Project 4 Research Report

Project #4 P a g e | 1 Running Head: Research Report: Classification of College Students

Research Report: Classification of College Students and the Correlation between their Classification, Gender, and How Much They Miss Class Jazmine Norwood March 25, 2009 Ms. McArthur Tuskegee University

Project #4 P a g e | 2

1. Hypothesis Depending on the classification of a college student causes change in how much the student misses class due to drinking alcohol. The independent variable in this study is the classification of the students and the dependent variable is the occurrence of missing class because of drinking alcohol. The values of the independent variables are: 1-Freshman, 2- Sophomore, 3- Junior, 4Senior, 5- Fifth year; the values of the dependent variable are: 1- not at all, 2- once, 3- two times or more. As a student progresses the percentage in not missing class at all rises. The control variable of this study is the race of the college students and the values are: 1White and2- Asian. Depending on the classification and the race of a college student causes change in how much the student misses class due to drinking alcohol. I believe that Whites will have a higher percentage of missing class than Asians. Asians have a higher percent in not missing class at all in their freshman year but as the student progresses in school the percentage in missing class does increase. White respondents attending class increases as they progress as they continue in school. 2. Rationale Upon viewing the results of the research it would appear that as students continue through college they miss class less. It would be expected that students as freshman may not miss so much class because it is their first year and for some because so much responsibility is placed upon them by family to do well. Incoming freshman may also not be familiar with drinking as much as a sophomore or junior might be. As a student matriculates through school either the student becomes more serious about their schooling or the student is able to handle drinking

Project #4 P a g e | 3

alcohol and attending class the next morning. Perhaps students in their fifth year realize how serious school actually is and will miss class less during this year. When looking at the differences once the control variable is added Whites missed class as a freshman and as they progressed through school the results show that seniors were less likely to miss class. In the junior year of White students missing class it looks as though students were at a plateau when missing class. In the senior year white students missing class lowered but percentages were still high. There were not many Asian respondents but for those who did participate rarely missed class and not many missed class more than two times. Asians in any classification had a higher percent of not missing class at all and this is probably due to the fact that they are from a different culture and their dedication to finishing schools may be higher than the dedication of whites. 3. Results Table 1 Number of Times a Student Misses a Class due to a Drinking Problem by Class Year in School ________________________________________________________________________________ Respondents Classification Junior

Senior

5th Year

Totals

72.4

78.9

73.4

76.1

74.3

12.8

11.8

10.0

14.8

16.2

12.7

2x’s or more

16.9

15.8

11.1

11.8

7.7

13.0

Totals

100

100

100

100

100

100

(N)

(20)

(20)

(25)

(24)

(11)

(100)

Miss Class

Freshman

Not at all

70.3

Once

Sophomore

Project #4 P a g e | 4 Table 2 Number of Times a Student Misses a Class due to a Drinking Problem by Class Year in School and Race of Respondents _____________________________________________________________________________________ Respondents Classification Miss Class Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior 5th Year Totals _____________________________________________________________________________________ White Respondents Not at all

68.0

69.4

77.1

71.2

72.9

71.8

Once

13.8

13.7

10.8

17.0

18.8

14.3

2x’s or more

18.2

16.9

12.1

11.8

8.3

13.8

Totals

100

100

100

100

100

100

(N)

(20)

(20)

(25)

(25)

(10)

(100)

Asian Respondents Not at all

87.5

91.7

75.0

82.4

75.0

82.5

Once

12.5

0

16.7

0

12.5

7.0

2x’s or more

0

8.3

8.3

17.6

12.5

10.5

Totals

100`

100

100

100

100

100

(N)

(14)

(21)

(21)

(30)

(14)

(100)

4. Discussion On a bivariate level, the percentage of a student not missing class started to increase as they continued through school. When looking at the students who missed class once throughout the year, the results showed that junior year was when more students missed class. Students missed class twice or more less in their senior year than in their freshman year. Overall it was average for students in any classification to have missed class at least once. When looking at individuals and their classification in missing class twice

Project #4 P a g e | 5 or more in a year due to a drinking problem, freshman had a higher percentage. Although only a few fifth year students participated, almost 100% of them missed class twice or more. When adding in the control variable, different results were present. In this study the control variable was race and the two races this research report looks at were whites and Asians. In viewing white respondents, as students made it to their senior or fifth year, the percentages of them missing class increased. Comparing freshman year to junior year they percentage of juniors not missing class was the highest. It looks as though junior year was the peak at where students began to be more serious because for some, graduation was near. The maximum peak was 77.1% in the junior year and the lowest percentage was 68.0%; all of the students for not missing class came within this range. When looking at Asian respondents there were not many participants. Of the few students that did not participate majority of them in each classification did not miss class. The percentages were much higher with the highest being 91.7% and the lowest being 75.0%, students rarely missed class. The percentages were especially low for Asian students to miss class more than twice. The same results were shown for Asian respondents to miss class once. These results may be due to the fact that many Asians come to America for a better education which may be the reason why missing class would be out of the question. Also White counterparts may take drinking as recreational and may drink more which would cause them to become distracted; this may be the reason White individuals’ percentages were so high for missing more classes throughout their college career.