The National Student Research Center
E-Journal of Student Research: Social Studies
Volume 5, Number 3, July, 1997
The National Student Research Center
is dedicated to promoting student research and the use of the
scientific method in all subject areas across the curriculum,
especially science and math.
For more information contact:
- John I. Swang, Ph.D.
- Founder/Director
- National Student Research Center
- 2024 Livingston Street
- Mandeville, Louisiana 70448
- U.S.A.
- E-Mail: nsrcmms@communique.net
- http://youth.net/nsrc/nsrc.html
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Student Opinions About War
- Family Size? Which Generation
Had The Larger Family Size?
- Does Violence In The Media
Affect A Student's Behavior?
- The Effects of Technology on
Learning in the Mentally and Physically Disabled
- What Do Students Think About
Gun Control?
- Student Attitudes Towards Television
Violence
- Cheapest Gas In The Land
- A Survey Project On What Students
Know And Feel About Terrorism
TITLE: Student Opinions About War
STUDENT RESEARCHER: Teresa Kloepfer
SCHOOL: Mandeville Middle School
Mandeville, Louisiana
GRADE: 6
TEACHER: John I. Swang, Ph.D.
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
I would like to do a scientific research project on what
students think about war. My hypothesis states that the
majority of the students I interview will be against war as
being a way to solve a nation's problems.
II. METHODOLOGY:
First, I wrote my statement of purpose, review of literature,
and hypothesis. Then I wrote my methodology and developed a
questionnaire. Next, I handed 12 of them out to randomly
selected students at Mandeville Middle School. When I got the
questionnaires back I scored them. Next, I analyzed the data
by drawing and creating charts and graphs. Then I wrote my
summary and conclusion and applied my findings to the real
world. Finally, I completed my report and published my
abstract in a journal of the student research.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
I sent 12 questionnaires out and received 11 back. A majority
of 10 students did not think that war was a good way to solve a
nation's problems. Five students were undecided, 4 said no,
and 2 said yes in regards to attacking Cuba and Haiti to
restore democracy. A majority of 8 students said that there
are better ways to solve problems between nations than war.
Half the students knew that 23 major wars are happening in the
90's today. A majority of 7 knew that countries have stock
piled enough nuclear weapons today to destroy the entire world.
A majority of students did not know that Mexico, Canada, and
Switzerland do not have nuclear weapons. The majority of the
students also didn't know the following countries have or are
thought to have nuclear weapons: U.S.A., India, Ukraine, China,
France, S. Africa, Russia, N. Korea, Israel, Great Britain,
Kazakhstan, and Belarus. A majority of 8 students didn't know
that more civilians have been killed in war than soldiers. A
majority of 8 students agreed that war should be eliminated as
a way of solving problems in our world today. Eight out of 11
students said that there are no good reasons for war. Sixty-
five percent of the responses to factual questions on my
questionnaire were incorrect.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
Even though students did not know much about war, the majority
of them were against war as a way of solving a nation's
problems. Therefore, I accepted my hypothesis which stated
that the majority of students I interviewed will be against war
as a way to solve a nation's problems
V. APPLICATION:
I could send my findings to the United States Congress to tell
legislators there what M.M.S. students think about war. The
legislators should know that students do not think that war is
a good thing.
TITLE: Family Size? Which Generation Had The Larger Family
Size?
STUDENT RESEARCHERS: Mr. Carbone's Math class
SCHOOL: North Stratfield School
Fairfield, Conn.
Grade: 4
TEACHER: Mr. V. Carbone, M. Ed
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
We want to compare our family size to our parents' and
grandparents' family size. We think our parents' family size
is larger than our grandparents' and our own.
II. METHODOLOGY:
We are going to count the members of our family, our parents'
family and our grandparents' family. We defined family to mean
the following: We will count ourselves, brothers, sisters,
parents, and half brothers and half sisters.
We did not count anyone else living in the home.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
We found out that the average family size for our families was
4.1. The
average family size for our parents' family was 6.2. The
average family size for our grandparents' family was 6.3.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
We found out that our grandparents had larger families than our
parents and us. We reject our hypothesis.
V. APPLICATION TO LIFE:
Here are some reasons why our parents and grandparents had
larger families. First of all, it costs more today to have
children. Secondly, it is more expensive today to raise a
family. Finally, we do not need big families to help out with
chores on the farm .
TITLE: Does Violence In The Media Affect A Student's Behavior?
STUDENT RESEARCHER: Austin Feldbaum
SCHOOL: Mandeville Middle School
Mandeville, Louisiana
GRADE: 6
TEACHER: John I. Swang, Ph.D.
