Research Analysis Report
Social Research Methods II (ANTH/POL/SOC-321)

Assignment goals: You will develop a report examining the relationship between two social variables of interest. The purpose of the assignment is for you to demonstrate an understanding of the bivariate statistical analysis process.

Data: You will be analyzing real survey data from the 2018 General Social Survey.  This is a study conducted every two years (even numbered years) going back to the 1970s by the National Opinion Research Council out of the University of Chicago.  The survey is given to a representative sample of Americans and asks hundreds of questions about the individual survey respondents themselves, along with their opinions. 

A list of variables is available in the file called Variables for Analysis Report.  This file can be found by going to Course Materials > Analysis Report Materials in Blackboard.  You need to choose any TWO variables from this list that will be the basis of your report.  Though you can change variables at any time throughout the semester, it will create more work for yourself, so try to choose two and stick with them.  The variables need to be variables that you think have a causal relationship so dont just pick any two variables. Try to think about how the variables you choose might be related to one another.

Due Dates:    Part 1 Week 6, in class
Part 2 Week 9, in class
        Final Report Week 14, in class

Analysis Report Description:
Part 1 Research question, hypothesis, and significance (1-2 pages; 5 pts):
The first part of your report should start with an introduction.  You should briefly state your research question and identify your two variables and cases (i.e. who will you be analyzing?).  What data are you using (see the data paragraph above to answer this)? The introduction should also include one or two sentences on topic relevance.  For example, why is this topic important, and/or worthy of study? Will it help us address a social problem? Could it improve the way something is done? Will it contribute to existing scholarship or theory? 

After the introduction, you should have a section on background and relevance. This section should be a paragraph or two in length and should discuss why you might expect to find a relationship between your variables.  Briefly discuss any research that has been done related to this topic. What did other researchers find?  How did this literature inform your expectations about how and why these variables might be related?  If there hasnt been prior research on this specific topic, identify a gap in the literature that your research could fill. Make sure that you provide background for why you expect a relationship between the two variables that youve chosen, and what you might expect to find.  You need to provide at least two citations from a peer reviewed journal or reputable news source to inform your arguments. You should also expand on the topic relevance that was briefly mentioned in the first paragraph.

The final section of part 1 should be a more detailed, in depth discussion of your research question and an introduction of your research hypothesis.  Here you should go into detail describing your research question.  Make sure to clearly identify your independent and dependent variables.  What level of measurement are they?  What is your specific hypothesis about the relationship between the variables? When appropriate, do you expect a positive or negative relationship (this does not apply when dealing with non-orderable discrete or nominal variables)? You can refer back to arguments made in the previous paragraphs.