health, self-esteem and prosocial behavior (Cohen, Gottlieb, & Underwood, 2000). Additionally, socially supportive relationships can buffer the harmful effects of stressful life events, such as an illness, conflict, or parental divorce. The home and school contexts are the two primary sources of support for most children (Harter, 2012). Unfortunately, many children do not receive the support they need from these sources (Zelkowitz, 1987). Given the importance of social support, researchers are currently exploring other potential sources of support in the broader community. The purpose of this study is to explore the church as one such potential source of positive relationships, love and affirmation for children by studying the effects of a relationship-based children’s ministry model. Background Every Generation Ministries (EGM) is an international non-profit organization that trains and resources church children’s workers on six different continents. The churches in many of the countries where EGM works lack a cohesive model for children’s ministry and tend to follow cultural norms when ministering to children. For example, churches in Eastern Europe, which are part of the former Soviet Bloc, are more likely to provide lecture-based instruction focused on memorization with little opportunity for interaction or relationship-building. EGM develops national ministry teams which provide leadership development programs and Bible teaching resources for children’s workers in local churches. The ministry model is focused on spiritually transforming children through innovative instructional experiences, positive relationships with adults and peers, small group discussion, 2 and application opportunities. These pedagogical features are theorized to promote social support transmission. Prior literature in the school context has found that positive student relationships with adults and peers can be promoted through smaller learning communities (McNeely et al., 2002) and the explicit teaching of prosocial behavior (Osterman, 2000), both of which are meaningful components of the EGM model. Furthermore, child-centered teaching, comparable to the child-focused elements of the EGM ministry model, have been associated with a greater sense of classroom community in public schools (Solomon et al., 1996). The Present Study In order to evaluate whether it is accomplishing its mission, EGM initiated the Crucible Project. The Crucible Project is an effort to apply behavioral science research methods to evaluate and improve the ministry. In a pilot study conducted in Chile, a partner church collected survey data from the children in its children’s program before and after receiving training and resourc ...

1. 1
Quantitative Analysis Project:
Assignment Overview
Social support is critical to the well-being of children and
adolescents (Hughes, 2011).
Positive relationships with others promote health, self-esteem
and prosocial behavior (Cohen,
Gottlieb, & Underwood, 2000). Additionally, socially
supportive relationships can buffer the
harmful effects of stressful life events, such as an illness,
conflict, or parental divorce. The home
and school contexts are the two primary sources of suppor t for
most children (Harter, 2012).
Unfortunately, many children do not receive the support they
need from these sources
(Zelkowitz, 1987). Given the importance of social support,
researchers are currently exploring
other potential sources of support in the broader community.
The purpose of this study is to
explore the church as one such potential source of positive

2. relationships, love and affirmation for
children by studying the effects of a relationship-based
children’s ministry model.
Background
Every Generation Ministries (EGM) is an international non-
profit organization that trains
and resources church children’s workers on six different
continents. The churches in many of the
countries where EGM works lack a cohesive model for
children’s ministry and tend to follow
cultural norms when ministering to children. For example,
churches in Eastern Europe, which are
part of the former Soviet Bloc, are more likely to provide
lecture-based instruction focused on
memorization with little opportunity for interaction or
relationship-building. EGM develops
national ministry teams which provide leadership development
programs and Bible teaching
resources for children’s workers in local churches.
The ministry model is focused on spiritually transforming
children through innovative
instructional experiences, positive relationships with adults and
peers, small group discussion,

3. 2
and application opportunities. These pedagogical features are
theorized to promote social support
transmission. Prior literature in the school context has found
that positive student relationships
with adults and peers can be promoted through smaller learning
communities (McNeely et al.,
2002) and the explicit teaching of prosocial behavior
(Osterman, 2000), both of which are
meaningful components of the EGM model. Furthermore, child-
centered teaching, comparable to
the child-focused elements of the EGM ministry model, have
been associated with a greater
sense of classroom community in public schools (Solomon et
al., 1996).
The Present Study
In order to evaluate whether it is accomplishing its mission,
EGM initiated the Crucible
Project. The Crucible Project is an effort to apply behavioral
science research methods to
evaluate and improve the ministry. In a pilot study conducted in
Chile, a partner church collected