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
I wanted to know if violence on television and in the media
affects a student's behavior. I also wanted to know whether
students will be aware of that effect. There is much conflict
about violence in the media. The First Amendment protects
people's rights to free speech, but citizens continue to
complain about the amount f violence in the media. My first
hypothesis states that violence on television and in the movies
has a negative effect on a student's behavior. My second
hypothesis states that students will know that violence in the
media can affect their behavior negatively.
II. METHODOLOGY:
First, I wrote my statement of purpose. Then I reviewed the
literature on television violence. Then I developed my
hypothesis. After that I wrote a methodology for testing my
hypothesis. Then I developed a questionnaire, drew a random
sample of twelve sixth grade students at M.M.S., and delivered
the questionnaire to students at my school. I also sent my
questionnaire out on the N.S.R.C.'s electronic school district
to a non-random sample of students around the world. Next, I
scored my questionnaires when returned and analyzed my data
using simple statistics, charts, and graphs. After that I
wrote my summary and conclusion where I either accepted or
rejected my hypothesis. Finally, I applied what I found to the
world outside the class room, turned in my abstract, and
published my research in an electronic journal.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
I received a total of 168 responses to my survey from students
in grades 4 through 12. Sixty-seven of the responses came from
schools in Canada, Israel, and Finland. The other 86 responses
came from Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, California, New York,
Montana, Illinois, Minnesota, and a random sample of twelve
sixth grade students at M.M.S in Louisiana.
A majority of 90% of the students get "B's" or higher grades in
school. The students were corrected an average of three times
per day by their teachers.
A majority of 72% did not think that violence affects their
behavior. A majority of 73% thought that violence on cartoons
and other children's shows can cause younger children to behave
aggressively.
A majority of 62% watch three or less hours of TV a day. A
majority of 57% said that there is "some to a lot" of violence
on the TV shows they like to watch. A majority of 63% of the
students responding enjoyed watching violence on television and
in the movies. A majority of 79% of the students named violent
actors as their favorites. A majority of 54% thought that
violence on television should not be greatly reduced. A
majority of 87% thought that violence should not be completely
cut from the media. A majority of 78% did not think that
violence in the media is one of the country's biggest problems.
The average number of movies with violence that students saw
over the last month was four.
A majority of 65% did not think that the best way to protect
yourself from bullies is to fight. A majority of 85% did not
think that violence is an acceptable way to solve problems. A
majority of 54% percent of the students though that owning a
handgun is not a good way to protect your self these days. A
majority of 85% percent thought that war is not an acceptable
way to solve international problems.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
The majority of students were well behaved in class and made
good grades. They also say they watch and enjoy violence in
the media. They do not think that fighting, violence, war, or
owning a handgun is a good way to solve problems or protect
yourself. Therefore, I reject my first hypothesis which stated
that violence in the media would have a negative affect on a
student's behavior.
The majority of students did not think that violence on TV and
in the movies affects their behavior, but they did think that
it affected younger children's behavior, making them more
aggressive. Therefore, I reject my second hypothesis which
stated that the majority of students would think violence in
the media affected their behavior.
V. APPLICATION:
My data does not agree with other studies which say that
violence on TV does affect children's behavior. I could send
my findings to researchers to tell them what I found. I could
also send my findings to producers that make children's shows
and recommend that they reduce the amount of violence in them.
TITLE: The Effects of Technology on Learning in the Mentally
and Physically Disabled
STUDENT RESEARCHER: Barry Cecil Karrh
SCHOOL: The Mississippi School for Math & Science
P O Box W-1627
Columbus, MS 39701
GRADE: 12th
TEACHER: Dr. Lilly Carson-Doty
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTRODUCTION:
This project is related to educating the mentally and
physically disabled. The purpose of the project is to find a
better way to teach and interact with these students.
For six years, the problem of dwindling "good" education for
the mentally and physically disabled has inspired me to help
find new teaching tools that would be available to these
students at little or no cost. The main reason I am doing this
is that the state does not have enough money to purchase the
computer software needed for their education. The computer
programs which I developed are free to the school systems. I
want to demonstrate that the software is helpful and usable in
the classroom.
II. METHODOLOGY:
In a personal need to help one of my dear friends with Down's,
I started to develop interactive software based on the Dolch
Vocabulary and Core Curriculums used in his classes. In its
initial development, the programming was designed as a
communication device, but it purpose grew into a specialized
programs which would tutor students on anything from English to
math. My friend's enthusiasm for the software sparked mine and
more and more capabilities have been added since its inception.
