PROJECT #1
In the exercises that follow, you will draw from the skills that you developed in Modules 1 through 3 to conduct the appropriate analyses to answer the research questions. You will not need to use every technique. Part of the challenge will be in determining which methods are the most suitable for each of the research questions. Read the instructions below and utilize the data sets provided in the Excel workbook entitled “Data for Project 1”. You will find the grading rubric for each exercise on the last page of the document.
Part 1. The department of transportation in a state government has four vehicle registration offices in a metropolitan area. The department recently conducted a series of studies to determine the number of mistakes made in issuing or renewing driver’s licenses (an outcome measure). Twelve tests were conducted in each of the four offices, and the results are shown in the sheet entitled “Error Studies”. The department would like to assess the quality and consistency of each office’s license processing and use the results to create a priority list for retraining (i.e. the order in which each office should receive retraining). Conduct the appropriate analysis, including any tables or figures that you believe are useful. Summarize the results in a memo that discusses each office’s performance, presents a priority list for retraining, as well as a rationale for the prioritization of offices in that list. You can write the text of your memo and include any tables and figures that you choose to utilize in the space provided below.
Part 2. In Quiz 2, you used data from a survey that a local government in Orange County, Florida, conducted to gauge public opinion on the quality of local government. In this exercise, you will work with a different extract from that survey. In the sheet entitled “Trust”, you will find citizens’ responses to two Likert scale questions. The column labeled “Trust” contains responses to a question about whether the respondent believes that their local government can be trusted most of the time. The column labeled “Works Efficiently” contains responses to a question concerning whether they believe that the local government works efficiently most of the time. Does higher trust in government lead to greater faith in the government’s capacity to function efficiently? Use the appropriate methods to determine whether there appears to be a relationship. After presenting and discussing your results, summarize two outside sources that provide insights into strategies that local governments can use to build trust among their constituents. The articles should come from reputable sources such as major news sites (e.g. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Economist, The Atlantic, Vox, Governing magazine), academic journals, or respected think tanks (Brookings Institute, Urban Institute, American Enterprise Institute, or the Economic Policy Institute). You should follow a standard citation format such as APA, Chicago Style, or MLA. You can write the text of your memo and include any tables and figures that you choose to utilize in the space provided below.
Part 3. A college education has long been recognized as a profitable investment in the United States. Is the return on that investment the same across racial groups? In the sheet entitled “Starting Wage by Race”, you will find the starting hourly wages for male college graduates in three racial groups: white, Black, and Hispanic. Conduct the appropriate analysis to investigate this issue. Write a memo summarizing your results that includes any tables or figures that are useful for your summary. The memo should include discussion of two outside sources that provide explanations for racial wage gaps among college graduates in the United States. The articles should come from reputable sources such as major news sites (e.g. New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Economist, The Atlantic, Vox, Governing magazine), academic journals, or respected think tanks (Brookings Institute, Urban Institute, American Enterprise Institute, or the Economic Policy Institute). You should follow a standard citation format such as APA, Chicago Style, or MLA. You can place the text of your memo and any tables or figures that are useful for your purpose in the space provided below.
Rubric for Part 1
Criteria Possible Points Points Earned
Appropriateness of chosen analytical methods for the research questions 2
Accuracy of calculations 5
Clarity of writing 2
Grammatical correctness 1
Total 10
Rubric for Part 2
Criteria Possible Points Points Earned
Appropriateness of chosen analytical methods for the research questions 10
Accuracy of calculations 10
Clarity of writing 9
Grammatical correctness 6
Quality of sources 6
Adherence to citation format 4
Total 45
Rubric for Part 3
Criteria Possible Points Points Earned
Appropriateness of chosen analytical methods for the research questions 10
Accuracy of calculations 10
Clarity of writing 9
Grammatical correctness 6
Quality of sources 6
Adherence to citation format 4
Total 45
