1 Social Science Statistics Project 1 Global Issu.docx

1
Social Science Statistics
Project 1: Global Issues and Local Conditions
CONTENTS:
Project 1 Description and Posting Instructions (Page 1)
Project 1 Components (Page 2)
Project 1 Peer Feedback and Revision Instructions (Page 4)
Project 1 Rubric (Page 5)
Project 1 Example (Page 6)
PROJECT 1 DESCRIPTION
This week, you are a social scientist who is investigating the
UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #12:
Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns. This
project will take the form of a report which
requires you to do the following: Connect one specific target of
SDG #12 with conditions and efforts being
made here in Tampa, FL and propose research assessing USF
students’ awareness, habits, or viewpoints,
related this specific target. Further, you will be asked to help
classmates improve their own reports through
peer feedback, a common process undertaken by social science
researchers. This assignment emphasizes
STA2122 learning objectives 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7:
1. the vocabulary and symbols used in social statistics
2. how to measure variables and test relationships at different

levels
3. the basics of descriptive and inferential statistics
4. to become critical consumers of statistical information
5. about global systems and issues and associated dimensions
(e.g., historical, political, economic, social,
cultural, environmental, technological)
6. to analyze global interrelationships and interdependencies
across place and time
7. to formally report findings from statistical analyses
PROJECT 1 POSTING INSTRUCTIONS
• STEP 1: REPORT! A posting of your full report is due by
11:59pm on Sunday. Your report should address
all the components (1 to 3) described in the instructions. I
would set aside 3-5 hours to complete this task.
o Be sure to check the example and the rubric.
o Proofread your work. Save a copy for future reference.
o Select the box that reads, "Reply" to post your work (usually
copy + paste works, you may then
have to edit the work using the buttons above the text box).
• STEP 2: EVALUATE! Come back to the board before next
Wednesday at 11:59pm and provide peer-
evaluations to two of your classmates. Please read instructions
for more details. I would set aside 1 to 2
hours to complete these evaluations.
• STEP 3: REVISE! Come back to the board before next Sunday
at 11:59pm and acknowledge any responses
your received to your post -- substantively address any
comments, concerns, etc. At this time, you are

invited to post a REVISED version of your project to the
discussion board for us to grade.
University of South Florida
Instructor: Dr. Erica L. Toothman
Email: [email protected]
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PROJECT 1 (Main Report)
Component 1: Background Research (25 points). This week, you
are a social scientist who is
investigating the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #12:
Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production
Patterns. First, I’d like you to review the facts, figures, targets,
and indicators listed at the bottom of the
UNSDG #12 homepage (a link is provided on Canvas). Second,
I’d like you to do a little background research
on one particular target (i.e., 12.1 through 12.8) and how it’s
being addressed on campus at USF or in Tampa
Bay, Florida. Third, I’d like you to generate a small report (1-2
large paragraphs in length) touching on the
following items:
• Describe the specific global target you’re investigating (e.g.,
12.3 or 12.7) and what local context you’re
investigating (USF or Tampa Bay, FL).
• Describe how consumption and production, related to this
target, are impacting this USF or Tampa
Bay. Here, you will need to provide two local, relevant

supporting statistics (e.g., percentages,
frequencies, proportions) with citations to primary sources
(using ASA, APA, or MLA formatting).
• Describe two current laws, rules, regulations, or policies that
are in place that will encourage
sustainable consumption and production related to your target
here at USF or Tampa Bay. Here, you
will need to provide two current and local laws, rules, or
regulations (i.e., 10 years or newer) with
citations to primary sources (using ASA, APA, or MLA
formatting).
Component 2: Research Proposal (30 points). Taking what
you’ve learned about consumption and
production locally, I’d like you to think about what information
you think would be helpful to know more
about. For this part, I’d like you to construct a hypothetical
research proposal that will assess USF students’
awareness, habits, or viewpoints, related to the consumption and
production target you’ve researched (e.g.,
12.3 or 12.7). Your proposal (1-2 large paragraphs in length)
should include the following items:
• A testable a research question. Underline the question. Please
identify what kind of question it is (e.g.,
descriptive, comparative, or relationship-based).
• A description of how you would survey a hypothetical sample
(i.e., you will be targeting USF students -
- so you should tell me how many you’ll want to survey and
how you would reach them).
• A list of five variables that would help you explore your
research question.
• A hypothesis with clearly labeled independent and dependent