Complying to suggestions given to me by teachers and
professionals in the field of mentally and physically disabled
education, each computer program had to fit the following
requirements of learning: 1) present a stimulus, 2) allow for a
trial response, 3) offer encouragement to try again if the
trial is wrong, and 4) reward for correct responses.
After developing the computer programs, I went to the classroom
and conducted research to demonstrate their proficiency by
actual by letting mentally and physically disabled students use
them. I recorded my observations and analyzed my data.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
In the first year of this study where students used the
computer programs, average test scores of fifty-seven percent
at the beginning of the school year increased to sixty percent
at the end of the year. In the second year, average test
scores of seventy nine percent at the beginning of the year
increased to ninety percent. In the third year of the study,
average test scores remained at ninety-seven percent.
Classroom test scores continued to increase over the entire
course of the research project, as well as conventional social
skills developed from the students having to share the
computers.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
The students greatly enjoyed using the computer programs and
continued to use them even after my testing finished for the
year. Many of students even asked to have computer programs
for use in their homes. Their principals of their schools
asked for these programs to be left in the classrooms and
welcomed further testing.
One can not just say that something works well. It must be
tested and studied for proficiency and dependability. Because
this project has spanned six years, there has been continual
testing and monitoring of the computer programs. Statistical
tests have demonstrated that average test scores of students
have increased from their original below average passage rate
to significantly higher passing scores. The long and tedious
tests along with the continued supervision of teachers and
over-seers have not just stated, but emphatically "shouted,"
the praises of these programs to the school board and other
teachers, proving the benefits of this new way of teaching
mentally disabled students.
V. APPLICATION:
The applications for these computer programs could go beyond
the classroom to situations of rehabilitation for the mentally
and physically disabled. They could also be use for
communication with the deaf or mute. They could be used in
nursing homes or private residence as well. Research and
development projects of this nature rarely give rewards of high
status or prestige, but seeing the students learn and interact
with their new tutor, my computer program, is reward in full.
TITLE: What Do Students Think About Gun Control?
STUDENT RESEARCHER: Austin Feldbaum
SCHOOL: Mandeville Middle School
Mandeville, Louisiana
GRADE: 6
TEACHER: John I. Swang, Ph.D.
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
I wanted to know more about what students think of gun control.
Gun control is a big issue in America today. Seven out of
eight U.S. citizens are for stronger gun control laws. Yet
over the years the public's opinion has had little effect on
Congress. My hypothesis states that the majority of students I
survey will be for stricter gun control laws.
II. METHODOLOGY:
First, I wrote my statement of purpose. Then I did my review
of literature and developed my hypothesis. Next, I developed
my questionnaire, drew a random sample of twelve sixth grade
students at M.M.S. and administered my survey to them. I also
sent my questionnaire out over the N.S.R.C.'s electronic school
district to a non-random sample of students from all over the
world. Then I scored my questionnaires when returned, recorded
my data on a data collection sheet, and analyzed my data with
simple charts and graphs. Then I wrote my summary and
conclusion. Next, I applied what I found to the world outside
my classroom. Finally, I wrote an abstract of my research and
published it in a journal of student research.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
I received a total of 878 responses to my survey from students
in grades 4 through 12. Two were from Israel and Canada. The
others came from schools in Wisconsin, Louisiana, South
Carolina, Illinois, Texas, California, Washington, Alabama,
Arizona, Utah, and New York.
A majority of 72% thought that citizens should be allowed to
own guns in their homes. A majority of 64% agreed with
Congress' decision to ban assault rifles. A majority of 80%
agreed with a seven day wait before the sale of a handgun. A
majority of 58% did not think that Congress should ban rifle
clips with over five bullets. A majority of 73% thought that
gun control is one of the country's biggest problems. A
majority of 87% did not think that Congress should ban all
firearms. A majority of 78% thought that there should be
mandatory jail sentences for all crimes involving the use of
handguns. A majority of 85% thought that there should be
longer jail sentences for second-time gun offenders. A
majority of 58% did not keep a hand gun in their home. A
majority of 74% thought that the national government and the
state governments should write and passed gun control laws.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
The majority of the students surveyed believe that citizens
should be allowed to have guns in their homes, but they
themselves did not have guns in their homes. The majority of
students think that gun control is one of our country's main
problems. In general, they think that there should be stricter
gun control laws written by the federal or state governments.
Therefore, I accept my hypothesis which stated that the
majority of the students would be for stricter gun control
laws.
V. APPLICATION:
I will send what I found to the U.S. Congress and state
governments to tell legislators there what sixth grade students
at M.M.S. and around the country think about gun control. It
could be of help to them as they debate this problem and try to
solve it.
