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SSPS6001 -- Assignment 2 -- Due Wednesday, May 10

In this assignment, you will use data from the World Values Survey to study the determinants of confidence in institutions, calculated as:

· Confidence = 100*(60-Q64-Q65-Q66-Q67-Q68-Q69-Q70-Q71-Q72-Q73-Q74-Q75-Q76-Q77-Q78)/45

You should study confidence in institutions in a country of your choice (NOT Australia) and write a report that summarizes your findings. Your analyses should focus on developing a mixed model for confidence in institutions that includes a panel of demographic background variables (sex, age, income, and education), a continuous (or quasi-continuous) independent variable of interest that is the main explanatory variable of your theoretical model, and a categorical variable (your choice of Q154 or Q156) that should serve as a competing explanatory variable. Report all of your results for a fixed panel of cases (i.e., all analyses should be based on the same "N").

You should write up your results in a research report comprising:

· Absolutely no more than 1500 words of text, including all words of any kind anywhere in your document

· Exactly 2 tables, as specified below

Your report should include the following elements, in the order given below:

(1) A meaningful title based on your analyses (for example, something like: Determinants of Confidence in Institutions in Australia -- or try to be more creative!)

(2) An introductory paragraph or two in which you explain the purpose of the report (to investigate the determinants of confidence in institutions), lay out a meaningful theoretical model (why you think your explanatory variable is important should be an important determinant of confidence, and why your choice of Q154/Q156 might offer a competing explanation), and very briefly state what data you will use in operationalizing these models (i.e., data from the World Values Survey -- but give some details about your particular survey, like the year it was conducted, the number of respondents, etc.).

(3) A data paragraph or two in which you provide a brief overview of the variables you will be using in your paper, starting with the dependent variable (confidence in institutions), followed by five independent variables: sex, age, education, income, your key explanatory variable, and your categorical variable. You should recode variables, where appropriate, to make sense of them. For example, sex should be coded as a 0/1 indicator variable, and your key explanatory variable should be coded in such a way that higher numbers represent "more" of it. When describing your variables, give summary statistics only where appropriate. For example, when describing continuous variables, it is appropriate to use means and medians to ascertain the potential for skew. For your categorial variable, describe any interesting aspects of the frequencies and mean levels of confidence in institutions reported in Table 1 (see below). In general, report whatever statistics you find interesting, useful, or worth pointing out. Don't just report all of your statistics.

(4) A table of summary statistics (Table 1) with an appropriate descriptive label. In this table, report the mean, median, SD, and N of confidence in institutions for each of the categories of your selected categorical variable (Q154 or Q156).

(5) A series of three results paragraphs (one for each model) in which you interpret the results of the three regression models reported in Table 2 (see below). Of particular interest here should be the direction (positive or negative) and significance of the relationships between your independent variables and your dependent variable. Also use the model R-squared statistics and changes between models in R-squared to help you describe your results. Refer to Table 2 in discussing your results.

(6) A regression table (Table 2) reporting the results of three regression models for the dependent variable confidence in institutions:

· Model 1 independent variables: sex, age, education, and income

· Model 2 independent variables: sex, age, education, income, and your variable

· Model 3 independent variables: sex, age, education, income, your variable, and Q154/Q156

For each model, report unstandardized coefficients, standardized coefficients, p-values, and R-squared (your models should all have the same N).

Important: Use the category of Q154/Q156 that has the lowest mean level of confidence in institutions as the reference category in your models.

(7) An conclusions paragraph in which you evaluate the extent to which the expectations expressed in the introduction to your paper were confirmed, reflect on any limitations that might affect your interpretation, and express your general conclusions about the likely determinants of confidence in institutions in your chosen country.

IMPORTANT: Turn in only your research report via the designated Canvas dropbox. Do NOT include any other supporting materials. Do NOT add citations or references. Do NOT include spreadsheets or datasets. Do NOT provide any additional analyses. Do NOT attach disability services academic plans; we have these on file.

