CJ Data Analysis

Spring 2017
Assignment 3 Neighborhood Characteristics & Crime
Due Tuesday November 28th at 9:30am via Blackboard and
as a hard copy in class
You have been asked to conduct research on the relationship between neighborhood
characteristics and crime using the Boston Census Tract Dataset, available in the Lab 10 folder. For
this assignment you will do the following:

Preliminary Work: Examine the codebook so you know what each variable in the dataset means
and how it is operationalized
1. There are only two variables in the data set which measure crime which will be your dependent
variable (the DV). Select VIOLRATE OR PROPRATE.
a. Do NOT use RATEVA or RATEPA for this assignment for any of the variables because we
used these in our Labs for practice. You will lose points if you use these variables.
2. From the other variables in the data set, you will select one independent variable (IV) for your
hypothesis and two control variables (CV) (rival causal factors that also may explain crime). (Note: You
cannot use the other DV option nor can you use RATEVA or RATEPA you will lose points if you use
these variables)
3. Develop a hypothesis that examines the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and crime.
The format is as follows: As the independent variable (IV) increases, the dependent variable (DV) will
increase/decrease (pick 1), while controlling for the control variables (CVs). Fill in the IV, DV, and CVs
with something that seems plausible to you or guided by criminological theory such as social
disorganization theory.
a. The IV & DV must be significantly correlated. There are no requirements for the two CVs.
Make sure that you have run a correlation matrix to make sure that your main IV and DV
are significantly correlated for this Assignment. You will lose points if they do not
significantly correlate.
4. You cannot use the same three variables from any lecture examples or labs. Additionally, you cannot
use the tract variable as this only identifies what census tract the neighborhood represents.

Analysis:
Lab 10 demonstrates correlation/simple regression
Lab 11 demonstrates multiple regression and its related features.

1. Prepare basic descriptive statistics of the variables in your analysis: number of cases, the
minimum/maximum values, mean, and standard deviation.
2. You will evaluate how your hypotheses meet the criteria for causal inference:
a. Systematic relationship (correlation) between the IVs and DV
i. To do this, you will use the correlation matrix to examine the relationship between your
IVs and DV.
b. Time order
i. The IV/CVs precedes the DV in time
ii. To determine this, look in the codebook to see when the data were collected. If they
were collected in the same year, then causal ordering is a problem and limits what you
can conclude from the analysis.
 c. Spuriousness
i. To do this, you will add two control variables to your analysis using multiple regression.
So in this analysis you will have 1 IV, 2 CV, and 1 DV. One (of several) questions to
consider when addressing spuriousness is: would my conclusion have been the same
without including the control variable in the model?
Report:
For Assignment 3 you will be required to provide a brief write up of your analysis and the results. You will
need to write a 5-6 page, double-spaced paper.

Remember this is a paper. Therefore, it is paramount that your paper flows and makes sense. It should not
have bullets with a couple of sentences. You will need to make sure that you include your 3 tables
(descriptives, correlation matrix, and the final regression model) from your SPSS output in
academic format (see Lab 9). If you do not include your tables in the write up, you will lose points on
your third assignment. This paper should read just like your first two assignments (i.e., introduction, body
of your paper, conclusion, etc.).

Once again you should imagine that your reader has no background knowledge of these statistical
measures, so you want to make sure that you explain everything (e.g., what each element used to
demonstrate causality means and whether or not your variables fulfill them, what the results of each table
mean and why you ran these tests, etc.).

See the codebook on Blackboard.

Timeline:
Assignment 3 is due Tuesday November 28th at 9:30am . You must upload the
paper via Blackboard and bring a hard copy to class. You may turn in the paper late, but it is subject to the
late policy outlined in the syllabus (e.g. loss of 5 points per day late).