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Pages:
4 pages/≈1100 words
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2 Sources
Style:
APA
Subject:
Mathematics & Economics
Type:
Research Paper
Language:
English (U.S.)
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MS Word
Date:
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$ 20.74
Topic:

Empirical Project Proposal: Association Between Regular Exercise and Mental Well-Being in Adults

Research Paper Instructions:

The empirical project proposal is meant to help you synthesize what you have learned in class into a proposal for a potential research project. You are not actually going to undertake this project (though with the right question it could make a great prospectus for a senior thesis!). Be creative with your question. You may not use questions we have talked about extensively in class – for example, you may not propose to look at the impact of education or gender on wages, or the impact of infant mortality on international aid, or the impact of smoking on baby birth weight. Have fun with this! I expect the length will be 2-4 pages, 12 pt font, double spaced but shorter or longer proposals may be appropriate depending on your question.
It should be written up like a short paper – that is use full sentences and write in paragraphs.
Your empirical project proposal should be type-written. Please upload either a .pdf or .doc(x) file. NO .pages, no google docs links. Your write-up should include the following parts which cover the following topics:
1.Research question
Clear statement of a research question that estimates an association between two variables of interest (that can be measured!). Why is this question important and/or interesting?
What is your dependent variable? What is your main independent variable of interest? What is your null and alternative hypothesis? What is the ideal experiment that would help you answer this research question causally?
2. Potential omitted variables
Given that you cannot or will not be able to run this experiment, if you had observational data instead, what potential omitted variables might there be that could bias your estimate of the association between a change in the independent variable and a change in the dependent variable? Name at least one, if not more, potential omitted variables. Are these omitted variables potentially measurable? (i.e. IQ and height are measurable; work ethic may be harder to measure and you would have to describe how you can try)
3. Potential sources of data
Given that you cannot or will not be able to run this experiment, what is the ideal observational data you would want to find to answer your question? Can you find actual data that includes both your independent variable and dependent variable, as well as at least one omitted variable, that you could use to answer this question?
If so: describe it – What is the name of the dataset? Who collects it? how many people are in this dataset? Is the sample random? Who are they (i.e. a random sample of college students? US households? Likely voters?). You do not need to actually be able to access the data
Here are some places to look for sources of data:
http://libguides(dot)rutgers(dot)edu/c.php?g=336594&p=2271107Links to an external site.
https://libguides(dot)lehman(dot)edu/c.php?g=510692&p=3843949Links to an external site.
https://libguides(dot)bentley(dot)edu/dataLinks to an external site.
If not: describe how you would undertake the ideal survey or data collection to answer your question of interest.
4.Estimating Equations
Write the equation for the main (univariate) regression you would estimate (use insert->equation in Microsoft Word or google docs). Why did you choose that particular equation - Is the main relationship you want to estimate linear or non-linear? Why or why not? How would you interpret the estimate coefficient on your main independent variable of interest? (that, again, you aren’t actually estimating so you can use as a stand-in for the actual estimate).
Given the potential OVB bias, write an equation that includes at least one of your easily measurable omitted variables. Now how would you interpret your estimated coefficient on the main independent variable (that, again, you aren’t actually estimating so you can use as a stand-in for the actual estimate). Are there still potential omitted variables that are hard to measure and thus will cause remaining OVB?
5. Dealing with remaining OVB? YOU MAY SKIP THIS SECTION. WE WILL NOT REALLY HAVE GOTTEN FAR ENOUGH FOR YOU TO DO THIS SUCCESSFULLY BY THE TIME YOU TURN THIS IN. OF COURSE IF YOU HAVE IDEAS WRITE THEM DOWN BUT NO PENALTY FOR NOT DOING THIS SECTION.(You may skip Part 5 on other ways of dealing with selection/OVB)
Are there any potential techniques you could use to deal with remaining OVB or other threats to identification? What are they? How might you implement them? If not, why do some of the techniques we have learned in class not apply in your case?
Examples
Here are two proposals from previous students who did well. NOTE THAT NEITHER IS PERFECT, but they serve as a decent guide for the type of things I am looking for. You may not use either of these questions for your report.

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:

Empirical Research Project
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Course Name and Number:
Instructor’s Name:
Due:
Part 1
Is there a significant association between regular exercise and mental well-being in adults?
The question is important because of the high prevalence of mental health issues in society. According to Jorm, Patten, Brugha, and Mojtabai (2017), there has been an increase in mental disorders across various groups of people in the United States and other western nations. Consequently, there has been a high investment in healthcare to help the affected individuals. Regular exercise has been associated with improvements in mental well-being (Mikkelsen et al., 2017). A better understanding of the relationship between exercise and mental health can help to inform public health policies and interventions aimed at improving mental health outcomes.
Based on the research question, the dependent variable is mental well-being, which can be measured using a standardized questionnaire such as the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. In contrast, the independent variable is regular exercise, which can be measured using self-reported frequency and duration physical activity per week. The null hypothesis for the study could be there is no significant association between regular exercise and mental well-being in adults. Conversely, the alternative hypothesis should be that there is a significant association between regular exercise and mental well-being in adults.
The ideal experiment for would be a randomized controlled trial, where participants are randomly assigned to an exercise intervention group or a control group. The exercise intervention group would be instructed to engage in a specific amount and frequency of exercise for a defined period, while the control group would not receive any intervention. Mental well-being would be assessed at baseline and at the end of the intervention using the same standardized questionnaire. The results would then be analyzed to determine whether there is a significant difference in mental well-being between the exercise intervention and control groups.
Part 2
When using observational data alone, there could be several potential omitted variables that could negatively affect estimate of the association between regular exercise and mental well-being thereby creating bias. For example, diet, social support genetics, history of mental health, stress levels, health status, and sleep quality are some of the omitted variables that could affect the results of the study. In the case of diet, Assaf et al. (2019) noted that poor diet and poor exercise may be associated with each other and the converse might also be true. Consequently, diet and exercise could affect each other, which can have an impact on mental health. Similarly, individuals who engage in regular exercise may also have more social support, which could independently affect mental well-being. Thus, there are several omitted variables that could affect the quality of data, the results as well as the corresponding conclusions of the study.
The omitted variables are measurable. However, some may be more difficult to measure than others. For example, diet and social support could be me...
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