Progress Update Four (4/8)

What am I researching?

For those who have been supporting me since the beginning, and those who are just joining my journey now, this is a brief reminder of my research! The research project that I have been working on since I embarked on my AP Research journey in August is studying what factors caused legislators in the Colorado General Assembly to vote yes or no on ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in Colorado. My research question is: What factors contributed to Colorado to ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972? I am studying the political party, demographic data, and voting record of each legislator. I will then utilize a statistical analyze to determine if there is a significant relationship between these factors and the vote of each legislator.

Data Collection & Statistical Analysis

AP Research Data Collection

Primary Source Data Collection

(Table 1)

Throughout my project, I collected data from the primary sources to identify political party, vote on the ERA, gender, and religious affiliation. Since my last blog post update, the final data that I needed to collect from my primary sources was prior voting record. This was an arduous process, as I first needed to identify which bills I wanted to analyze. In order to do this, I turned back to my literature review to determine the issues that were most strongly related to the Equal Rights Amendment. Throughout the various research papers I studied (see Progress Update 1, Influential Works) I determined that progressive policy issues including social safety net economic policy, other women's issues, and environmental policy were most relevant. Lastly, I used one of the central Supreme Court Cases, Roe v. Wade, which was decided on the basis of the right to privacy, to determine the final issue of privacy rights. After identifying the issues I wanted to study, I found bills that corresponded best with each of them. The final results of my data collection for each legislator can be observed in Table 1 above.

AP RESEARCH DATA COLLECTION STAT ANALYSIS

Organization for Statistical Analysis

(Table 2)

After I finalized my data collection for each legislator (Organized in Table 1), I began my process of statistical analysis. After meeting with Ms. Uchyn (Rock Canyon AP Statistics Teacher) and reviewing the current body of literature (see Progress Update 1, Influential Works), I devised a method of statistical analysis to help me analyze the data and determine which factors influenced how legislators voted. In order to determine which factors had an influence on how legislators voted, I compared the proportion of legislators who supported and opposed the Equal Rights Amendment for each factor, to the proportion I would expect to support and oppose the Equal Rights Amendment in general. If there was a disparity between these proportions, this means that the chosen factor caused some change to whether legislators supported or opposed the Equal Rights Amendment. To determine whether there was a difference, I first needed to calculate the proportions of legislators who supported and opposed the Equal Rights Amendment for each factor. The final calculations can be observed in Table 2 above.

Unexpected data

Image 1

In this discipline of primary-source, historical trend research, data collection is often used to test a predetermined hypothesis through deductive reasoning based research; however, many researchers simultaneously employ an observational study to allow the data to suggest conclusions through inductive reasoning based research. This dual approach method allows researchers to test their own hypothesis and draw conclusions based on the data, while also allowing the data itself to suggest conclusions the researcher may not be aware of. Therefore, in addition to test my own hypotheses for each factor, I also recorded observations about factors that may have influenced how legislators voted throughout my process of data collection. (Image 1). The observations I collected indicated that many legislators in the Colorado General Assembly were very progressive and supportive of liberal social and economic issues at the time. While there was no way to quantify and analyze this data like I did with my data collection for hypothesis testing, it still proved to be an important part of the research process. Although within this research project I will not be able to conclude whether or not the progressive leadership had an impact on how other legislators voted, I will be noting it as a factor that may have had an impact and is important to consider.

Results

Based on the data I collected from my hypothesis testing, as well as my observational study, my statistical analysis produced the following results.

Legislators affiliated with the Democratic Party were more likely to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment than those affiliated with the Republican Party.

Women were more likely to support the Equal Rights Amendment than men.

Legislators affiliated with Christianity were more likely to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment than legislators affiliated with other religions.

Legislators previously opposing social safety net legislation were more likely to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment than those favoring it.

Legislators previously opposing other legislation to support women were more likely to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment than those favoring it.

Legislators may have been swayed by influential, progressive legislators serving in the Colorado General Assembly.

Discussion and Implications

By determining that political party, gender, religious affiliation, and prior voting record on social safety net policy and women's rights were all factors that had a significant impact on how legislators voted on the Equal Rights Amendment, my research addresses a gap in the research regarding why Colorado voted to ratify. This research now joins the academic conversation that aims to explain different reasons why the ERA was ratified in different locations. The findings from my research and the larger body of existing research are important and politically relevant because of the modern movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Some prominent political figures have called for the removal of the original deadline, or to renew the ratification process entirely, in order to advocate for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the present day.

If passed, the Equal Rights Amendment would greatly impact the daily lives of American women; affecting various institutions, laws, and procedures including Roe v. Wade, the Equal Pay Act (1963), Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act (1964), Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978), and more.

Adam Liptak, “Supreme Court Allows Challenge to Texas Abortion Law but Leaves It in Effect,” The New York Times (The New York Times, December 10, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/10/us/politics/texas-abortion-supreme-court.html.

Brown, Marisa. “Effect Of The Equal Rights Amendment On Protection Of Title IX.” Johns Hopkins University Library. Johns Hopkins University, May 2019.

Example of implications

One example of the future implications with my research and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is how the supreme court landmark case of Roe v. Wade faces challenges in multiple states. The ratification of an Equal Rights Amendment would likely strengthen Roe v. Wade and decrease the likelihood of it being overturned.

Sullivan, Becky. “21 States Poised to Ban or Severely Restrict Abortion If 'Roe v. Wade' Is Overturned.” NPR. NPR, December 2, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/12/02/1061015753/abortion-roe-v-wade-trigger-laws-mississippi-jacksons-womens-health-organization.

AP RESEARCH FINAL PRESENTATION

Final Presentation

After wrapping up my data collection, statistical analysis, conclusions and discussion, and diving further into future implications, it was finally time to assembly my final presentation. I spent lots of time putting together the outline of my research journey, writing a script, creating the visual aid, and eventually practicing my presentation in front of my peers. I gave my final presentation on March 31st. Thank you to Ms. Dobos, Mr. Winkleman, Ms. Brown, Mr. Abner, Mr. Chapman, Mr. Cary, and Ms. Hommel for attending my presentation.

Final Reflections & Future Learning

As I reflect back on what sparked my initial curiosity into the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, I would still love to explore other areas of the legal and governmental system that impact women's rights including legislation like Title IX and landmark supreme court cases like Roe v. Wade. The research that I conducted about the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment introduced me to the process of literature review, finding a unique gap in existing research, developing a question, and using primary source research methodology. I am confident that I could use any or all of these skills to further explore my passions in social justice and women's rights law.

Thank you!

After completing my research and presentation, my final thoughts are of gratitude and appreciation for all those who inspired me and supported me in this process, and for the process itself.

I would not have started my research without the inspiration and support from Women Empowerment. The women in this club and my co-founder Olivia Gallo encourage me to pursue my passion of improving our community for women. I would not have been able to complete this research without their support!

Throughout my process, I was also supported by wonderful mentors who aided in the development of my research question and methodology, to the creation of my blog posts, to my final presentation. I am so incredibly grateful for the help and support of Ms. Dobos, Mr. Chapman, and Mr. Winkleman.

Lastly, I am grateful for the incredible opportunity to conduct original research as a senior in high school. I know that this experience has given me skills and knowledge that I will apply in future schooling and beyond. I had the best year studying and researching something I am passionate about, and highly recommend the AP Research program to any motivated students who want to take a deeper dive into their passions.

Thank YOU for staying updated with my blog posts, and feel free to reach out with any questions about my research process. See my biography for ways to contact me! :)

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