Assignment Task

This assessment is intended to give you the opportunity to put the skills you have learned in the analysis and interpretation of survey data to use. You are asked to analyse data from the 2021 British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey and write a research report on your findings. The project should explore differences in the values and attitudes of different social and demographic groups towards an issue covered by the BSA.

You may choose to analyse any variables that interest you related to one of the topics below (but you are required to provide a clear justification behind your choice):

• Identity
• Political participation/engagement
• Social or Income Inequality;
• Social and Political Trust
• Young people

Look at the questions available in the survey to help you identify an issue to investigate. Consider (using evidence from the wider literature if possible) whether and why certain groups may differ in their attitudes towards the issue under scrutiny. Use this to help you plan which measures to include in your analysis and how to code them. Using background information on the BSA respondents, analyse how attitudes to the indicator(s) you have chosen vary between different demographic and social groups (for example gender, age, ethnicity and social class). You must include summary statistics of the variables you have chosen to analyse, including tables or graphs as appropriate.

Your report must include a hypothesis testing. You may choose any of the methodologies covered in this unit, such as t-test, chi-square test or simple linear regression. Your research report should be a maximum of Words long, excluding tables and any Appendices you might want to include. It should contain the following elements:

Introduction: This should be a brief outline of the area chosen, including your research question and why it is a topic of importance for study. It should also include a clear signposting of what is to follow.

Methodology: This section should contain a description of all the variables, dependent and independent, you have used in the analysis. It should include a discussion of why you have chosen particular measures (as opposed to others) as appropriate for your chosen topic. The section should describe any recodes or other manipulation you have carried out along with the logic behind these recodes. You may include frequency tables or summary graphs in this section to help you show your variables.

Findings: This is the main part of the report and must include appropriate statistical tests and charts where appropriate. Tables and results of the tests should be presented in ‘neat’ versions (using Word or Excel). They should include only the relevant rounded percentages and should be clearly labelled. This section should also include your discussion of the tables or figures, the interpretation of any statistical tests and some discussion of the results, including the limitations of the study.

Conclusion: This includes a summary of the main findings of the analysis and draws out the value and implications of the work, for both research and wider social policy.