Lab #4 Discussion Board & Report – 25 Points

Cross-Tabulation Tables

About: Is there a relationship between your education level and whether or not you believe in the death penalty? Does marital status (married, divorced, single) influence your happiness? In this discussion board & report, you will examine the results of cross tabulation tables to get to explore these question and others.

Background & Results:

These results come from a national survey called the General Social Survey. They provide us with an insight on the role that marital status may have on our happiness. People from across the U.S. of all backgrounds, ages, social class, and genders were asked several questions. The following are two scenarios where the data were used to examine death penalty & education level (Scenario 1) as well as happiness and marital status (Scenario 2).

Directions:

Choose ONE (1) of the scenarios below and answer the following questions in a report format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusion). A minimum of 300 words are required. Include your word count in your post.

Intro:

• What is the independent and dependent variable? What would you say was the goal of creating this cross-tabulation table (in other words what was the research question or goal in examining these data together?)

Methods:

• State how the cross-tabulation table should be created: where does the independent variable go, the dependent variable, and what type of percentages are calculated?

Results:

• Explain the patterns in the cross-tabulation table, cite specific percentages to support your claims about what the data can reveal to us

Conclusion:

• Were you surprised by the results? Why or why not?
• What additional mediating, confounding, or spurious variables could play a role in the results? How so?

Replies:

Reply to at least 2 other classmates, be sure to follow the following guide in your replies to one another. Each reply should be a minimum of 50 words.

• Add additional insights, for example you can add additional explanations on top of theirs or offer a counter argument to their explanation
• Add to an ongoing discussion instead of starting a new one
• Always respond courteously and offer constructive comments that will help us bolster each other’s knowledge of the topic

Grading:

You will be graded on both your original discussion post and your replies following this rubric:

	Excellent 100%	Fair 70% to 90%	Needs Improvement 60% or less
Introduction & Conclusion	Clearly explains the independent and dependent variable, the goal, as well as how the results can be influenced by additional variables.	Shows some understanding of variables & explains the implications of the results with basic clarity	Lacks a general understanding of the independent and dependent variable and what the results can tell us
Describes and Interpret the Results	Describes the results correctly, Interprets the results and evaluates the output effectively, clearly, and accurately	Generally describes the results correctly, interprets the results and evaluates the output at the basic level, with some minor errors or inaccuracies	Does not describe results clearly and/or interpretations of results are fairly inaccurate and/or require additional understanding of the course material
Replies provide feedback based on guideline provided	Replies point to specific details from fellow classmate’s post, evaluates their conclusions directly	Discusses classmate’s post in general with few specific details	Doesn’t reply or replies are surface level and general

Select Your Scenario

Scenario 1: 

Scenario 2: 

Scenario 1: Death Penalty based on Education Level

Directions: If you have chosen this scenario, use this data to answer the questions from the discussion board. 

Table 1: Views on Death Penalty (Capital Punishment) Based on Highest Degree Earned

Views on Death Penalty	Less than H.S.	High School	Associate’s Degree	Bachelor’s Degree	Graduate	Total
Favor	202 60.5%	1032 66.6%	196 64.9%	373 53.2%	210 46.4%	2013 60.3%
Oppose	132 39.5%	518 33.4%	106 35.1%	328 46.8%	243 53.6%	1327 39.7%
Total	334 100.0%	1550 100.0%	302 100.0%	701 100.0%	453 100.0%	3340 100.0%

Source: General Social Survey Data, 2022

 

Scenario 2: Happiness based on Marital Status

Directions: If you have selected this scenario use the data below to answer questions from the our discussion board. 

Table 1: Happiness Level Based on Marital Status

	Married	Divorced	Single (Never Married)	Total
Very Happy	488 33.6%	82 13.6%	166 15.2%	736 23.4%
Pretty Happy	790 54.3%	327 54.1%	619 56.6%	1736 55.1%
Not Too Happy	176 12.1%	195 32.3%	309 28.2%	680 21.6%
Total	1454 100.0%	604 100.0%	1094 100.0%	3152 100.0%

 

Source: General Social Survey, 2022