Part 1:

Offer a brief introduction of your name (nickname), background, interests, and one thing about you or your life that your colleagues might find interesting. Please also state that you have read the syllabus and resource packet for the course and understand the course policies and requirements.

Part 2 :

This discussion supports CO2. Please review the Week 1 Lesson Materials prior to responding.

Choose a topic that you would like to research this term. Use the GSS database to find two variables that would support your topic - one independent variable and one dependent variable. Be sure to include the topic, variable names and description in your post. Then discuss how you hope to explore the variables this term and what you hope to learn.

Example:

Does people's education level affect their income? Independent variable (IV) is education level - the variable DEGREE. Dependent variable (DV) is income - the variable RINCOM16. 

Week 5: Analyzing the Methods of a Peer-reviewed Study

Find and read a quantitative peer-reviewed journal article that relates to your topic in which the researchers use existing data (a dataset versus collecting their own data). What information about the dataset do the researchers include? How do they describe their research methods? Which variables do they analyze and why? What are their hypotheses? What statistical analyses so they use?

Explain why discussing the data and methods is important to establish the validity and reliability of the research. Discuss any critiques you have of the Methods/Data section of the article. Are they missing any information that would be useful to the understanding of the research? (Include an APA citation of the article.)