*Subject: Social Science Statistics
*R or related program language knowledge is required
*A reference plan is already provided, but please feel free to use your own preferred sources
Write a 10-12 page (Word doc in Times New Roman, double-spaced) research paper investigating the relationship between two variables. Your research paper must be submitted to Canvas. Papers will be graded on a standard A, A-, , F scale. Note: You must submit a screenshot of your R code and output for your bivariate and multivariate regressions at the end of your submission (not to be counted towards page requirements).
Your final paper should use the following structure:
Abstract
In less than 150 words, describe the main research question your study answers and your findings. Place your research in the context of a policy problem or question in political science.
Introduction & Background
Describe a specific policy problem or question in political science which your research study addresses, and provide a 2 3 page review summarizing the current research literature on your topic of study based on journal articles and/or policy briefs. At the end of this section, present your research question and hypothesis (in words, likely different from the hypothesis you present using formal notation in Methods). Explain where your study fits into the current research literature and how it contributes to the literature.
Methods
Data
Describe the data you used to answer your research question. As part of your description, you should address the questions answered in Milestone 4 (in paragraph form):
What is/are the dataset(s) called and where did you find it/them? Who collected the data?
What is the unit of observation, and how many observations are in the dataset?
What population does the sample represent (if any)?
Are the data longitudinal or gathered at one point in time?
What types of data does it include (surveys, direct assessments)?
Measures
Describe how the main measures (i.e., variables) you used in your study were constructed. Your discussion should include your two main variables of interest (predictor and dependent) and other variables used as control variables. If you are using many measures, sub-categorize them for clarity with a sub-header.
Analysis
Describe how you answered your research question using regression analysis. Your analysis must include both a bivariate and a multivariate model. You should include the following:
What are the 2 main variables in the dataset that you are using (predictor and dependent variables)?
What is the population regression equation for the bivariate model?
Explain the theoretical causal mechanism by which your predictor variable might affect your dependent variable
Explain why you cannot draw conclusions about causality with your study, including specific examples of potential sources of omitted variable bias
What control variables/covariates are you including in your multivariate model? Why did you select these variables as controls?
What is the population regression equation for your multivariate model?
Using formal notation, what hypothesis are you testing? (Note that this will likely differ from your hypothesis as you described it in the Introduction.)
Sample
Updating your Milestone 5 submission, describe your study sample in one to two paragraphs. Be clear about what the unit of observation is. Refer to your table of descriptive statistics (e.g., See Table 1).
Results
In paragraph form, you should include the following:
Estimated bivariate regression equation
Estimated multivariate regression equation
For both models, interpret your regression results in words, including the magnitude of your coefficient estimate for your predictor of interest and its statistical significance (e.g., I find that a one-unit increase in X is associated with a statistically significant -unit increase/decrease in Y (p = 0.023))
Compare the results of the bivariate and multivariate regression models
Refer to a table of regression results, presented at the end of the paper
Discussion
In 1 2 pages, discuss your study findings. You should include the following:
Interpretation of what your findings mean
Implications of your results for public policy or political science
Limitations of your study (e.g., generalizability, causality)
Next steps (what would you want to do if you kept going with your study?)
References
Provide a listing of the research studies and policy briefs to which you referred while working on your project in APA style (https://apastyle.apa.org/ (Links to an external site.)).
Tables & Figures
Your research paper must include two tables: one presenting descriptive statistics formatted similarly to the example I provide for Milestone 4, and one presenting regression results formatted similarly to the example I provide for Milestone 9.
You may submit additional tables and/or figures if you think that they are helpful.
All tables and figures must be numbered and include a descriptive title.
You must refer to table and figure numbers in the text of your paper.
Note: Figures are not required. If you do not include figures, this section should simply be titled Tables.
R Code & Output
Your submission must conclude with screenshots of the R code and output for your bivariate and multivariate regressions.
Style Guidelines:
Use APA format throughout
Your paper should be written in paragraph form, not using bullet points
Use the suggested section headers provided above, with additional sub-headings as needed for clarity
The page requirements do not include the abstract, references, tables, or figures, which should be included after the text of the research paper
Avoid using footnotes