variables. Underline the hypothesis. You
should be using two of the variables you described above.
• A couple of sentences explaining the logic of your hypothesis.
Component 3: (Hypothetical) Survey (25 points). Compose a
five-question survey that represents
the five variables you described above. Each question on your
survey must represent one variable and each
variable must be measured using a different level of
measurement (e.g., nominal, ordinal, and
discrete/continuous interval-ratio). Make sure you label each
question with the variable name and CLEARLY
identify its level of measurement. Further, please ensure that
your response categories are both exhaustive
and mutually exclusive. Component 3 must contain the
following:
• one question tapping a variable measured at the nominal level
• one question tapping a variable measured at the ordinal level
• one question tapping a variable measured at the discrete
interval-ratio level variable
• one question tapping a variable measured at the continuous
interval-ratio level variable
• one question tapping a variable measured at any level of your
choice
That’s it! Just put that together in one report and post it to the
discussion board. You
don’t need to distribute the survey.
3

Style and Flow (10 Points). Ten percent of your grade will be
dedicated to appearances. I know that we
like to think that “true beauty” lies beneath the surface, but in
the real world, your ability to produce legible
and accessible work is a key component to success. Here, I will
be looking for titles, subtitles, adherence to
standard written English, minimal grammatical and spelling
errors, clear communication, logical organization
and labeling, and a tidy presentation. If you compose your work
in a word processing program (e.g., Word)
you can usually copy and paste it with minimal errors. However,
you may have to spend time editing your
work in the text box below. You can read about how to edit text
in Canvas (e.g., bold, underline, indenting,
and numbering) at the following link:
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-14513-
4152876622. You
are welcome and encouraged to use the formatting of my
EXAMPLE; however, you may NOT use it as a
direct template. For example, you may not take my work and
super-impose your own analysis and survey
items that appear to be topically different, but map onto my
logic.
PROJECT 1 FEEDBACK AND (optional) REVISION
INSTRUCTIONS
Peer Feedback (10 Points): By Wednesday (11:59pm) following
the project due date, I’d like you to
substantively evaluate two other students’ projects. You must
provide feedback for all four components of any
given project. Evaluations should draw on information you have
learned from your textbook and stats lessons
(you must provide a page number and location). Please be
respectful and professional. Make sure you evaluate
EACH component -- consider the following questions in your

evaluations:
• Component 1: Are you able to get a clear idea of the target
they are interested in? Do the reported
statistics make sense? Do they describe two relevant and local
policies?
• Component 2: Did they compose a realistic and social-
scientific research question? Identify it? Did they
provide a realistic hypothesis? Specify the independent and
dependent variable correctly? Will their
variables help test their hypothesis?
• Component 3: Do the questions (survey items) relate to the
major research question? Will they test
the stated hypothesis? Are the levels of measurement correctly
identified? Would you change the
question?
Keep in mind the following information:
• You are a member of a group containing roughly 5 to 7
people. You are responsible for posting brief
evaluations for TWO of your classmates’ projects.
• To post your evaluations, click “reply” under the post you
wish to respond.
• So that each person has the benefit of two evaluations, please
do not evaluate projects that already
have more than three replies.
• There are never any FLAWLESS projects -- we can always
extend and improve our work.
• You must provide direct quotations in your evaluation. For
example, if you're directing your classmate

to re-write a question, include the text from their question in
your reply.
Project 1 Revision (optional): By the final due date (Sunday at
11:59pm), you are welcome to read your
classmates' feedback and post a REVISED version of your
project to the discussion board. Here are the rules:
• Be sure to use your best judgement when incorporating peer
feedback -- make only changes you think
are logical.
• You may not change your entire project (that means your
original post and revision post must be
relatively similar).
• If you did not submit a project by the initial deadline, you may
not post one by the second deadline.
• You do not have to revise your work -- I will assess the latest
posting made available.
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PROJECT 1 RUBRIC and CHECKLIST
Component 1:
BACKGROUND
RESEARCH
(25 Points)
Exceeds expectations. Very good to excellent effort. Summary

