Assignment Instructions
Provide a clear and concise answer to each question below making sure to address each part of the question. Answer each question in sentence form using correct spelling and grammar. Then, submit the file (appropriately named) with your answers, including any graphs created, through the assignment link in this course space.
An experimental rehabilitation program has been implemented in a number of prisons. The program is a prisoner education program for nonviolent offenders aimed at giving inmates the skills they need to obtain jobs after their sentence has been served. A state senator would like to assess the effectiveness of the program. Below are the re-arrest rate data for 9 county prisons that implemented the program. For county prisons, the population mean is equal to 68.1% and the population standard deviation is 4.6.
Prisoner Education Program Implemented |
63.2% |
60.6% |
62.3% |
70.4% |
56.7% |
64.3% |
61.8% |
61.7% |
60.5% |
1. Your assignment is to place yourself into the shoes of a researcher hired to determine if the program is effective. You are asked to statistically determine the effectiveness of the program by using the data above to conduct a hypothesis test (with a statistical analysis that has been covered thus far in this course).
- Indicate whether your test is one-tailed or two-tailed and why your choice is appropriate. (1 point)
- Clearly indicate your null and alternative hypotheses (using appropriate symbols). (1 point)
- Indicate what alpha level you have chosen and why, as well as the important critical value(s). (2 points)
- Calculate your test statistic for the sample and show all of your work. (3 points)
- State your decision and conclusions as to the effectiveness of the program. (2 points)
- What scale of measurement is used for re-arrest rates? (1 point)
2. Design an alternative research project to further explore ways to reduce recidivism (i.e. examining other factors which could help reduce repeat offenses and/or re-arrest).
- Fully describe your study’s methodology [e.g., who would participate, how you would control for other factors which may impact recidivism, what participants in the study would experience, the type of study (true experiment, quasi-experiment, or correlational study)]. (3 points)
- Clearly state your null and alternative hypotheses (it is fine to state these in words, not symbols). (1 point)
- Clearly state your independent variable(s) and how many levels/conditions of your independent variable(s) you would use. (2 points)
- How would you operationalize recidivism and what scale of measurement is used for recidivism in your proposed study? (2 points)
- Can you analyze the effectiveness of this program using any of the statistical tests we have covered thus far in the course? Explain why or why not. (2 points)