Final Assignment

Due April 23, 2004

Topic – Analysis of a possible gender gap in views among undergraduate students

Data set. For this assignment you are to use the Survey of Student Attitudes and Experiences data set located in folder t:\students\public\805\ssae98r.sav. If you wish to use a different data set, please show me the data set and outline the issues and variables you plan to use, to ensure that the statistical procedures and issues to be examined can be addressed with that data set.

Articles. I have placed two articles on the gender gap in the t:\students\public\805\ folder. These are E. Gidengil, A. Blais, N. Nevitte, R Nadeau, “Women to the left, men to the right? Gender and voting in the 1997 Canadian election,” presented at the International Political Science Association, Quebec City, 2000 (Gender Voting.pdf), from the Canadian Election Study web site http://www.fas.umontreal.ca/pol/ces-eec/ces.html; and J. Everitt, “The gender gap in Canada: Now you see it, now you don’t” Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 35:2, May 1998, pp. 191-219 (Gendergap.pdf). While the ssae98r.sav data set does not include variables that allow you to reproduce the analysis or address exactly the same issues as in the articles, some of their general approach and claims can be applied to the ssae98r.sav data set.

Problem. The issue to be addressed is whether there is a gender difference in attitudes and views of University of Regina undergraduates. The variables that may be of most relevance are the attitude variables (questions 13-18, 29-37, 41, 50). Further, where such differences are observed, attempt to identify some of the variables associated with such differences. From the articles, identify one or two issues, hypotheses, or approaches that can be addressed with the ssae98r.sav data set. On the other side of this page I have listed a number of possible issues that you might address in this assignment.

Statistical procedures. The selection of the procedures to use is up to you. In the process of addressing the gender gap issue, make sure you use at least the following:

· Two cross-classification tables with relevant measures of association.

· A two-way analysis of variance.

· One t-test for the difference between two means.

· Two regression models.

· Two factor analyses.

When completing the assignment, provide sufficient information about any procedures or data transformation you use so I can reproduce your results.

Conclusions. Write a report on your findings. This should include a short discussion of the issues or hypotheses selected, a statement of how these are being examined with the ssae98r.sav data set, the SPSS tables, any assumptions adopted (or violated), and the conclusions of each test or model. Also write an overall summary of your findings on the gender gap issue.

Issues from the articles that you might address.

A. From Gidengil et al.

· Women left – men right. Cannot check trends but can get picture of this for 1998.

· Men more likely than women to opt for Reform party (p. 2).

· Men more likely than women to favour the new right (p. 5).

· Views of men and women flipside of each other? (p. 5) Could be checked with separate factor analyses for each of males and females.

· Importance of values and priorities (p. 5).

· Jobs and religiosity and hypothesis H4.

· Hypothesis H1 and views on immigrants – pp. 5-6

· Hypothesis H3 – welfare backlash – cannot check over time but can find views of males and females on welfare related issues and individualism – p. 6.

· Too much is being done for women – p. 7.

· Factor analysis to see whether attitudes in ssae98r.sav similar to groupings in appendix.

· Compare results in ssae98r.sav with some of p. 9-11 and p. 15 findings.

B. From Everitt

· Multivariate results, p. 209.