Results of a Research Study
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The purpose of this study was to examine the trends in public opinion toward the issue of the legalization of the use of marijuana. As a part of this study, four hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis number one considered the change in overall public opinion on the issue between 1973 and 1987. Hypotheses number two through four were twopart tests. Hypothesis two compared the opinions of females and males on the issue in both 1973 and 1987, while hypothesis number three compared the opinions of whites and non whites on the issue in both 1973 and 1987, and hypothesis number four compared the opinions of persons 30 years old and older with the opinions of persons under the age of 30 years old for both 1973 and 1987.The hypothesis test for the equality of two population proportions was applied in the testing of the four hypotheses. The equality of proportions test requires that each sample being tested include at least 100 subjects or items, and that each proportion should include at least 50 subjects or items. The criterion for the rejection of the null was p<.05, which, in the difference of proportions test, means that z observed must be either less than 1.96 or more than +1.96 before the null may be rejected. The data upon which the testing of the hypotheses were based were extracted from the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1987, pp. 196197). With respect to opinions
. . .
.05, the results of the difference of proportions test failed to provide a basis for the rejection of the null. Thus, by inference, hypothesis number three, as it applied to the 1973 survey, is rejected.
The proportion of the white population opposing the legalization of the use of marijuana in 1973 (80 percent) was almost identical to the proportion of non whites opposing legalization (79 percent). This difference did not provide a reasonable basis for an assumption that the difference in opposition was significant. The difference of proportions test confirmed the absence of any support in the quantitative analysis for such an assumption.
The second part of the hypothesis was stated as follows: It is hypothesized that the proportion of white respondents opposed to the legalization of marijuana was greater that the proportion of non white respondents to legalization in the 1987 survey. The difference in proportions test applied to the appropriate data solved the following equation:
z = square root [(1183/1466)(283/1466)(1/1220+1/246).
The observed z statistic was 0.027585. The associated P value for this z statistic is .5110. Consistent with the region of statistical significance for p<.05, the results of the difference
. . .
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Approximate Word count = 4464
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)
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