Please read the topic question below and provide a detailed initial response. Quotes should not be used at all or used sparingly. (We at APUS prefer paraphrasing (see attachment) rather than direct quotes.) However, should you quote a source, quotation marks should be used and an APA 7th ed. formatted citation and Reference provided:
Choosing a topic (Does your environment dictate someone’s sexual orientation?):

Dependent Variable: SEXORNT- Which of the following best describes you?

Independent Variable: SEXBIRTH- What sex were you assigned at birth? (For example, on your birth certificate)

All variables and data are required to be from GSS 2018 data set. 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.

Example of assignment:

Reiteration: For your Week 1 “Choose a topic” Does your environment dictate someone’s sexual orientation? 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.

o identify variable names; for example, “childs” is a variable name. It stands for “Number of children.”
o 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.

Information for the topic:

Dependent Variable: SEXORNT- Sexual Orientation

GSS question: Which of the following best describes you?

Independent Variable: SEXBIRTH- Sex Birth

GSS Question: What sex were you assigned at birth? (For example, on your birth certificate)