Part 1 Is already done by me

Hi Class, my name is Ahsan Qaiyum. You guys can call me Ahsan. In this pandemic situation, how are all of you? I live in the Michigan town of Hamtramck. Right now time is 11:28PM (Eastern time). I am studying psychology for a bachelor’s degree. I hope that I can finish my required courses in 2021. I’m a Bangladeshi. I work at a drugstore. I’m a pharmacy technician. Each day, every day, I help many people. I have seen many people who are not right. Such as family issues, financial issues, are mental troubles. I’m ecstatic about this course. 

Statistics is essential to my career interests because it’s a central component of my major in political science. Polling is one of the more popular fields of political science, and gaining a thorough understanding of the statistics that support the structure of polls is extremely important. Because this is a complicated and nuanced issue, failing to understand it can lead to incorrect or misleading conclusions. To better understand the questions I’m researching, learning about statistics will separate the right polls from the bad.

Your first post in this discussion must be 250 words. This Discussion serves as your official entry into the course. This Week 1 Discussion must be submitted the first week of the course, by 11:59 p.m., ET, on Sunday to maintain your registration in the course. Students who do not post to this discussion by 11:59 p.m., ET, Sunday will be automatically dropped from the course.

Welcome everyone!  This week’s Discussion requires you to respond to both the introduction prompt (Part 1) and the project topic prompt (Part 2) to receive full credit. 

PART 1: First, for your initial INTRODUCTION post, write a brief introduction about yourself using the prompts below.

1. What name would you like to use in class? In what time zone are you currently located?
2. Statistics can be an intimidating course for many students! The great thing about statistics is that we engage with them every day without really realizing it (Consumer Reports data, the studies that support our physician’s health plans for us, comparison of schools in our district, and more). How might learning basic statistics connect with your educational or career goals (share your major and/or career field with us)?
3. Read the Syllabus for this course. Please state that you have read the syllabus and understand the course policies, expectations, and due dates.

PART 2: Be sure to read the Content for Week 1 prior to responding.

Choosing a topic: There are so many things around us that it can be difficult to focus on just one for a research project. Here are a few things to think about to find yours. First, we are in a sociology class, so your topic has to be sociological in nature. Wondering if a new diet helps people lose weight, for instance, wouldn’t work. Instead, think back on some of the topics you covered in other sociology classes (Intro Soc, Marriage and the Family, Soc Theory, etc.). Was there something in there that sparked your interest? You can also build on previous research that you have completed for a former class in the program or closely related field. This project will be the focus of your discussions for the next several weeks. It is highly recommended that you choose something that is of interest to you and can keep your attention for that long.

We will be using General Social Survey (GSS) 2018 data set for Weekly Discussions, Assignment 1 and the Final Project (paper and presentation). You should NOT collect your own data. All variables and data are required to be from GSS 2018 data set. To access and download the data, please read through the Week 1 Overview (Content tab – Week 1). To learn more about the GSS, you may visit its main website 

http://gss.norc.org/

. You can find the GSS variables online via 

GSS Data Explorer

. See the attached handout.

The point of this discussion is to share your topic idea for your project, specifying the two GSS variables you want to analyze, so that other students will ask you questions or make suggestions that may help you define your project better. Your instructor will also interact with each of you individually in this module to help you refine your topic. Remember to check your thread regularly!

As you present your topic in this discussion, think about how you would study it. What is your research question and your theory behind it? After writing your introduction, tell the class what your topic is, phrasing it as a research question. Your research question should preferably be more general and open-ended than a hypothesis. (For example, what affects people’s happiness?) Then, identify two variables found in the GSS 2018 dataset. You are choosing one independent variable and one dependent variable. Be sure to identify each variable name AND the questions asked in the survey. See screenshots tutorial (attached) for more details. Wrap up by explaining why you chose these variables for your project and why you think there is a correlation or a relationship. Be sure to reference at least one academic source that relates to your topic.

In your replies to at least two posts from your classmates, think critically about what they are trying to do with their project, and offer them constructive feedback. This can be asking for clarification about their proposed topic, suggesting a direction for their research, suggesting sources they may want to check, or contributing your personal experience about this topic. Be sure to also answer at least one peer who responded to your initial post (and interact with the instructor as needed).

Reiteration: For your Week 1 “Choose a topic” initial posting, please list everything in the following list:

Describe what your topic is, phrasing it as a research question. (You might say: Does _______ affect __________ ? For example, does the number of children people have affect their happiness?)

• Identify variables (one DV, one IV) that you have found in the GSS dataset (see the attachment below). All variables in your project MUST come from this 2018 data set. 

  identify variable names; for example, “childs” is a variable name. It stands for “Number of children.”
  identify the question related to this variable that was asked in the survey (in verbatim). For example, GSS survey question for variable “childs” is as follows (in verbatim):

How many children have you ever had? Please count all that were born alive at any time (including any you had from a previous marriage).

• Explain why you chose these variables for your project;
• Explain why you think there is a correlation or a relationship.
• Include a reference (including link) to an academic source related to your topic.