Homework Question on Economic Growth in the USA
- Identify a research question from your professional life or research interests that could be addressed with multiple regression with two predictor variables.
- Describe the predictor variables ( X1, X2), the outcome variable ( Y), and the associated measurement scales. Articulate the expected outcome.
- Indicate why multiple regression would be an appropriate analysis for this research question.
Homework Answer on Economic Growth in the USA
The preferred research question for this paper would relate to the economic growth in the USA. It would be does the availability of electricity and good road network affect economic growth in the USA. This research question would have the availability of electricity in the USA as the first predictor variable (X1), and then it would have the availability of good road network as the second predictor variable (X2). On the other hand, it would have the American economic growth as the outcome variable (Y).
In this case, the American economic growth would be the outcome variable because it would depend on the availability of electricity and good road network (Fain, 2013). In other words, the economic growth is the dependent variable while the availability of electricity and good road network are the independent variables for this research question. This means that the two independent variables, namely, the electricity and the road network do not depend on the economic growth, but the economic growth depends on the two independent variables.
The associated measurement scale for the three variables would be the ratio level. This measurement scale would tell us the order, the absolute zero, and the exact value between units of the variables. It would also provide anything that one would require about the variables (Kothari, 2005). On the other hand, the expected outcome for this research question would be that the availability of electricity and good road networks in the USA would enhance economic growth. Conversely, the unavailability of electricity and bad road network in the USA would hamper economic growth in the USA.