1) First, identify the independent and dependent variables in the research projects. A. A study seeks to find out if listening to rap music causes teenagers to become more violent than their peers who do not listen to rap music.

B. A group of researchers is interested in examining the effects of long-term poverty. They do this by studying subjects’ psychological health and attachment to the workforce.

C. A study finds that self-esteem increases as a consequence of receiving good grads on examinations.

2) Indicators are used to measure abstract concepts. List some indicators that might prove to be reliable and valid in measuring the following concepts. Note that sometimes, social indicators can be drawn from observing people, but can also be drawn by considering distributions of resources, organizations, or other sources of data.

A. Economic Prosperity E. g. Gross National Project







B. Family Violence E. g. Admissions to Battered Women’s Shelters







C. Consumer Cultures E. g. New York Times Bestsellers List







D. Mental Health E. g. Survey Reports on Happiness







3) Researchers have found a consistent relationship between schools and crimes. More crimes occur in neighborhoods surrounding high schools and junior high schools than in neighborhoods far away from schools. The researchers conclude that schools cause crime and believe that this relationship may have something to do with teachers not teaching students the appropriate lessons in the classroom. On the basis of these data, do you find this argument compelling? Why or why not? If not, what could explain this relationship?

4) The U. S Department of justice has found that of the children killed by their parents, 55% of the murders were performed by the child’s mother and 45% of the murders were performed by the child’s father. A researcher uses these data to support his contention that women are more violent than men. On the basis of these data, do you find this argument compelling? Why or why not? If not, what could explain this relationship?

5) A social commentator argues that the welfare programs which were introduced in the mid 1960s have caused an unprecedented expansion of poverty in the United States. Based on the following data from the Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, would you agree or disagree with this causal statement? Explain.

Year Percent Below Poverty Level

1960 22%

1965 15%

1970 13%

1975 12%

1980 13%

1985 14%

1990 14%

1995 14%

2000 13%

2005 13%

2007 13%

6) What environmental conditions influence crime?

A. List a few hypotheses, predictions of the factors that influence crime

H01

H02

H03

H04

7) What characteristics of individuals are associated with happiness?

A. List a few hypotheses, predictions that influence happiness

H01

H02

H03

H04