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As outlined in our programmatic themes, social justice is an important aspect of our lives that we can not afford to shy away from. The two articles I read addressed one of the most influential social issues of the last ten years, police misconduct and people's perspectives of police. The GSS offered a wide range of data, from issues regarding empathy to political ideologies and support of gay rights, but it was up to me to turn this data into meaningful information. When I opened our first Excel spreadsheet, to say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. Being able to analyze and interpret what all those columns were saying felt like a monumental feat!
One of my takeaways from our last GSS survey data was shock over how many people are still opposed to gay people having the right to marry. I was also surprised there was not a stronger relationship between support for gay marriage and warmth towards liberals.
Regardless of my personal feelings, I think the GSS survey system is a great way to monitor people's perspectives and changes in our culture that can hopefully be utilized to enact positive change.
As the programmatic themes posit, emotional intelligence is a set of skills including empathy, social awareness, and conflict resolution. Any way that we can become more informed about people and what they are thinking, as information from the GSS surveys provide, we can increase our emotional intelligence.
As I previously stated, I was disheartened to learn the statistics regarding support for gay marriage. After interpreting the GSS stats, I did further research to find that many efforts are being made to take away rights that have already been granted by the Supreme Court. This makes me want to be an agent of social change because it is reprehensible and standing idly by as this injustice occurs is not an option. Now, figuring out how to effectively make a change is my next challenge.
Project One
Introduction: Describe the purpose of your memo and the plan to address the scenario in 1 to 3 sentences.
In an effort to increase donations to your nonprofit organization, we have analyzed data from 660 individuals to research if there is a relationship between empathy and class, to better target different audiences.
Conclusions: Describe your findings in an executive summary of 4 to 6 sentences. Include the following in your conclusions:
· The main points you want to convey to your audience
· Rationale for your points in the form of data summaries
At this time, our analysis did not find evidence showing levels of empathy varied according to self-reported subjective class. We have failed to reject the null hypothesis that class has an impact on empathy using ANOVA, with an alpha of .05; determining there is no statistically significant difference between mean empathy scores and class F3,656 = [.104], p = .095, ns. Research based on this data set did not find sufficient evidence to show that targeting a specific class will be beneficial to your non-profit organization. With this result, all audiences should be targeted in the same manner to yield donations.
Discussion:
Main Analysis: Describe the summary statistics and frequency distributions, taking into account the scale of measurement for your data. Refer to the graphs you created. Your main analysis section should be about 2 to 5 sentences.
To determine if there is a correlation between class status and empathy levels, our survey of 660 respondents self-reported their subjective class (refer to Graph One for visual representation of respondent’s class identification), with 1 = lower class, 2 = working class, 3 = middle class, 4 = upper class, and were asked to select a response to 7 questions relating to empathy. Using an ordinal 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = does not describe well to 5 = describes very well, participants gave their level of agreeableness response to statements about scenarios that would elicit empathy. Averages of each subject’s total empathy was calculated, as well as overall class mean. Statistics for class, with frequency in parenthesis following class name, are as follows, showing mean and standard deviation respectively, Class 1 – lower class (49), 3.25, SD.08, Class 2 – working class (316), 3.26, SD .03, Class 3 – middle class (277), 3.26, SD .08, Class 4 – upper class (18), 3.33, SD .1. (refer to Graph Two for visual representation of class mean comparison). Running an ANOVA with an alpha of .05 determined there is no statistically significant difference in mean empathy scores between class 1,2,3 and 4 (F3,656 =.10, p = .096, ns.)
Graph One: Create a graphical representation of the qualitative (nominal and often ordinal) data to support your main analysis. Ensure your graph meets the following criteria:
· You include a narrative to introduce your graph into your memo.
· Your graph is accurate and objective.
· Your graph appropriately represents the data.
· You use the appropriate type of graph for the data.
· Your graph is labeled appropriately.
Graph Two: Create a graphical representation of the quantitative (interval and/or ratio) data to support your main analysis. Ensure your graph meets the following criteria:
· You include a narrative to introduce your graph into your memo.
· Your graph is accurate and objective.
· Your graph appropriately represents the data.
· You use the appropriate type of graph for the data.
· Your graph is labeled appropriately.
Recommendations: Describe the actions you believe your audience should take in 2 to 5 sentences.
Previous studies have shown a correlation between empathy and willingness to donate (Smith, K. E., et al., The Journal of Positive Psychology, Vol. 15, No. 6, 2020). However, at this time, our recommendation is to target all audiences in the same manner as we have not found that class is a factor in empathy level.
Limitations: Describe the limitations of both your data and your summaries in 1 to 3 sentences.
