Assignment 1: Hypothesis Construction (due September 14th)

This assignment will give you practice developing a hypothesis to test for your final project. For the final project, you will do secondary analysis on the 2002 General Social Survey, generate a hypothesis about the relationship between three variables, and test that hypothesis by applying data analytic techniques. To complete the process, you will present the results of your data analysis in a final paper of 8 to 10 pages.

This assignment is the first step in this semester-long process. You will use information from the GSS website to collect what you need to begin Assignment 1. The first step is to use your browser to go to the GSS website:

Click on "Analyze" (top). Choose "Browse Codebook in this window", and then "Codebook by Year of Interview." This will allow you to browse the codebook for the cumulative General Social Survey (1972-2002), which gives frequencies for each year the survey was fielded. Try out all the links in the blue column, so you know what they do. My advice is to start with "Sequential Variable List" to choose your variables. Once you've chosen your variables (and know your variable names), you can get to them more quickly by using the "Alphabetical Variable List."

My example: Before you begin you might want to read my illustrative answer. You'll see I'm interested in the relationship between education (my independent variable) and attitudes toward pornography (my dependent variable). Specifically, I'm interested in explaining variation in attitudes toward pornography, and I think that education probably has something to do with why some people are more tolerant of pornography than others. The GSS has a variable named "pornlaw," which investigates attitudes toward pornography laws. Clicking on the variable name will give you frequencies for that variable, variable name, survey question, and the punch codes associated with each response. I chose "educ" (education) for my independent variable.

Your turn: Now it's time for you to get started. Select two variables that you believe might be causally related. If you choose wisely, you'll be able to use these variables for the rest of the semester. Then construct a theory and develop a hypothesis that describes how you think these two variables are related. Make your hypothesis as specific as possible. Include a short statement about how you came up with the theory and hypothesis you did. Why do you have the expectation you do? Don't use my example, develop one of your own.

Important point: please check to make sure that the variables you have chosen were asked in 2002. In addition, check the 2002 frequencies to ensure that you don't have too many missing values in 2002. You can check these out through the "Codebook by Year of Interview" link. If there are no frequencies for 2002, or if you have too many missing values for 2002, you won't be able to use that variable for that year. A check of the data reveals that both of my variables are available in 2002 (i.e., there are numbers in the 2002 row). However, there were too many missing values for "pornlaw," so I used 2000 data.

Once you find your two variables, USE YOUR CURSOR to copy the frequencies for both variables to a Word file. Make sure you get the frequencies for 2002 (or 2000, if that's the year you choose). Print a copy and turn it in with your assignment. DO NOT print from the GSS site, because it will print ALL the GSS variables (and kill many trees).

You will have to think ahead and not wait until the last minute to do this assignment. Come in and see us early if you have any questions.

Once you have developed your testable hypothesis, follow it through the research process described in class: describe your theory; the hypothesis you plan to test; your conceptualization of the two variables; and your operationalization of the variables (note: your indicators will be the GSS questions).

Finally, speculate on which additional variables you might want to include in your future analyses to help you reformulate your theory.

To help you along, I have written up an illustrative answer that you might find helpful in completing assignment 1. Avoid using my language in your writeup--write in your own words. Note that I have included a table using the 2000 GSS to demonstrate the results I found. Peruse this for future reference only. You are not required to make such a table for Assignment 1.

ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE TYPED (12 point font, double spaced)!

[Don't forget to turn in a copy of the frequences for 2002 for both your variables. As noted above, use your cursor to copy variables to a Word file. Don't print from the GSS site!]