4. survey data from the children in its children’s program before
and after receiving training and
resources and implementing the EGM children’s ministry
model. The survey assessed multiple
constructs including children’s God image, prosocial behavior,
and the quality of children’s
relationships with peers and adults at church. EGM and its
partner church expected to see an
increase in these constructs after the implementa tion of the
model.
Method
Participants
Survey data were collected from a mid-sized Evangelical
Christian church in Chile. To
simplify data analysis for the purposes of this assignment, 10
children were randomly selected at
each of the two timepoints (before and after implementation of
the EGM model). There is no
identifying information which would allow us to match
children’s scores across the two
timepoints, so before and after are being treated as two separate
groups. Therefore, in your final

5. 3
presentation, please report participant information separately
for each group (i.e., sample size,
percentage of boys, age range, average age). Age and sex data
for the participants are provided in
the Appendix. You will need to calculate the percentage of
boys, age range, and average age
using this provided information.
Measures
One of the measures used in the EGM pilot study was a Spanish
translation of the received
(emotional) social support scale of the Kids’ Church Survey
(Crosby & Smith, 2017). This is the
scale that will be used as the dependent variable for this
assignment. The Spanish version of the
survey contains four items. The original English version of
these items is as follows:
1. I tell people at church about what’s going on in my life.
2. I get to tell people at church my ideas.
3. People at church help me with my problems.
4. I tell someone from church about my feelings.

6. Response options range from 1 (Never) to 4 (Always). The
Kids’ Church Survey was
originally developed and validated in English with a U.S.
sample. The received (emotional)
support subscale demonstrated good internal reliability, was
sensitive to between-church
differences related to size and ministry model, and was
associated with children’s spirituality in a
sample of 6- through 14-year-olds.
Procedures
One month before training and implementation of the EGM
model, surveys were
administered at a mid-sized Chilean church by local children’s
workers during the regular
children’s program using a standardized protocol. Church
leaders secured parental consent and
child assent before administering the surveys. Children were
instructed to respond truthfully, and
4
the workers administering the survey were instructed not to
influence the children’s responses.

7. Children responded by checking the boxes that corresponded to
their response choice. These
hard copies were then placed in a sealed envelope and delivered
to the local EGM office where
responses were typed into a computer spreadsheet by a paid
staff member. Three months after
the children’s workers completed training and implemented the
model, the survey was
readministered using the same protocol.
Data Analysis
For this assignment, you will calculate the mean received
(emotional) social support
score for children in the church before and after implementation
of the EGM model. You do not
need to perform any further calculations. These descriptive
statistics will be presented in a table
beside an explanation of their meaning. You will also create a
bar chart in which you compare
the means of the two groups and interpret the chart’s meaning.
PowerPoint Presentation
Using the provided template, you will create an APA-style
PowerPoint presentation in

8. which you formally present the background, methodology,
results, and a discussion of this study.
Provide the appropriate information on each slide drawing from
the information provided in this
assignment overview, your own analysis, and your own ideas
about the study’s implications and
future research possibilities. Make sure to delete the bracketed
instructions from the presentation.
You may incorporate the articles cited in this assignment
overview into your presentation;
however, all information must be presented in your own words.
Copying and pasting entire
sentences from this assignment overview into your presentation
is considered plagiarism.
5
References
Cohen, S., Gottlieb, B. H., & Underwood, L. G. (2000). Social
relationships and health. In
Cohen, S., Underwood, L. G. & Gottlieb, B. H. (Eds.), Social
support measurement and

9. intervention: A guide for health and social scientists (pp. 3-28).
Oxford Press.
Crosby, R. G., & Smith, E. I. (2017). Measuring children's
church-based social support:
Development and initial validation of the Kids' Church Survey.
Social Development,
26(2), 423-442. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12198
Harter, S. (2012). Manual for the social support scale for
children (Revised). University of
Denver.
Hughes, J. N. (2011). Longitudinal effects of teacher and
student perceptions of teacher-student
relationship qualities on academic adjustment. The Elementary
School Journal, 112, 38-
60. https://doi.org/10.1086/660686
McNeely, C. A., Nonnemaker, J. M., & Blum, R. W. (2002).
Promoting school connectedness:
Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
Health. Journal of School
Health, 72, 138-146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-
1561.2002.tb06533.x
Osterman, K. F. (2000). Students’ need for belonging in the
school community. Review of