TITLE: Student Attitudes Towards Television Violence
STUDENT RESEARCHERS: Michael Placito, Meredith Reiley, Mike
Panteleo
SCHOOL: Mandeville Middle School
Mandeville, Louisiana
GRADE: 6
TEACHER: John I. Swang, Ph.D.
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
We want to do a survey research project on how students feel
about television violence. Our hypothesis states that the
majority of the students who respond to our questionnaire will
not know that children's programming has twenty-eight more
violent acts per hour than prime time.
II. METHODOLOGY:
First, we wrote our statement of purpose and reviewed our
literature on television violence. Second, we developed a
questionnaire. We then drew random samples of the 6th grade
students and administered our questionnaire to them. We also
sent the questionnaire out onto the National Student Research
Center's electronic school district. Once we received the
answered questionnaires, we scored them. Then we analyzed our
data, wrote our summary and conclusions where we accepted or
rejected our hypothesis, then we applied our findings to
everyday life.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
In total, we received 141 responses to our questionnaire. We
received 39 responses from Mandeville Middle School in
Mandeville, Louisiana, one from Hawaii, one from Ontario,
Canada, two from Utah, 19 from Michigan, 22 from British
Columbia, Canada, 25 from Missouri, and 32 from California.
According to our data, a majority of 60% of the students
surveyed did not think that there is too much violence on
television, yet a majority of 53% of the students thought that
television creates a violent image of the world.
A majority of sixty-eight percent of the students surveyed say
that television does not have a bad influence on them and other
students in their schools. Although a majority 63% of the
students felt that violent television make other people more
aggressive.
A majority of sixty-one percent of the students surveyed
incorrectly said that Saturday morning cartoons for children
are not violent. A majority of seventy-eight percent
incorrectly thought that children's TV programming is not as
violent as prime time. A majority of fifty-five percent did
not know that there are about 28 more violent acts per hour in
children's programming than in prime time TV. A majority of
78% of the students incorrectly thought that children's TV
programming is not as violent as prime time TV. A majority of
seventy percent of the students did not know that children's TV
programming is the most violent broadcasts on television.
A majority of 69% agree that TV violence influences how young
children behave. A majority of eighty-three percent think that
small children cannot tell the difference between TV fantasy
and reality.
A majority of eighty-four percent of the students surveyed knew
that the V-chip is an electrical component that allows parents
to block-out violent television shows. A large majority of 85%
of the students had noticed parental advisories before
excessively violent television shows. A majority of eighty
percent of the students think that the parental advisories are
good ideas.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
Students think that there isn't too much violence on
television. They think that violent television makes people
more aggressive. They incorrectly believe that children's TV
programming is not as violent as prime time TV. The students
think that small children can not tell the difference between
TV fantasy and reality, therefore they are negatively
influenced by violent television. They believe that warning
labels are good ideas. Since 55% of the students did not know
that there are about 28 more violent acts per hour in
children's TV programming than in prime time TV, we accept our
hypothesis.
V. APPLICATION:
We have learned that students deny that there is a significant
amount of violence on television. Teachers need to make their
students more aware of the violence on television and its
effect upon them. From what we've learned, students approve of
parental advisories, but are ignorant of the fact that there is
a large amount violence on children's television programming.
Perhaps students would approve of parental advisories before
children's cartoons and TV shows.
Title: Cheapest Gas In The Land
Student Researchers: Mr. Carbone's Math Class
School: North Stratfield School
Fairfield, Connecticut
Grade: 4
Teacher: Mr. V. Carbone
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
We want to find out which state sells the cheapest gas. Our
hypothesis states that Georgia sells the cheapest gas.
II. METHODOLOGY:
We will ask other schools to join us in this project. They
will provide information from their state on gas prices. We
will get the following information: regular, unleaded, and
super. If we are provided with more than one set of prices
from one town, we will use the cheapest set for our data.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
Town, State Regular Unleaded Super
Prescott, Arizona $1.10 $1.12 $1.19
N. Hampton, Mass. $1.13 $1.29 $1.39
Georgetown, Kentucky $ .99 $1.01 $1.05
Huntsville, Texas $1.19 $1.23 $1.32
West Palm Beach, FL. $1.19 $1.29 $1.37
Mandeville, LA. $1.09 $1.19 $1.30
Mansville, Mass. $---- $1.29 $1.41
Georgia $1.09 $---- $----
Salisbury, MD $1.15 $---- $----
Waco, Texas $1.02 $1.12 $1.19
Luling, LA $ .99 $1.08 $1.18
Fairfield, CT $1.29 $1.39 $1.49
Salt Lake City Utah $1.03 $1.11 $1.13
Miami, FL $1.19 $---- $1.28
Ludlow, Vermont $---- $1.12 $1.29
Ocean City, Maryland $1.07 $1.17 $1.29
West Dover, Vermont $1.09 $1.15 $1.23
Yonkers, New York $1.29 $---- $1.47
Greensfield, Mass. $1.23 $1.33 $1.42
Willington, Vermont $1.06 $1.10 $1.17
Atlanta, Georgia $ .95 $1.09 $1.19
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
We accept our hypothesis for regular gas. Georgia had the
least expensive gas for regular unleaded at $ .95. We reject
our hypothesis for midgrade unleaded and super unleaded.