demonstrates thoughtful and critical understanding of a relevant
target, expertly
connects it to local area and explains two statistics about USF
or Tampa Bay (i.e., doesn’t just copy and paste numbers).
Expertly reports two local
laws/rules/policies related to target. Citations (ASA, MLA,
APA) provided.
Meets expectations. Typical effort. All criteria are met.
Summary demonstrates basic understanding of a relevant target
and generally connects it
to local area and explains two statistics. Includes some
statistical information. Describes two laws/rules/policies related
to target. Citations (ASA, MLA,
APA) provided.
Approaches/Below expectations. Below-average effort. Not all
criteria are necessarily met. Summary demonstrates minimal
understanding of a
target which may not be tied to USF/Tampa Bay. Summary
draws on information that is provided on basic websites or
secondary reports. May or may
not include some statistical information. May or may not
describe two laws/rules/policies related to target.
Citations/links omitted or inappropriate.
Component 2:
RESEARCH
PROPOSAL
(30 Points)
Exceeds expectations. Proposal identifies a correctly specified
(e.g., descriptive, comparative, or relationship-based) social-
scientific research
question related to background research. Five well-fitting
variables are described. Thoughtfully discusses an appropriate
sample. Includes a hypothesis

that relates directly to the project topic and research question.
Independent and dependent variables are clearly and correctly
identified in the
hypothesis. Further, it contains a critical discussion linking
hypothetical expectation to the research question.
Meets expectations. Proposal includes some discussion about
current survey and connects it more or less with previous
research. It also specifies
a research question though it may be fuzzy or less empirical.
Five variables are described. A basic sample is discussed. A
logical hypothesis, more or less
related to the project topic and research question, is provided.
Independent and dependent variables are linked to the
hypothesis. Includes general
discussion linking hypothetical expectation to the research
question.
Approaches/Below expectations. Proposal includes little to no
discussion about survey and connects it more or less with
previous research. It
specifies a research question though it isn’t possible to test.
Variables may or may not be described. An irrelevant sample
may be discussed. Reflection
contains a hypothesis that does not or barely relates to the
project topic or research question. Independent and dependent
variables are incorrectly
identified, if at all.
Component 3:
(Hypothetical)
Survey
(25 Points)
Check-plus. Variable is correctly identified (as nominal,
ordinal, interval-ratio) and is clearly related to the theme of the
survey. The question taps

the variable nicely and can be understood by a lay audience. All
response categories are mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
Check. Variable is identified and is relatively related to theme.
One of the following problems may appear: Response categories
may not be mutually
exclusive/exhaustive, or, the question is unlikely to be
understood by a lay audience.
Check-Minus. The level of measurement is clearly identified but
is incorrectly specified OR there is no level of measurement
reported. Two of the
following problems may appear: Measure does not clearly
address the topic, the response categories are not mutually
exclusive/exhaustive, or the
question may be unlikely to be understood by a lay audience.
Presentation
quality
(10 Points)
Check-plus. Report and survey is polished, organized, adheres
to standard written English, and provides all external resources.
There are paragraphs
with spaces, appropriate numbering, and subheadings. Contains
minimal spelling and grammatical errors. A person who is not in
this class could pick up
this report, read it, and understand it
Check. Report is clear, adheres to standard written English, and
provides all external resources. There are paragraphs with
spaces, appropriate
numbering, and subheadings. There may be some formatting
errors that make the project difficult to read. Minimal spelling
and grammatical errors.
Check-Minus. Report is unclear. There are formatting errors
that make the project difficult to read. Contains more than three
spelling and major