This survey is non-experimental, limiting the validity. The form of data derived from a survey is also limited by its inflexibility. Further research needs to be conducted to make correlational statements between empathy level and class.
Project Two
Project Two
Analysis Report Summary:
To gather information on public perception around policies regarding sexual orientation and political opinions and ideologies, I posed a research question to determine if there is a linear relationship between feelings towards liberals and the belief that gay individuals have the right to marry. My hypothesis stated that higher warmth towards liberals would increase the agreeableness in the belief that gay people have the right to marry. I ran a linear regression analysis and my results indicate that feelings towards liberals is statistically significant in predicting the belief that gay individuals have the right to marry, R2 = .022, F (1,287) = 6.46, p = .012. This result leads me to reject my null hypothesis, and to conclude that as warmth towards liberals increases, the more strongly people agree that gay individuals have the right to marry. Note that the Pearson r, the correlation co-efficient, is very weak at .148.
Output From Data Analysis:
Project Three
Project Three
Topic from Project Three Milestone: I chose the topic Police Striking Adults because of the social relevance it holds. This issue is finally receiving the attention it deserves, and I look forward to learning more about it through the articles and data analysis.
Describe the key findings from your interpretation of the data for a general audience. Your response should be about 2 to 4 sentences. Include the following in your response:
· Easy-to-understand statistical values (e.g., percentages)
Key Findings –
Data from the 2018 GSS survey indicates 75.5% of white people could imagine a scenario where they would approve of a police officer striking a citizen. This is drastically higher than the 34.7% of black people who agreed with this statement and is in stark contrast to the anticipated value of 61.2%. Those who declared race as Other had rates of approval at 27.8%, similar to the rates of black people and quite discrepant from the responses of white people.
Summarize the background information for the scientific community. Your response should be about 3 to 5 sentences. Include the following in your response:
· Introduction to the research topic
· Credible background sources to support the introduction to the topic. Note: In the Project Three Milestone, you reviewed credible sources to create your annotated bibliography. Use those credible sources in this section or additional credible sources if needed.
In recent years, there have been several highly publicized incidents of police using excessive force, predominantly against black men. Figures show that Black people experience police misconduct at 12x the rate of white people (Wang, 2022). With police conduct being scrutinized, and many demanding changes within the police department, we are interested in how race affects perceptions of police and police misconduct. Specifically, would race be a significant factor in being able to imagine a scenario where one would approve of a police officer striking an adult male?
Describe the major statistical findings for the scientific community. Your response should be about 3 to 7 sentences. Include the following in your response:
· An explanation of at least two major findings
· An explanation contextualizing the graphs you will include in the next item to ensure that the reader understands their purpose in the brief
Although GSS survey results were not statistically significant, there were many interesting findings. Findings indicate White people are more likely to imagine a scenario where they would approve of police striking an adult than Black and Other minorities. There were also interesting discrepancies between expected versus observed rates for black people. The expected rate of black people who could imagine support of a police officer striking an adult was 61.2%, which is almost twice as high as the actual observed rate of 34.7%. The trend was opposite for white people, with an expected rate of 63%, but an actual observed rate of 75.5%. The rate for Other who agreed with being able to approve of such force was 27.7%. The statistics for those in opposition, those who could not imagine a scenario where it would be okay for a police officer to strike an adult, were very similar for Black and Other, 65.3% and 72.2% respectively. For White people, the rate was much lower at 24.5%.
Represent the major statistical findings for the scientific community with graphs. Your response should include a graph for each finding to support your description.
Provide a concise summary appropriate for a general audience. Include the following in your response:
· A restatement of why this research was completed and reminder of the key findings
· The application of the findings
For the safety of all citizens, and to facilitate effective policing, we must understand the role of race in perceptions of police, police misconduct, and the use of force. Appropriate action to end the cycle of fear, discrimination, and violence perpetuated by negative perception can only be made once we understand this relationship. Our analysis shows that minorities are far less likely to approve of police officers striking citizens, while the majority of white people surveyed felt it was permissible. We need to bridge this gap for progress to be made.
References
References
DeSilver, D., Lipka, M., & Fahmy, D. (2020b, June 3). 10 Things We Know About Race and Policing in the U.S. Pew Research Center; Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/06/03/10-things-we-know-about-race-and-policing-in-the-u-s/
Graziano, L. M., & Gauthier, J. F. (2017). Examining the Racial-Ethnic Continuum and Perceptions of Police Misconduct. Taylor & Francis Online, 29(6), 1–16. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2017.1310859
Wang, L. (2022, December 22). Police Use of Force Rising for Black, Female, and Older People; Racial Bias Persists. Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2022/12/22/policing_survey/
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