Economic Inequalities within Racialized Groups in Canada For this research assignment, you must write a quantitative methods research proposal on how to explain economic inequalities among and within ethnic and racialized groups in Canada and help Statistics Canada improve the relevant sections of the 2016 Canadian Census of Population (National Household Survey-long form) questionnaire.
Please, submit a typed, double-spaced printed copy to me, in class, on the due date. No extensions will be granted. It must be written in essay form, not in point form. The content of your research proposal should not exceed 4 pages or 1,200 words. In addition, it should have a title page with all your student information, and a bibliography page at the end. As an Appendix, after your bibliography, you must attach the pages containing your questionnaire. Your questionnaire should not exceed 20 questions.
The main purposes of this research assignment are:
• To provide students an opportunity for self-directed learning and to help develop their research skills.
• To get students do an actual sociological research project by designing a survey questionnaire, useful in quantitative methods.
• To help students think critically about economic inequalities in Canada.
Instructions
You are hired as a Social Researcher by Statistics Canada to work on its 2016 Canadian Census of Population (National Household Survey-long form) questionnaire. The Federal Ministry of Industry is responsible for the Census. Several Federal Ministers (e.g., Justice, Labour, Aboriginal Affairs, Multiculturalism, Health, Citizenship and Immigration, etc.) are getting a lot of heat in the House of Commons from Members of the Opposition Parties during question period on two issues: a) what is the government doing about growing economic inequalities among and within ethnic and racialized groups in Canada, and b) how could the survey questions used in the 2016 Canadian Census of Population assist social researchers in actually measuring those economic inequalities.
The Federal Government must respond, so the Minister of Industry requests that Statistics Canada look into these two issues and provide convincing answers. You are, then, asked by your Supervisor at Statistics Canada to a) write a quantitative methods research proposal on how to explain economic inequalities among and within ethnic and racialized groups in Canada; b) check the 2016 Canadian Census of Population (National Household Survey-long form) questions for possible problems, and propose how to improve them so they can measure better such economic inequalities. You must get to work immediately.
Economic Inequalities within Racialized Groups in Canada Pressing Issue
This is a pressing issue.
Please, begin by examining in detail the entire 2016 Canadian Census of Population (National Household Survey-long form) questionnaire, found here:
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2016/ref/questionnaires/questions-eng.cfm
Watch a short, Broadbent Institute video on wealth inequality in Canada here:
Read an article in The Guardian about the scale of global economic inequalities, found here (also on MyLS):
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jan/16/worlds-eight-richest-people-have-same-wealth-as-poorest-50
Then, study carefully the following required readings, immediately.
S T A R T N O W:
1) Liodakis, N., “Dimensions of Ethnic Economic Inequalities.” These are PowerPoint slides, found on our MyLS course site, found under “Research Assignment.”
2) Chapter 4, entitled “Understanding Social Inequality: The Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, and Class”, in Satzewich, Vic and Nikolaos Liodakis. 2010. ‘Race’ and Ethnicity in Canada: A Critical Introduction. Second Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press. The whole book is available on MyLS in pdf format, if you are interested in reading it. It is found under “Research Assignment.” You do not have to read the whole book, but you must read Chapter 4 if you want to do well in the Assignment.
3) Read carefully Chapters 1-2, 4-6, 12-13 and 17-18 of the required text: Bryman, A. and Edward Bell. 2016. Social Research Methods. Fourth Canadian Edition. Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
After you have done all of the above, what do you report to your Supervisor at Statistics Canada? How do you propose to research the subject of economic inequalities among and within ethnic and racialized groups, and to improve the relevant 2016 Canadian Census of Population questions?
Economic Inequalities within Racialized Groups in Canada Research Proposal Questions
Your research proposal must specifically address the following questions:
1) What are your research hypotheses regarding the explanation of economic inequalities among and within ethnic and racialized groups in Canada? State them clearly.
2) What are your independent (causes) and dependent variables (effects)? Provide both nominal and operational definitions of all the variables you will be using in your research proposal and justify their measurement. State clearly your causal model (thesis).
3) Which 2016 Census questions (i.e., which specific question numbers) do you propose to use for your research, and why? Are there any problems with some of the 2016 Census questions (e.g., wording, measurement)? Which relevant questions are problematic and why (i.e., which specific question numbers and what specific problems)?
4) What questions you would like to add to the 2016 Census questions in order to study better economic inequality among and within ethnic and radicalized groups, and why?