grammatical errors.
Peer Feedback
(10 Points)
Check-plus. Provides respectful and professional evaluations for
two peers covering each component of the project. Each
improvement or critique
must be at least 2-3 sentences and provide helpful textbook,
memo, or lecture page references. (One check-plus evaluation
will receive a check).
Check. Provides evaluations for two peers. Each improvement
or critique is brief and may or may not include helpful textbook,
memo, or lecture
page references. (One check evaluation will receive a check-
minus).
Check-Minus. Provides “grading” advice (e.g., “you didn’t
follow instructions”). Evaluations are generally unhelpful.
References are omitted entirely.
5
PROJECT 1 EXAMPLE
*** NOTICE: This example is provided to give you an idea of
what a report and peer feedback may look like.
It is an old assignment and does not include all of the
requirements of the current assignment (for example, I
don’t discuss consumption, local statistics, or policies). You
may use my subheadings, but you are not welcome
to use my language, logic, or to map your work onto mine in
any way. Reports that, in any way, copy my
language or variable ordering will be considered plagiarized and
given a 0. ***

PROJECT EXAMPLE TITLE: Gender Equality and the Paid
Workforce
COMPONENT 1: Background Research Summary
The SDG I chose relates to gender equality within and among
countries. The target I'm focusing reads as
follows: "End all forms of discrimination against all women and
girls everywhere." Though we tend to consider
gender a spectrum in the social sciences, there exists deep
inequality between the dichotomized categories of
women and men throughout the world. Many of these problems
revolve around compensation for paid and
domestic labor, violence, access to healthcare, education, and
other resources. I chose to look at women in
the paid labor force in particular (i.e., focusing on the following
report:
https://docs.google.com/gview?url=http://sustainabledevelopme
nt.un.org/content/documents/1770ILO%20Repo
rt%202015.pdf&embedded=true). Reading this report, which
analyzes data from the ILO Company Survey
(information from ~1300 companies from OECD countries), I
gathered that less than five percent of the
largest companies in OECD countries had women in positions of
power (e.g., CEOs during years 2012-2015).
The reasons for such low representation include stereotyping,
less inclusive corporate cultures, public
perceptions of special treatment (like quotas). Norway promotes
many women on the boards of companies
after it introduced a quota system in 2003 (raising 6.8% to 40%
of board members -- the quota’s top number).
Of companies that participated in the ILO company survey, 80%
had maternity leave policies, 44% had some
support for childcare, but fewer than 30% made provisions for
elder care. In the US specifically, representation

matters -- more people tend to think that women are help back
in the workforce because they held to a
higher standard (among other things) as recent Pew research
poll reports
(http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/chapter-3-
obstacles-to-female-leadership/).
HINT: You will need to provide citations. You’re welcome and
encouraged to go into more detail about your
subject of interest.
COMPONENT 2: Research Proposal
For my survey, I thought it would be interesting to get a sense
of how college can shape perceptions of
workplace policies. While women are actually earning more
degrees than men, they make less money than
men. Research devoted to the topic points to a lack of women in
leadership (mentors) and policies that
punctuate women’s careers (e.g., unpaid maternity leave). Since
college students are likely to enter and
escalate to management in the paid workforce, I wonder what
might contribute to their views on gender and
family-related workplace policies. So for this project, I would
be interested in the following
RELATIONSHIP-BASED research question How do gender-
related courses impact opinions
of employer responsibility for gender and family-related
policies among USF students?
Here is where I would list out my five relevant variables. Here,
the individual is my unit of analysis. For
more insight into this phenomenon, my target population will be
graduate students at USF, from which I
will take a sample of roughly n=500 through telepathy. The
sample is adequate in terms of gender,
age, and racial diversity, but may not be applicable to all

graduate students because only ones with telepathy
would respond. Further, telepathy isn't a thing, so I may not get
any responses at all!
6
With respect to my research question, I will be interested in
college courses, specifically, "courses related
to gender" (question 3) and policy views, or, "Employer
responsibility for gender-related policies" (question
2). In this hypothesis, " courses related to gender " is the
independent variable and “Employer
responsibility for gender-related policies" is the dependent
variable. I expect that more courses related to
gender will positively relate to workplace views. That is, the
more gender-related courses a student will
take, the more likely they will to endorse employer
responsibility for gender-related workplace policies. Make
sure you elaborate more than I have here – I can’t give the
whole thing away!
COMPONENT 3: (Hypothetical) Survey
Variable 1: 'College membership' measured on a nominal level
Question 1: In what college are you currently enrolled?
1. Arts
2. Arts and Sciences
3. Behavioral and Community Sciences
4. Education
5. Engineering
6. Global Sustainability
7. Honors College
8. Marine Science

