1
Catching up with the paper!
In order to get us caught up a bit on the paper and have some breathing room over spring break,
please try to complete the following sections and bring these to class on Tuesday in a file that
you can access in the lab. We’ll go over everything then, but if the rough draft is done, we are
good shape.
The first chapter that you are working on here is the Research Question & Hypotheses chapter
that is presented on page 2. This chapter follows immediately after the literature review and it is
in this chapter that you present the research question that you will explore and the specific
hypotheses that you will test in your data. The introductory paragraph, which is written for you,
explains how this chapter comes out of the literature review. For Tuesday, you will copy this
chapter skeleton into a word document (This document in on the website under Tuesday’s date.)
The basic chapter content is completed for you. All you need to do is follow the directions in
capital letters to complete the literature based rationales for each of the three hypotheses.
Complete the requested paragraphs, insert them in your copy of this chapter, and bring to class
on Tuesday for discussion. Remove all the directions in capital letters. The approximate length of
this chapter is 1.5-2.0 pages.
The second chapter that you are working on here is the Research Methods and Procedures
chapter that is presented on page 3. This chapter follows immediately after the Research
Question & Hypotheses chapter and it is here that you tell your reader about the type of research
approach that you will be using to test the previously presented hypotheses. In the case of this
project, you will introduce this as a secondary analysis of 1996 GSS data. The directions in the
capitals will instruct you as to what you should write in this paragraph. After the GSS is
explained, you will introduce your reader to this specific sample. The instructions guide you to
present valid percentages for a few selected variables which will describe your sample. You will
also describe the same in words, using the selected percentages. The examples and directions
provided should guide you through this. In the final part of this chapter, you will explain the test
that you will use, the statistics, and any recodes. For hypothesis #2, POLVIEWS is dichotomized
into conservatives and non-conservatives and, therefore, that recode must be described in this
section. You are not to give this information in an instructional tone. You can assume that your
reader knows how to recode. All you need to say is that the original variable had three attributesliberals, moderates, and conservatives and the variable was dichotomized by combining liberals
and moderates into non-conservatives. As instructed for the previous chapter, you will copy this
chapter skeleton into a word document, complete the work, and bring it to class. The
approximate length of this chapter is 2.5 pages.
The final chapter that I would like for you to set up is them Results. This includes five crosstab
tables and the instructions guide you in terms of their presentation. You will set up the chapter,
run the crosstabs in the 96 TAB, and use the sample paragraph under each table to describe the
results. Again, bring this to class Tuesday.
All parts of the following chapters should be double-spaced in the final draft. All
presentations should be written in a simple, clear tone, with no use of I, we, you, us, etc
2
Research Question & Hypotheses
Introduction:
A review of relevant literature indicates that support for capital punishment varies by numerous
sociodemographic
characteristics.
Among
these
characteristics,
gender
and
political
identification emerge as variables that have been found to be consistently associated with
differences in support for the death penalty. More specifically, the literature indicates that men
and political conservatives are more likely to support the death penalty than women and liberals
(Jones 2000; Stack 2000; Ellsworth and Gross 1994).
Research question:
In keeping with prior research findings, does death penalty support vary by gender and political
orientation in the 1996 GSS sample?
Hypotheses:
Hypothesis # 1: Men are more likely to support capital punishment than women.
Null hypothesis #1: There are no sex differences in support for capital punishment
Rationale: [IN ONE SUCCINCT PARAGRAPH, SUMMARIZE INFORMATION FROM
YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW THAT DISCUSSES SEX DIFFERENCES IN
SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. INCLUDE PERCENTAGES AND
CITATIONS]
Hypothesis # 2: Conservatives are more likely to support capital punishment than nonconservatives.
Null hypothesis #2: There are no political differences in support for capital punishment.
Rationale: [IN ONE SUCCINCT PARAGRAPH, SUMMARIZE INFORMATION FROM
YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW THAT DISCUSSES POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
IN SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. INCLUDE PERCENTAGES
AND CITATIONS]
Hypothesis #3: Men are more likely to support capital punishment than women, and this is more
likely to hold true for conservatives than for non-conservatives.
Null hypothesis #3: There are no sex differences in support for capital punishment for
either conservatives or non-conservatives.
Rationale: [IN ONE SUCCINCT PARAGRAPH, COMBINE THE INFO FROM #1 & #2]
Summary:
3
Research Methods and Procedures
[PUT THE FOLLOWING IN PARAGRAPH FORM AND DOUBLE SPACE]
Introduction :
LINK TO THE PREVIOUS SECTION. EX: IN THIS SECTION OF THE PAPER, THE METHOD AND
DATA USED TO TEST THE PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED HYPOTHESES ARE EXPLAINED, THE
SAMPLE DESCRIBED, AND THE DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURES OUTLINED.
Research design: INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
TYPE OF RESEARCH: SECONDARY ANALYSIS.