10. Educational Research, 70, 323-367.
https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543070003323
Solomon, D., Watson, M., Battistich, V., Schaps, E., &
Delucchi, K. (1996). Creating classrooms
that students experience as communities. American Journal of
Community Psychology,
24, 719-748. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02511032
Zelkowitz, P. (1987). Social support and aggressive behavior in
young children. Family
Relations, 36, 129-134. https://doi.org/10.2307/583941
6
Appendix
Survey data collected from children at the church before
training and implementation of
the EGM ministry model:
Sex Age
Support
Score

11. Girl 10 1.00
Boy 10 1.50
Girl 13 1.50
Boy 6 1.25
Girl 6 1.75
Boy 6 1.25
Boy 10 1.50
Girl 10 1.00
Girl 4 1.75
Boy 11 1.50
Survey data collected from children at the church after training
and implementation of
the EGM ministry model:
Sex Age
Support
Score
Boy 10 1.00
Boy 10 2.00
Girl 10 2.25
Girl 5 1.25
Boy 9 2.00
Girl 6 1.75
Boy 5 1.75
Girl 4 2.25
Girl 10 1.25
Boy 9 3.50
Support Score Key
4 Always
3 Most of the Time

12. 2 Sometimes
1 Never
Title of Study
Student’s Name
University’s Name
Introduction
[briefly introduce the problem; establish the importance of the
problem]
[briefly state the goal of the study]
Literature Review
[briefly review the relevant literature; provide in-text citations
using APA format]
Hypothesis
[clearly state the hypothesis]
Method
Participants
[briefly describe the participants: number of participants, %
male, age range, average age, information unique to the sample]

13. Measure
[specify variable/construct being measured; provide name of
instrument, response options, sample item, and validity
information]
Procedure
[briefly describe the procedure by which data were collected]
Analytic Method
[briefly describe how the data will be analyzed]
Results
Descriptive Statistics
[report appropriate values rounded to the hundredths place;
interpret table]
[insert SPSS output here]
Descriptive Statistics
[interpret bar chart]
[insert SPSS output here]
Discussion
Summary of Results
[provide a brief summary of the key finding]
[state explicitly whether the hypothesis was supported]

14. Results in Light of Prior Literature
[explicitly state whether results were consistent with prior
literature; cite relevant articles as appropriate]
Implications
[provide at least one specific suggestion for practice]
Suggestions for Future Research
[provide at least one specific suggestion for a logical follow-up
study]
References
[provide references for all of the articles cited in the
presentation; use APA format except for the hanging indents]
Graph Step 1:
Graph Step 2:
Graph Step 3:
Table: Compare Means of 2 Groups
Grap

15. h
Step 1:
Graph
Step 2:
Graph Step 1:
Graph Step 2:
Information needed for the Presentation:
Slide 1 (Title) – Name your presentation something related to
the topic of the article you are analyzing. Use this opening
information as a guide.
Use your name and your university (California Baptist
University).
Slide 2 (Introduction)
· briefly introduce the problem
· establish the importance of the problem
· briefly state the goal of the study. This will reflect your
hypothesis (see slide 4 below)
Slide 3 (Literature Review)
This information is under the heading “background.” Note that
not all of this section should be included. If you wish to talk
about EGM, do it briefly at the beginning of the introduction
slide, or add a slide called “background.”
The actual literature review is short an begins with the words

16. “prior literature.” You will find 3 sources described. You may
use the same wording in your presentation for the description of
each. Be sure to cite these properly, both here and in the last
slide. The overview has this already done correctly for you.
Slide 4 (Hypothesis)
This information is in the first paragraph of the overview.
Determine the independent variable and the dependent
variables; IV promotes change in DV.
Slide 5 (Methods)
Leave this slide as is; it is simply a transition. When recording
your presentation you will simply say something such as “Next I
will describe the methods used in this study.”
Slide 6 (Participants)
Briefly describe the subjects that received the benefit of the
children’s ministry model (EGM).
number of participants:
· % male: % female:
· age range
· average age
· information unique to the sample
All of this information can be calculated using the table in the
appendix, except for any information that is “unique to the
sample.”
Steps:
1. Count the number of participants. (=N)
2. Count the number of boys; divide by N
3. Subtract % of boys from 100 for % of girls
4. Age range = the youngest to the oldest
5. Average age= add all the numbers in the age column, divide
by the number of entries
Slide 7 (Measure)
specify what is being measured (hint: dependent variable)

