Problemset 1: Bias in Self-reported TurnoutProblemset 1: Bias in Self-reported TurnoutSurveys are frequently used to measure political behavior such as voter turnout, but some researchers...

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Problemset 1: Bias in Self-reported Turnout Problemset 1: Bias in Self-reported Turnout Surveys are frequently used to measure political behavior such as voter turnout, but some researchers are concerned about the accuracy of self-reports. In particular, they worry about possible social desirability bias where in post-election surveys, respondents who did not vote in an election lie about not having voted because they may feel that they should have voted. Is such a bias present in the American National Election Studies (ANES)? The ANES is a nation-wide survey that has been conducted for every election since 1948. The ANES conducts face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of adults. The table below displays the names and descriptions of variables in the turnout.csv data file. This data file contains data that allows us to compare ANES estimates of predicted voter turnout rates with the actual voter turnout rates for a given election. Skills used: Installing and loading packages Loading data into R and saving it as a dataframe Viewing dataframe dimensions Saving and naming objects in R Using indexing to subset a dataframe Making new variables in R and adding them to a dataframe Basic numeric functions in R including addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and the calculation of variable means. Saving a dataframe object as a csv file Name Description year Election year VEP Voting Eligible Population (in thousands) VAP Voting Age Population (in thousands) total Total ballots cast for highest office (in thousands) ANES Estimated voter turnout rate felons Total ineligible felons (in thousands) noncitizens Total non-citizens (in thousands) overseas Total eligible overseas voters (in thousands) osvoters Total ballots counted by overseas voters (in thousands) We will also make use of data files pres_turnout.csv, mid_turnout.csv, earlier_turnout.csv, and later_turnout.csv. Question 1 A. Load the data from turnout.csv into R. Save it in a dataframe object named “turnout” B.Examine the data: Using the functions View () and nrow() + ncol()‘, list: 1. The range of years covered by the data 2. The number of observations 3. The number of variables C. Create a dataframe object named turnout_subset that only includes the 5th-10th observations, and the 3 and 4th variables. 1 Question 2 A. Create a new variable that is the percentage of total voter turnout rate as a percentage of the total voting age population (VAP). Add it to the data as a new variable named “VAPtr”. Note that for this data set, we must add the total number of eligible overseas voters to the VAP in the denominator since the VAP variable does not include these individuals in the count. Hint When crafting your new variable, remember that turnout rates are percentages: The number of those that did vote divided by those that could have voted (the VAP + overseas voters) times 100. B. Next, calculate the turnout rate using the voting eligible population (VEP) variable and add it to the data as a new variable named ‘VEPtr’. Note that unlike the VAP, the VEP does include overseas eligible voters. What difference do you observe between the turnout rates? Hint See hint on calculating percentages above. Question 3 A. Create a new variable called “diffVAP” that is the difference between the VAP estimated turnout and ANES estimatesd of turnout. How big is the difference on average? Hint on average = a mean. B. Do the same for the VEP and ANES estimates of voter turnout. Name this variable “diffVEP.” Briefly comment on the results. What do you notice about diffVEP vs diffVAP? What does it mean in substantive terms? Question 4 Presidential elections and midterm elections occur every four years, staggered by two years with respect to each other. Let’s investigate differences in midterm and presidential elections. A. Load the data into R from pres_turnout.csv and mid_turnout.csv, naming the dataframe objects “pres_turnout” and “mid_turnout” respectively. B. Create a new variable called “VEPtr” that is the turnout rate (the total turnout divided by the VEP). Calculate the mean VEP turnout rate (VEPtr) with the ANES turnout rate for presidential elections (ANES). Hint: Rate = a percent. C. Repeat the process with the midterm elections data (mid_turnout) D. What is the average difference between VETtr and ANES in midterm elections? What about the average difference between VETtr and ANES in presidential elections? What do you notice? Question 5 A. Load data from earlier_turnout.csv and later_turnout.csv so as to separately examine the first and second halves of the year range of the original turnout.csv dataset. Save them in your working environment as dataframe objects named “earlier_turnout” and “later_turnout” respectively. B. Create a new variable named VEPtr that is the turnout rate (%) using the VEP as the denominator. Then, using this and the ANES variable (ANES estimated turnout rate), calculate the mean difference between the VEP turnout rate (VEPtr) and the ANES turnout rate (ANES) for the “earlier_turnout” dataset. C. Repeat the above step, but for the later_turnout dataset. D. Based on your findings in B and C, do you think the ANES has become less accurate/more biased over time? 2 Question 6 Export the turnout dataframe object you have added your VAP and VEP turnout rate variables to, and save it as a CSV named “modified_turnout_df.csv.” Show the code you used to export the dataframe as a CSV file and attach the modified dataframe to your homework submission. Bonus question ( extra credit) The ANES does not interview overseas voters and prisoners. Calculate an adjustment to the VAP turnout rate. Begin by subtracting the total number of ineligible felons and non-citizens from the VAP to calculate an adjusted VAP. Next, calculate an adjusted VAP turnout rate, taking care to subtract the number of overseas ballots counted from the total ballots. Compare the mean adjusted VAP, mean unadjusted VAP, and mean VEP to the ANES turnout rate. Briefly discuss the results. 3 Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Bonus question ( extra credit)
Feb 08, 2023
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