This Lab Project is based on a US Santa Barabara Website, Parental Investment and Child Health Link to the Website.

1. Link first on Health Study (even if it's grayed out). What part does theory play in variable labeling? Explain.

2. Then link on Nutrition. Interpret the graph shown. (Review interpretatiion: Interpreting Tables and Graphs and Guided Interpretation) Is there an underlying mathematical assumption that caused the researchers to report on the Yanomami individually? Explain.

3. Then link on Orphans. Interpret the graph shown. If you were giving grades to the interpretations, what grade would you give to the interpretation of the Mother Status graph? Explain. Consider the accuracy with which the interpretation provides the same information verbally that the graph provides visually. Compare your answer to that in Question 3 on Mother Status. I would have given a C to the interpretation on orphans, and a D to the interpretation on Mother Status. Can you rewrite them to raise the grades?

4. Then link on Mother Status. How was Mother Status measured? Nominal, ordinal, or interval? The third bar is much larger than the other two. What Mother Status does the third bar represent? If you were giving grades to the interpretations, what grade would you give to the interpretation of the Mother Status graph? Explain. Consider the accuracy with which the interpretation provides the same information verbally that the graph provides visually.

5. Then link on Development. The interpretation for this graph says that the relatively poor development of some children could be "a consequence of the reduced investment from adults that is presumed to lead to high degrees of infection, or it could be the result of reduced physical activity due to the numerous sores on their feet." Consider this explanation from the perspective of spurious relationships. Do you think there could be a problem here? What if your primary concern was comparing indigenous families to tribal families on the "blaming" of "bad" mothers for inadequate care and attention to children? Would your theoretical focus affect your interpretation?

   Does this graph suggest that Yanomami adolescents have similar skin concerns to adolescents generally? Explain.

6. Then link on Siblings. Interpret the graph. From looking at the graph can you tell whether the data were nominal, ordinal, or interval? Why were some variables held constant? Explain what that means. Explain how the fact that that is missing from the interpretation would affect the grade for that interpretation.

7. Then link on Multivariate Model. What does the interpretation say in plain English? What's R square? Why would we want to compare two models? Would this interpretation be given an A? Explain.

8. General Question: What's the sample size? How did you get that answer? What is the significance of the sample size?

---

---

Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata, October 2000. "Fair Use" encouraged.

---

---