17. all the following information is given under the Measure section
of the overview:
· name of instrument
· response options
· sample item
· validity information
Slide 8 (Procedure)
briefly describe the procedure by which data were collected; all
found under the Procedures section. Tip: abbreviate to bullet
points (not full text).
Slide 9 (Analytic Method)
Description is under Data analysis in the overview.
Slide 10 (Results)
No additional text here)
Slide 11 (Descriptive Statistics)
Copy and insert the table you generate in SPSS (see separate
SPSS instructions)
Briefly explain what it says.
Slide 12 (Descriptive Statistics)
Copy and insert the graph you generate in SPSS.
Briefly explain what it says.
Slide 13 (Discussion)
No additional text needed
Slide 14 (Summary of Results)
· provide a brief summary of the key finding (what was the
outcome?)
· state explicitly whether the hypothesis was supported (did the
independent variable make a difference? Was there a
change/improvement in the DV?)
Slide 16 (Implications)
· provide at least one specific suggestion for practice (Where
else could this program be used?)
Slide 17 (Suggestions for Future Research)
· What can these or other researchers do to continue to advance

18. this research?
Slide 18 (References)
· Only list the ones you actually talk about in the presentation.
1
Quantitative Analysis Project:
Assignment Overview
Social support is critical to the well-being of children and
adolescents (Hughes, 2011).
Positive relationships with others promote health, self-esteem
and prosocial behavior (Cohen,
Gottlieb, & Underwood, 2000). Additionally, socially
supportive relationships can buffer the
harmful effects of stressful life events, such as an illness,
conflict, or parental divorce. The home
and school contexts are the two primary sources of support for
most children (Harter, 2012).
Unfortunately, many children do not receive the support they
need from these sources
(Zelkowitz, 1987). Given the importance of social support,
researchers are currently exploring
other potential sources of support in the broader community.
The purpose of this study is to

19. explore the church as one such potential source of positive
relationships, love and affirmation for
children by studying the effects of a relationship-based
children’s ministry model.
Background
Every Generation Ministries (EGM) is an international non-
profit organization that trains
and resources church children’s workers on six different
continents. The churches in many of the
countries where EGM works lack a cohesive model for
children’s ministry and tend to follow
cultural norms when ministeri ng to children. For example,
churches in Eastern Europe, which are
part of the former Soviet Bloc, are more likely to provide
lecture-based instruction focused on
memorization with little opportunity for interaction or
relationship-building. EGM develops
national ministry teams which provide leadership development
programs and Bible teaching
resources for children’s workers in local churches.
The ministry model is focused on spiritually transforming
children through innovative
instructional experiences, positive relationships with adults and

20. peers, small group discussion,
2
and application opportunities. These pedagogical features are
theorized to promote social support
transmission. Prior literature in the school context has found
that positive student relationships
with adults and peers can be promoted through smaller learning
communities (McNeely et al.,
2002) and the explicit teaching of prosocial behavior
(Osterman, 2000), both of which are
meaningful components of the EGM model. Furthermore, child-
centered teaching, comparable to
the child-focused elements of the EGM ministry model, have
been associated with a greater
sense of classroom community in public schools (Solomon et
al., 1996).
The Present Study
In order to evaluate whether it is accomplishing its mission,
EGM initiated the Crucible
Project. The Crucible Project is an effort to apply behavioral
science research methods to

21. evaluate and improve the ministry. In a pilot study conducted in
Chile, a partner church collected
survey data from the children in its children’s program before
and after receiving training and
resources and implementing the EGM children’s ministry
model. The survey assessed multiple
constructs including children’s God image, prosocial behavior,
and the quality of children’s
relationships with peers and adults at church. EGM and its
partner church expected to see an
increase in these constructs after the implementation of the
model.
Method
Participants
Survey data were collected from a mid-sized Evangelical
Christian church in Chile. To
simplify data analysis for the purposes of this assignment, 10
children were randomly selected at
each of the two timepoints (before and after implementation of
the EGM model). There is no
identifying information which would allow us to match
children’s scores across the two
timepoints, so before and after are being treated as two separate
groups. Therefore, in your final

22. 3
presentation, please report participant informatio n separately
for each group (i.e., sample size,
percentage of boys, age range, average age). Age and sex data
for the participants are provided in
the Appendix. You will need to calculate the percentage of
boys, age range, and average age
using this provided information.
Measures
One of the measures used in the EGM pilot study was a Spanish
translation of the received
(emotional) social support scale of the Kids’ Church Survey
(Crosby & Smith, 2017). This is the
scale that will be used as the dependent variable for this
assignment. The Spanish version of the
survey contains four items. The original English version of
these items is as follows:
1. I tell people at church about what’s going on in my life.
2. I get to tell people at church my ideas.
3. People at church help me with my problems.