9. Nursing
10. Public Health
Variable 2: 'Gendered work policy perceptions’ measured at the
ordinal level.
Question 2: How much responsibility should an employer have
in providing paid parental leave, family sick
leave, or healthcare in the absence of laws mandating such?
a. No responsibility
b. Some responsibility
c. A reasonable amount of responsibility
d. A great deal of responsibility
Variable 3: ‘Courses related to gender’ measured at the discrete
interval-ratio level.
Question 3: How many courses related to, or focused on, gender
do anticipate completing upon graduation?
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five or more
Variable 4: “Training on gender relations” measured at the
continuous interval-ratio level.
Question 4: Below, provide an estimate of the number of
training hours you have received on how to reduce
gender inequality in your anticipated field.
Answer: ____ hours
Variable 5: "Gender" measured at the nominal level.
Question 5: How would you best describe your gender?

7
a. Woman (cisgender)
b. Woman (transgender)
c. Man (cisgender)
d. Man (transgender)
PEER EVALUATION EXAMPLE
You are expected to provide two separate evaluations, here I
have only one evaluation outlined:
Dr. Toothman,
I’m getting a sense that issues related to gender interest you! I
can see here that the goal of this proposal is to test how
gender-related courses relate to perceptions of gendered work.
policies. Here are my thoughts on each section:
COMPONENT 1: I can get a sense of the gender inequality;
however, there are lots of percentages posted with few
summarizing sentences. Could you include a few lines that make
a regular reader understand these numbers? Also, using
parenthetical citation would improve the readability of the
paragraph here.
COMPONENT 2: "For more insight into this phenomenon, my
target population will be graduate students at USF, from which
I will take a sample of roughly n=500 through telepathy. The
sample is adequate in terms of gender, age, and racial diversity,
but
may not be applicable to all graduate students because only
ones with telepathy would respond. Further, telepathy isn't a
thing, so

I may not get any responses at all!"
Do you think that grad students are the best population to look
to for your information? First, many of them go into
academia, second, finding 500 would be a challenge, and third,
they don’t take that many courses! I wonder if undergrads
would be a better target population. Additionally, I read that
data are often collected through questionnaires given to
actual people. How would telepathy work in getting you actual
numbers? How would you be sure to actually include or
represent all students at USF?
COMPONENT 3: You have correctly specified your
independent and dependent variables – that is, college courses
should precede (and inform) views on workplace policies.
However, the reverse may also be true – what if views
impacted the number of courses taken? How would we address
this?
COMPONENT 4: ""Variable 5: "Gender" measured at the
nominal level.
Question 5: How would you best describe your gender?
a. Woman (cisgender)
b. Woman (transgender)
c. Man (cisgender)
d. Man (transgender)""
It appears as though this measure isn't exhaustive (page 11 in
textbook). There are people who have no gender, so this
question could be improved with the inclusion of an "agender"
category. I do think it's interesting to differentiate
between cis and non cis gender folks!
_____________________________________________________
_____________