DATA SET: 1996 GENERAL SOCIAL SURVEY DATA SOURCE INFORMATION:. INCLUDE WHO
CONDUCTS THE SURVEY, WHAT IT IS ABOUT, THE USE OF AND IMPLICATIONS OF A
RANDOM, REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE, AND HOW THE GSS IS ADMINISTERED. MAKE SURE
TO SPECIFY THAT YOU ARE USING A SUBSET OF THE GSS. SEE WEBSITE FOR MORE
INFORMATION: HTTP://WWW3.NORC.ORG/GSS+WEBSITE/
Sample characteristics: INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
LEAD IN WITH A PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING THE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS INCLUDED IN
THE GSS SUBSET AND DESCRIBE THE SAMPLE IN TERMS OF THE BASIC SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS. WHILE THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE COMPOSED
INTO A PARAGRAPH, IT SHOULD ALSO BE PRESENTED IN TABULAR FORM BELOW THAT
PARAGRAPH.
SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS TO INCLUDE: SEX, RACE, AGE, EDUCATION,
INCOME. YOU MAY INCLUDE OTHERS IF YOU WISH. ALTHOUGH POLITICAL ORIENTATION
AND DPS ARE NOT NECESSARILY SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS, YOU MAY
INCLUDE THESE HERE AS WELL SINCE THEY RELATE TO THE HYPOTHESES. FOR TABULAR
PRESENTATION, REFER TO DSF TO INCLUDE ALL NECESSARY INFORMATION.
Sample table: (PARTIAL)
Table 1: 1996 GSS sub-sample characteristics
Socio-demographic
valid percent/summary
characteristic, with GSS
statistic in 1996 GSS
variable in parentheses
Sex (SEX)
44.1% male; 55.9% female
Race (RACE)
85.6& white; 14.4% black
Age (AGE)
Source: 1996 GSS Tab subset
Statistical procedures and recoding:
TO BE INCLUDED: IN PARAGRAPH FORM, DESCRIBE THE PROCEDURES USED TO TEST THE
THREE HYPOTHESES. YOU CAN ASSUME THAT THE READER IS FAMILIAR WITH SPSS DATA
ANALYSIS. THEREFORE, TELL THE READER WHAT HE/SHE NEEDS TO KNOW TO
REPLICATE YOUR WORK.
 CROSSTABULATION USED TO DETERMINE ASSOCIATION.
 PEARSON CHI SQUARE USED TO DETERMINE STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. (P.05 LIMIT).
 CRAMER’S V. USED TO DETERMINE STRENGTH OF SIGNIFICANCE.
 RECODING OF POLITICAL ORIENTATION INTO A DICHOTOMOUS VARIABLE.
Summary
4
Results
Introduction- INSERT PARAGRAPH
Hypothesis # 1
Restate hypothesis #1.
Direct your reader to the tabular presentation.
Table 2: Crosstabulation of support for capital punishment by sex ,
with column percentages reported.
Respondent’s Sex
total
male
female
82.6%
71.6%
76.6%
Capital
favor
Punishment
17.4%
28.4%
23.4%
oppose
total
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
2
Pearson X :p.<.000; Cramer’s V=.129
Source: 1996 GSS Tab subset
While a majority (76.6%) of respondents in the 1996 GSS sample support capital punishment
(DPS), there is a moderately strong (V= .129), statistically significant difference (p.<.000) in
DPS by sex, with 82.6% of men favoring capital punishment, in contrast to 71.6% of women.
The data lend support for hypothesis #1.
Hypothesis # 2
Restate hypothesis #2.
Direct your reader to the tabular presentation.
Table 3: Crosstabulation of support for capital punishment by
with column percentages reported.
total
Capital
Punishment
favor
oppose
total
100.0%
100.0%
2
Pearson X :p.<.
Cramer’s V=.
Source: 1996 GSS Tab subset
While a majority (76.6%) of respondents in the 1996 GSS…..
100.0%
,
5
Hypothesis # 3
Restate hypothesis #3.
Direct your reader to the tabular presentation in three parts.
Table 4a: Crosstabulation of support for capital punishment by
with column percentages reported.
,
total
Capital
Punishment
favor
oppose
total
100.0%
100.0%
2
Pearson X :p.<.
Cramer’s V=.
100.0%
Source: 1996 GSS Tab subset
While a majority (76.6%) of respondents in the 1996 GSS…..
Table 4b: Crosstabulation of support for capital punishment by
,
with column percentages reported.
Conservatives
total
Capital
favor
Punishment
oppose
total
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
2
Pearson X :p.<.
Cramer’s V=.
Source: 1996 GSS Tab subset
While a majority (
) of conservative respondents in the 1996 GSS…..
Table 4c: Crosstabulation of support for capital punishment by
,
with column percentages reported.
Non-Conservatives
total
Capital
favor
Punishment
oppose
total
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
2
Pearson X :p.<.
Cramer’s V=.
Source: 1996 GSS Tab subset
While a majority (
) of non-conservative respondents in the 1996 GSS…..
6
Summary