Two Hypothesis Testing Assignments Using the Survey Documentation and Analysis Website

Abstract

These assignments are intended to provide Introductory Sociology students an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the hypothesis testing process by analyzing General Social Survey data available at the Survey Documentation and Analysis website. Students are provided with a series of paired independent and dependent variables from which they...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems

Resource Type(s):

Assignment

Class Level(s):

College 100

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

I have incorporated variations of these assignments in my online Introductory Sociology course since 2007, having modified them as the General Social Survey data sets are added. Since a very large percentage of students in the course are not sociology majors, I have attempted to select topics and variables that hopefully pique some interest in the...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Students will be able to write clear hypotheses.
2. Students will be able to properly run a series of cross-tabulations using the SDA data analysis program.
3. Students will be able to derive the proper conclusions of the tests of their hypotheses.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Students will demonstrate this by writing hypotheses that are worded in a specific and tentative manner.
2. Students will demonstrate this by: (1) placing the variables in their proper fields, (2) making certain that the program will generate column percentages, and (3) selecting the option for summary statistics.
3. Students will demonstrate this by summarizing the results of their tables, noting statistical significance (if any) and whether or not their hypotheses were supported by the data.