IMPORTANT: To do well on this assignment you MUST follow the instructions laid out in the seminars and follow the principles laid out in the marking rubric (below). Do NOT submit a report based on knowledge gained in other classes. Basing your report on material that has not been covered in SSPS6001 will result in a lower mark, and may lead to failure.

Marking Rubric

Marks on this report will progressively "build up from the bottom," meaning that you must meet substantially all of the criteria for a LOW PASS before you can earn a HIGH PASS, you must meet substantially all of the criteria for a HIGH PASS before you can earn a CREDIT, etc. As a result even an otherwise outstanding report that fails to meet several pass criteria will not pass. Make sure you meet all criteria at basic levels before you attempt to master the criteria for advanced levels. It is strongly recommended that you review your final report one-by-one against each of the check-boxes in the marking rubric before you submit.

Grade descriptors

A grade in the LOW FAIL range (0-35) will be assigned for work that does not seem to have been attempted in good faith as a serious effort by the student to complete the assignment.

A grade in the HIGH FAIL / LOW PASS range (40-50) will be assigned for work that, at a minimum, seems to have been attempted in good faith as a serious effort by the student to complete the assignment.

A grade in the UPPER PASS range (55-60) will be assigned for work that meets substantially all of the following basic formatting and topic criteria:

¨ Has an appropriate substantive title

¨ Is single-spaced with double-spaces between paragraphs

¨ Is written in Times New Roman 12-point font, left justified and with 2.5 cm margins

¨ Has page numbers

¨ Does not use footnotes, endnotes, parenthetic citations, or a reference list

¨ Is written in English that is sufficiently grammatical to be read by the marker

¨ Contains all 7 assigned elements, in the specified order, with no additional materials

¨ Presents a credible theoretical model for the key independent variable

¨ Demonstrates reasonable awareness of the social context of the country studied

¨ Demonstrates familiarity with the relevant country documentation from the WVS

¨ Exhibits a clear understanding of the variables used and their constructions

¨ Correctly calculates and presents all statistical results

¨ Exhibits a meaningful understanding of regression coefficients and R-squared

¨ Summarizes descriptive statistics fluently and judiciously (without excessive detail)

¨ Correctly interprets group means Q154/Q156

¨ Chooses an appropriate reference category for Q154/Q156

¨ Interprets regression slopes correctly

¨ Contains no more than 1500 words in length (all-inclusive) plus two tables

A grade in the CREDIT range (65-70) will be assigned for work that meets substantially all of the upper pass criteria and in addition meets substantially all of the following general assessment criteria:

¨ Presents a well-formatted regression table

¨ Correctly interprets slopes for the selected categorical variable

¨ Correctly interprets changes in slopes for the key independent variable across models

¨ Draws appropriate conclusions from the results achieved

¨ Demonstrates a reasonable awareness of the limitations of the analyses conducted

¨ Is well-written in appropriate and grammatical English

A grade in the DISTINCTION range (75-80) will be assigned for work that meets substantially all of the lower criteria and also meets most of the following distinction criteria:

¨ Exhibits a clear understanding of the variables used in the analyses conducted

¨ Exhibits a clear understanding of the statistics reported in the regression table

¨ Implements appropriate variable recodes, where needed

¨ Effectively ties conclusions back to the premises laid out in the introduction

¨ Locates the mandated analyses within a larger body of research (e.g., histograms to diagnose skew, correlations among variables, scatterplots to detect outliers, etc.)

¨ Offers a reasonable interpretation of the determinants of confidence in institutions

¨ Handles finer points of writing, formatting, and style in a sophisticated way

¨ Note: the key criterion for distinction is that the assigned work be done well, not that extra work be undertaken; extra work will be penalized, not rewarded!

Grades in the HIGH DISTINCTION range (85-100) will be assigned on a case-by-case basis for work of exceptional merit that meets all of the pass and credit criteria and fulfills most or all of the distinction-level qualities at an exceptionally high level of accomplishment.

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Final note: This document is formatted according to the style that you are required to use for this assignment. One easy way to make sure that your paper is in the correct style is to simply download this document and substitute your own text in place of the text here. There is no excuse for not submitting a paginated document in Times New Roman 12-point font, left justified and with 2.5 cm margins.