Kentucky had the cheapest gas prices in these areas at $1.01
midgrade unleaded and $1.05 for super.
V. APPLICATION TO LIFE:
1) If you were going on a trip, you might want this information
for your expenses. 2) Other gas stations might want to know
these prices so they are not too expensive. 3) If you were
driving from one state to another on a trip, you might want to
wait and fill up in the other state if the gas prices there are
less expensive. 4) If you were moving to another state, you
might want to know the price of gas in that state.
TITLE: A Survey Project On What Students Know And Feel About
Terrorism
STUDENT RESEARCHERS: Graham Rees, Krysta Ferguson, Kyle
Driscoll, and Paul Dearing
SCHOOL: Mandeville Middle School
Mandeville, Louisiana
GRADE: 6
TEACHER: John I. Swang, Ph.D.
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
We would like to do a survey research project on what students
think and know about terrorism. We want to know how safe they
feel in their home towns. Our hypothesis states that the
majority of students surveyed will feel safe from an act of
terrorism.
II. METHODOLOGY:
First, we wrote our statement of purpose. Second, we reviewed
the literature on terrorism, developed our hypothesis, and
wrote our methodology. Third, we developed a questionnaire,
drew a random sample of sixth grade students at Mandeville
Middle School, and administered the questionnaires to them.
Also, we sent the questionnaire out on the NSRC's Electronic
School District on the Internet to students around the world.
Fourth, we scored the questionnaires when they were returned,
analyzed the data, and wrote our summary and conclusion where
we rejected or accepted our hypothesis. Then we applied our
findings to the world outside the classroom.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
We received a total of 44 e-mail responses to our
questionnaire. We received 15 responses from Canada, 1
response from Iowa, 26 responses from California, and 2
responses from Utah. We received a total of 50 responses from
6th grade students at Mandeville Middle School in Mandeville,
Louisiana. We received a total of 94 responses to our
questionnaire.
A majority of 79% of the students who responded to our
questionnaire said that they were knowledgeable about
terrorism. Seventy-three percent said that they knew how to
protect themselves from terrorist acts. Seventy-nine percent
never witnessed a terrorist act in the area they live in.
Fifty-nine percent felt safe from terrorist acts. A majority
of the students knew that hijacking, political assassinations,
the taking of hostages, bombings, kidnapping, and setting fires
are examples of terrorism. Eighty-two percent did not know
that the first known terrorist acts occurred in Spain and
Italy. Fifty-nine percent did not know that Encarta '95
reported that between one thousand and one million people have
died from terrorist acts in the last three hundred years.
Seventy-nine percent agreed that terrorism is a major problem
in America. A small majority of 51% agreed that terrorism is a
solvable problem. Fifty-five percent did not know that it is
estimated that there are approximately 550 terrorist groups
around the world. A majority of 92% knew that the Oklahoma
City bombing in the USA was an act of terrorism. A small
majority of 53% did not think that world governments are doing
a good job of stopping terrorism.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
We found out that a majority of the students were somewhat
knowledgeable about terrorism and said they knew how to protect
themselves from terrorist attacks. They never witnessed a
terrorist act in the area they live in, but thought terrorism
was a major problem. They thought that terrorism is a solvable
problem which world governments are not adequately addressing.
They also felt safe from terrorist acts. Therefore, we accept
our hypothesis which stated that the majority of students will
feel safe from an act of terrorism.
V. APPLICATION:
Most students felt safe from terrorist acts, said they knew how
to protect themselves from terrorist acts, and said they were
knowledgeable about terrorism. However, 50% of the responses
to our factual questions on our questionnaire were incorrect.
Therefore we can apply our findings by telling teachers to
educate their students more about terrorism. They do not know
as much about terrorism as they think they do. We can also
send letters to world governments and tell them to put more
time, money, effort, and thought into stopping terrorism.
© 1997 John I. Swang, Ph.D.