SOC 210 - Lab Assignment
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Due Date:
Tuesday, April 9, 2019 during lecture.
Electronic lab submissions will not be accepted (hard copy only).
Late submissions and submissions that do not follow directions will be penalized.
Directions:
Use data from the OECD Dataset to answer the following questions in a separate lab report.
All lab assignments must be typed. The write-up portion of the labs should be doublespaced,
using a standard 12-point font, such as Times New Roman, for the text.
Answer the questions separately and number them, but write each answer in paragraph
format. Tables should be neat and organized. When discussing variables, make sure to
include the correct units. Finally, don’t forget to interpret your results and graphs. Spelling,
grammar, organization, and mechanics will be graded, so make sure to proofread.
Include your plots and R Output for questions 2-7 below your answer for that question. You
can do this by copying and pasting the R Output from the Console into your Word
document. Your R Output does not have to be double-spaced. For formatting purposes you
should use Courier or Courier New as your font and 11pt or less as your font size for your R
Output.
You may consult other students and your teaching assistants if you have questions while
working on coding the R components of the assignment, but this is not a collaborative
project. You must submit your own R Output and complete the written portion of the
assignment independently. This part of the assignment should reflect your work and your
work alone. Sign the statement at the bottom certifying that this assignment is your work
alone, and submit this page with your assignment as your cover sheet
Name:
Student ID Number:
Lab Section:
By signing this statement, I pledge that I have read the directions for this assignment and
that I have neither received nor given assistance for completing the lab assignment.
Signature Date
1. Describe the data that you will be analyzing. What does the dataset cover? What is the unit of analysis? What is your sample size? How many variables are there?
2. Using 1-2 tables, graphs, and your knowledge of descriptive statistics, provide a
discussion of inequality and policy across countries based on the following variables:
welfare regime (regime), government social spending (public.spend.gdp), income
inequality (gini.disposable), and post-tax poverty rate (poverty.aftertax). Summarize
the variables using the appropriate measures of central tendency and dispersion.
Make sure to discuss the units of the variables and what they measure. Overall, what
do these descriptive statistics tell us about OECD countries?
3. Many argue that poverty rates are higher in liberal welfare states compared to social
democratic welfare states as a result of lower social spending. Are post-tax and
transfer poverty rates higher in liberal welfare states than in countries classified as
social democratic? Create a boxplot to visualize the relationship between the
variables. Then use hypothesis testing to assess whether there is a significant
difference in poverty rates between liberal and social democratic countries. Is this
relationship significant at the 0.05 level? Write a short paragraph interpreting the
results of your analysis and the relationship between these variables. Variables -
poverty.aftertax, regime
4. Researchers often define welfare regimes based on how much they rely on the
government – as opposed to the market – to ameliorate the risks associated with
industrial society (i.e. unemployment, sickness, old age). In doing so, it is likely that
more government-oriented regimes will have higher levels of spending on social
services. Investigate whether this is true. Does per capita government spending differ
across welfare regimes? Is this relationship significant at the 0.05 level? Use a boxplot
and an ANOVA test to determine whether spending varies by welfare regime. Write
a short paragraph interpreting the results of your analysis and the relationship
between these variables. Variables - public.spend.percap, regime
5. Many justify increased social spending as an effective way to reduce inequality and
poverty. Does inequality – measured by the Gini coefficient – vary across welfare
regimes? Is this relationship significant at the 0.05 level? Use a boxplot and an
ANOVA test to determine whether inequality varies by welfare regime. Write a short
paragraph interpreting the results of your analysis and the relationship between these
variables. Variables - gini.disposable, regime
6. The rise of global inequality has sparked concern that high levels of inequality will
worsen social problems and crime. Is there a relationship between the level of
income inequality and the homicide rate across OECD countries? Is it significant at
the 0.05 level? Create a scatterplot to visualize the relationship between inequality,
measured with the Gini coefficient, and the homicide rate. Then conduct a bivariate
regression to answer this question. Compute and report the slope, the intercept, r,
and r2
. Write a short paragraph interpreting the results of your analysis and the
relationship between these variables. Variables - gini.disposable, homicide.rate
7. Most people expect social spending to improve wellbeing. Is this expectation
accurate? Choose one measure of wellbeing (i.e. life expectancy, poverty, infant
mortality, access to clean water, etc.) that is of interest to you. Make sure to describe
and justify your choice. Does wellbeing in a country differ by the amount spent per
capita on social services? Is this relationship significant at the 0.05 level? Create a
scatterplot to visualize the relationship between the variables. Then conduct a
bivariate regression to answer this question. Compute and report the slope, the
intercept, r, and r2
. Write a short paragraph interpreting the results of your analysis
and the relationship between these variables. Variables - public.spend.percap
8. Summarize your overall results. What does this study show us about inequality,
government spending, and wellbeing across OECD countries? What can we learn
about the relationships between inequality, policy, and social problems? How are
these factors related?
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