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Evolution of Friendship Groups Over Time

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Summary

Areas of Science
Difficulty
 
Time Required
Long (2-4 weeks)
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Abstract

This project asks the question "How do friendship groups change over time?" The results may support inferences about how "people skills" develop. What types of changes would you expect to see? Do you expect friendship groups to grow larger over time? Do you expect that individuals will belong to more, less or about the same number of friendship groups as they get older? Do you think there will be more or less exclusivity among groups (and how would you measure such a concept)? Do you expect results to be similar for boys and girls? The project requires a large group of students who have been in school together for several consecutive years. Design a survey to identify past and present friendship groups. Select one or more statistical tests for each of your hypotheses. Crunch the numbers and see if the data support or reject each hypothesis. This project involves fairly sophisticated statistical analysis. Finding a mentor with expertise in group detection statistics is highly recommended. (Doherty, 2003)

Bibliography

Doherty, J., 2003. "Evolution of Friendship Groups in the Fourth through Seventh Grades," California State Science Fair Project Abstract [accessed February 1, 2006] http://cssf.usc.edu/History/2003/Projects/J1707.pdf.
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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "Evolution of Friendship Groups Over Time." Science Buddies, 28 July 2017, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Soc_p021/sociology/evolution-of-friendship-groups-over-time. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2017, July 28). Evolution of Friendship Groups Over Time. Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Soc_p021/sociology/evolution-of-friendship-groups-over-time


Last edit date: 2017-07-28
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