Discussion

Module 5: Discussion Forum
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Research studies have found that race is a consistent predictor of attitudes toward the police. Some researchers suggest that people’s experience during police stops can be an important reason for their attitudes toward police. Questions have been raised about bias in the decision to initiate a stop and in other aspects of the traffic stop: the length of the stop and the decision to cite, search, or use force.

This discussion provides an opportunity for you to explore, with the data set 32022 PoliceContactSurvey.sav, whether the experience with police during a traffic stop differs significantly between white and black respondents by using the methods you’ve learned in Module 5. Race will be treated as the independent variable in this exercise.

First, examine the measurement (categories) of racein the data file.
Second, examine the meaning and measurement of the following variables: Search, Respect, Proper.
Select two dependent variables and perform crosstabs; select statistics including Chi-Square (Links to an external site.), Lambda, and Cramer’s V for analysis.
Before performing statistics, you need to take the following steps to ensure that this analysis will only include the information of the respondents who clearly identified themselves as black or white.
In the editing bar, click “Data”.
In the dropdown box, select “Select Cases,” toward the bottom of the box.
In the box of Select Cases, check “If condition is satisfied” and check the choice “if”.
In the “if” box, type “Race=1 or Race=2,” click “Continue”.
Click “OK”.

With this procedure, you tell SPSS that your following analysis will only include the cases in which the respondent clearly identified him/herself as white (1) or black (2).
In your initial post, 1) state your hypotheses and null hypotheses, 2) state the meaning of each dependent variable you select, and 3) state the findings with the properly numbered tables and conclusions in reference to the null hypotheses.
Note: The expected counts in each cell must be 5 or greater. If this rule is violated in a table, you should consider changing the dependent variable and try another instead.

Be sure to support your statements with logic and argument, citing any sources referenced.