Identify one hypothesis
1) Identify at least one hypothesis related to a topic you are interested in (note– this can be your group proposal topic, but your group may not all pick the same hypothesis). For this activity prompt, this hypothesis should be related to a causal relationship between two variables (e.g., an explanatory study).
Example: My interest area is homelessness. A hypothesis might be: “Illicit drug use increases risk of homelessness”.
2) Identify your dependent variable and at least one independent variable related to your hypothesis. Conceptualize and define these variables.
Example: For this hypothesis, my dependent variable is ‘risk of homelessness’. My independent variable is ‘illicit drug use’. ‘Risk of homelessness’ is housing instability, defined by “not having confidence in where one will be staying in the next 30 days, staying with family or friends on a temporary basis (e.g., residing on a couch), and/or living paycheck to paycheck with no savings” . ‘Illicit drug use’ is regular consumption of illegal substances, defined here as “Daily use of illegal drugs, including the use of prescription medication not prescribed to the user.”
3) Review the criteria for establishing a causal effect, and discuss your ability to satisfy each one. Remember- the three required criteria are empirical association, time-order, and non-spuriousness.
Example for non-spuriousness criteria: In order to ensure the relationship between the independent and dependent variables are not explained by outside variables. I will control for several variables. For example, I will control for income level, since poverty puts individuals at risk for homelessness regardless of illicit drug use. This way, I will be able to see if illicit drug use increases risk of homelessness regardless of income level.
Altogether, this assignment should be 1-2 pages double spaced. APA formatting encouraged.
