Project Two Milestone: Getting to Know the Context

The Project Two Milestone will prepare you for Project Two by helping you understand the research context for your analysis. Thinking critically about what questions youre trying to answer will help you decide what you expect to observe and which tests are best suited for measuring what you actually observe. First, consider the following scenario.

Scenario

You work for a market research company that supplies information for political non-profit organizations throughout the nation. A number of your clients are interested in the public perception of policies about sexual orientation. After organizing relevant GSS data, youve identified four possible research questions to investigate.

To complete the Project Two Milestone, youll download and review the data, create an action strategy for each research question below, and then choose one research question to analyze in more detail for Project Two (which is due in Module Seven).Step 1: Download the Data

Click the link below to download the General Social Survey (GSS) data youll use for this milestone, then open the spreadsheet in Excel.

Download the data sets to begin the Project Two Milestone.

Step 2: Review Coding Details

This screenshot of an Excel spreadsheet shows a cursor hovering over cell A1, which contains the variable Confidence in Education. A dialog box includes the range of possible answers of survey respondents for this variable: 0 = No confidence at all, 1 = Very little confidence, 2 = Some confidence, 3 = A great deal of confidence, and 4 = Complete confidence.

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The Project Two Data Sets spreadsheet includes four separate data sets, one for each research question below. Use the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet to switch between each data set.

To see how a particular variable was coded, select the cell containing the variable name. Youll use these coding details to decide which data set corresponds with each question.

Step 3: Create Action Strategies

Once youve identified which data correspond with each research question, youll need to create four separate strategies for analyzing the data. For this milestone, you do not need to compute any statistics. Youll simply explain how youwoulduse statistics to investigate each question.

For each research question, use the writing template below to identify both a relevantresearch hypothesisand the most appropriateinferential testyou would use to test that hypothesis.

Create Action Strategies for Each Research Question

Use this template and the information in the Project Two Data Sets spreadsheet to explain how you might use statistics to answer each of the four research questions.

WRITING TEMPLATE

Research Question One: Are there differences in the average agreement with gay individuals having the right to marry one another among people who were interviewed in different geographic regions of the United States?

Write a possible corresponding research hypothesis for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Select the appropriate inferential test for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Justify your choice of inferential test for this research question, including how the scales of measurement affect this decision. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words in length.

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Research Question Two: Are there differences in the average feelings of warmth toward liberals among people who were interviewed in different geographic regions of the United States?

Write a possible corresponding research hypothesis for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Select the appropriate inferential test for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Justify your choice of inferential test for this research question, including how the scales of measurement affect this decision. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words in length.

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Research Question Three: Is there a linear relationship between feelings toward liberals and beliefs regarding gay peoples right to marry one another?

Write a possible corresponding research hypothesis for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Select the appropriate inferential test for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Justify your choice of inferential test for this research question, including how the scales of measurement affect this decision. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words in length.

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Research Question Four: Is there a linear relationship between feelings toward conservatives and beliefs regarding gay peoples right to marry one another?

Write a possible corresponding research hypothesis for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Select the appropriate inferential test for this research question. Your response should be about 25 words in length.

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Justify your choice of inferential test for this research question, including how the scales of measurement affect this decision. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words in length.