Spring, 2004 (Roos, Soc. 311)
Assignment 3: Elaboration Exercise (due Monday, February
23rd)
Because we will talk about this assignment in class on February 23rd, LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!!
Presented below are data from the 2002 General Social Survey describing a sample
of persons from the U.S. The variables are (1) educational degree (BA degree
or more vs. less than a BA), (2) whether or not the respondent lives in the
South, and (3) whether or not the respondent described his or her religion as
fundamentalist.
Your assignment is to use the raw data presented below to test fully the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis: Increased education reduces religious fundamentalism.
| Educational degree |
Lives in South
|
Fundamentalist
|
N
|
| BA or more |
Yes
|
Yes
|
49
|
| BA or more |
Yes
|
No
|
148
|
| BA or more |
No
|
Yes
|
57
|
| BA or more |
No
|
No
|
352
|
| Less than BA |
Yes
|
Yes
|
351
|
| Less than BA |
Yes
|
No
|
344
|
| Less than BA |
No
|
Yes
|
299
|
| Less than BA |
No
|
No
|
918
|
To test this hypothesis using the elaboration model, follow these steps (show all your work and don't forget to title and label each table):
1. Which of the variables is the independent variable? the dependent variable? the test variable?
2. Is the test variable antecedent or intervening?
3. Make a bivariate percentage table showing the "original relationship" (round your percentages to the nearest 1/10th of a decimal place).
4. Make the trivariate percentage table illustrating the elaboration of the original relationship (rounding as above).
5. Summarize in several paragraphs the results of your analyses, indicating how they reflect on the original hypothesis. Focus in your discussion on the original and trivariate tables.
6. Which elaboration model best describes your findings? Explain your answer.
ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE TYPED (12 Font)