In the research article entitled “Biological Pest Control of a
Biscuit Beetle (Stegobium paniceum) Infestation in an Old
Masters Paintings Storage Area”, a group of officials met to
make a decision about the infestation of the Museum of Fine
Arts in Vienna by Biscuit beetles (Querner et. al, 2019). Several
paintings in the collection were infested with the Beetle bugs
and elimination options were discussed by museum officials.
Since chemical insecticides and other traditional insecticide
methods would have severely damaged the precious paintings,
the museum decided to use classical biological control by
releasing the natural predator of the biscuit beetles. The
museum released 3000 parasitic wasps into the contained
infested area every month for almost 12 months until every
biscuit beetle was eradicated (Querner et. al, 2019) . The
museum’s use of biological pest control was a creative solution
to a modern issue. The efficiency was 100% in terms of biscuit
beetle mortality, and the museum was able to preserve the
paintings and save money by not engaging in more expensive
non-chemical alternatives. My question for this module is: what
are the drawbacks to using biological pest control over classic
insecticide treatments?
There is an increasing concern over the use of pesticides in
agriculture. These chemicals have the capability to create
pollution and harm to the environment by runoff and non-point
source pollution. Thus, people are looking to organic
approaches to disease control, including the use of biological
control agents (BCAs). These are naturally occurring, have a
low environmental impact, less prone to resistance, cost-
effective, and chemical-free.
On the other hand, BCAs may not be the best option for disease
control in agriculture. The patterns may be inconsistent and

easily swayed by environmental factors, they may be too
specific or slow-acting, and have chances of mutation and a lack
of long-term control. Also, depending on the needs,
practicality, and compatibility with niche ecosystems and
markets, this way of disease control may not be able to keep up
to speed and the amount of expected harvest, and may even be
more expensive.
There are a range of BCAs available for usage in agro-
ecosystems. Fungal products and fungicides are on the
increase, however many farmers may register them as a
stimulant or soil conditioner rather than claiming fungicidal
activity, which presents health and safety code concerns. There
are also many soil and root microbiomes used, such as the
mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans and trichoderma
harzianum. There are aerial microbimones such as
ampelomyces quisqualis and phlebiopsis gigantea.
Opportunities for future development of these kinds of BCAs
depend on market needs and legislatures. The acceptance and
demand for sustainable agricultural systems have the potential
to greatly increase the use of these alternatives to pesticides.
One of the main limitations and concerns is the inconsistency
that is possible with these biocontrol agents. They may be
unpredictable, and thus farmers are being encouraged to
practice screening and development projects to test out the best
way to conduct these practices. Articles and sources such as
these are very important in these developments, and it is crucial
that we keep researching.
This paper from the Journal of Environmental Management
titled Biological control of pests and a social model of animal
welfare dives deep into the sociocultural implications of using
biological pest control. The intersection of animal welfare and
pest management is analyzed. The emphasis on managing
species in this paper is for invasive species and their effects as
they relate to climate change. In the context of our class

however, we can look at these practices through the lens of
conservation and as they relate to crop yield. Alongside the
introduction of animal species to non-native locations whether
on purpose or as a result of anthropocentric activities, humans
are also responsible for non-native species damage on
ecosystems through agriculture.
Through looking at what we determine to be the welfare of
these animals, the paper addresses the path environmentalism
has taken in the animal realm. The definition of the welfare of
an animal has changed drastically since the 1980s, where now
many consider that there should be "[….] equal consideration to
'the basic health and functioning of animals, their affective state
(pain, distress) and the ability of animals to lead reasonably
natural lives'". How do we define the animals that we are
attempting to biologically control? What about those species
that we are using to do the said biological control? It may not
be brought up frequently, but ethical conversations are
important to have in agriculture. There is so much manipulation
and control of what is still considered an ecosystem, therefore I
believe that these are important questions to at the very least
ask and consider.
In agricultural practices, the use of biological control is
often regarded positively, in that it reduces the use of chemical
alternatives to pest management. By introducing parasites,
pathogens, or predators this encourages the system to function
to reduce identified pests with some level of control. This is no
easy feat, however, as multiple pests can thrive or survive in a
multitude of environmental conditions and the web of
interactions is fairly complex. The paper questions whether
physical observations of success of the biological control
alternative to pest management is enough. Should the use of
biological controls take priority over chemical methods? Do we
know enough about the intersectional complexities that these
organisms will have with each other to prevent further
catastrophe or damage? It brings up questions about our role in
these ecosystems, such as, should we hold this power and use it

to benefit our agricultural efforts? And is this ethical to be
using these animals for biological control?

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