23. 4. I tell someone from church about my feelings.
Response options range from 1 (Never) to 4 (Always). The
Kids’ Church Survey was
originally developed and validated in English with a U.S.
sample. The received (emotional)
support subscale demonstrated good internal reliability, was
sensitive to between-church
differences related to size and ministry model, and was
associated with children’s spirituality in a
sample of 6- through 14-year-olds.
Procedures
One month before training and implementation of the EGM
model, surveys were
administered at a mid-sized Chilean church by local children’s
workers during the regular
children’s program using a standardized protocol. Church
leaders secured parental consent and
child assent before administering the surveys. Children were
instructed to respond truthfully, and
4

24. the workers administering the survey were instructed not to
influence the children’s responses.
Children responded by checking the boxes that corresponded to
their response choice. These
hard copies were then placed in a sealed envelope and delivered
to the local EGM office where
responses were typed into a computer spreadsheet by a paid
staff member. Three months after
the children’s workers completed training and implemented the
model, the survey was
readministered using the same protocol.
Data Analysis
For this assignment, you will calculate the mean received
(emotional) social support
score for children in the church before and after implementation
of the EGM model. You do not
need to perform any further calculations. These descriptive
statistics will be presented in a table
beside an explanation of their meaning. You will also create a
bar chart in which you compare
the means of the two groups and interpret the chart’s meaning.
PowerPoint Presentation
Using the provided template, you will create an APA-style

25. PowerPoint presentation in
which you formally present the background, methodology,
results, and a discussion of this study.
Provide the appropriate information on each slide drawing from
the information provided in this
assignment overview, your own analysis, and your own ideas
about the study’s implications and
future research possibilities. Make sure to delete the bracketed
instructions from the presentation.
You may incorporate the articles cited in this assignment
overview into your presentation;
however, all information must be presented in your own words.
Copying and pasting entire
sentences from this assignment overview into your presentation
is considered plagiarism.
5
References
Cohen, S., Gottlieb, B. H., & Underwood, L. G. (2000). Social
relationships and health. In
Cohen, S., Underwood, L. G. & Gottlieb, B. H. (Eds.), Social

26. support measurement and
intervention: A guide for health and social scientists (pp. 3-28).
Oxford Press.
Crosby, R. G., & Smith, E. I. (2017). Measuring children's
church-based social support:
Development and initial validation of the Kids' Church Survey.
Social Development,
26(2), 423-442. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12198
Harter, S. (2012). Manual for the social support scale for
children (Revised). University of
Denver.
Hughes, J. N. (2011). Longitudinal effects of teacher and
student perceptions of teacher-student
relationship qualities on academic adjustment. The Elementary
School Journal, 112, 38-
60. https://doi.org/10.1086/660686
McNeely, C. A., Nonnemaker, J. M., & Blum, R. W. (2002).
Promoting school connectedness:
Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
Health. Journal of School
Health, 72, 138-146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-
1561.2002.tb06533.x
Osterman, K. F. (2000). Students’ need for belonging in the

27. school community. Review of
Educational Research, 70, 323-367.
https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543070003323
Solomon, D., Watson, M., Battistich, V., Schaps, E., &
Delucchi, K. (1996). Creating classrooms
that students experience as communities. American Journal of
Community Psychology,
24, 719-748. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02511032
Zelkowitz, P. (1987). Social support and aggressive behavior in
young children. Family
Relations, 36, 129-134. https://doi.org/10.2307/583941
6
Appendix
Survey data collected from children at the church before
training and implementation of
the EGM ministry model:
Sex Age
Support

28. Score
Girl 10 1.00
Boy 10 1.50
Girl 13 1.50
Boy 6 1.25
Girl 6 1.75
Boy 6 1.25
Boy 10 1.50
Girl 10 1.00
Girl 4 1.75
Boy 11 1.50
Survey data collected from children at the church after training
and implementation of
the EGM ministry model:
Sex Age
Support
Score
Boy 10 1.00
Boy 10 2.00
Girl 10 2.25
Girl 5 1.25
Boy 9 2.00
Girl 6 1.75
Boy 5 1.75
Girl 4 2.25
Girl 10 1.25
Boy 9 3.50
Support Score Key

29. 4 Always
3 Most of the Time
2 Sometimes
1 Never