Hypotheses points on Assignment #1

As mentioned in class today, if you had points deducted from Assignment #1 because you didn’t meet the basic scenario requirements, (you will know this from my additional note at the top of your evaluation sheet), you may earn half those points back by submitting, to my Owlbox (MIS0855.1ptopenatj1r90sy@u.box.com) the following by 7:59am Friday, September 30th, 2016:

1. Revised hypotheses clearly comparing Philadelphia to another US location (another city, state, region, or national comparison is fine, but it must be specifically stated in each hypothesis). You must also still meet requirements for testability and falsifiability.
2. Revised rationales for each new hypothesis, answering the question “Why might this condition I’m testing for be true?”
3. Two specific pieces of data you would look for to test each new hypothesis. You are not required to find a dataset containing the pieces of data you specify, but I want you to list what you would look for to support the tests.

So, for instance:

Original hypothesis: Philadelphia is a safer city. (Not testable. How do you test for “safe”, and where are you comparing it to?)

Revised hypothesis: Philadelphia had fewer incidences of robberies at gunpoint than New York City, per 1000 residents, in year 2015.

Rationale – needs to answer the question why NYC might have more robberies at gunpoint, or why Philadelphia might have fewer, thus could include rationales like: Philadelphia residents don’t stay out as late as NYC residents do, so aren’t on the streets to be robbed. OR, Philadelphia makes it harder to buy a gun than NYC. OR, Philadelphia has a better staffed police department and presence on the streets to deter robberies at gunpoint.

Two pieces of data to test the hypotheses could be:

1. Ratio of robberies at gunpoint to residents in NYC
2. Ratio of robberies at gunpoint to residents in Philadelphia

Or, you can cite the data you’d use to figure out the ratio (you’re not restricted to two pieces of data, can have more, just not less):

1. # of residents in NYC in 2015
2. # of robberies at gunpoint in NYC in 2015
3. # of residents in PHL in 2015
4. # of robberies at gunpoint in PHL in 2015

If you have further questions, do email me. If you have questions about any other part of your Assignment #1 evaluation, please email me those as well.

Professor Pote