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Does Birth Order Affect Grade Point Average?

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Summary

Areas of Science
Difficulty
 
Time Required
Very Long (1+ months)
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Abstract

Is there a correlation between birth order and grade point average? Design a survey study to find out. How many completed surveys do you need for a representative sample of your school? If you limit your survey to one school, would you expect it to be representative of a larger population (such as your county or state?) How do you control for potential effects of parental age at birth? (In other words, younger siblings will have a higher probability of being born to older parents. If there is an apparent correlation between birth order and grade point average, can you distinguish the variable "birth order" from the variable "parental age at birth"?) Can you think of any other potentially confounding variables? This project involves fairly sophisticated statistical analysis. Finding a mentor with expertise in multivariate statistical analysis is highly recommended. (Simpson and Yandell, 2003)

Bibliography

Simpson, C. and Yandell, K., 2003. " '1, 2, 3 As Easy As A, B, C' Myth or Fact: Does Birth Order Affect Your Grade Point Average?" California State Science Fair Project Abstract [accessed February 1, 2006] http://cssf.usc.edu/History/2003/Projects/23033.pdf.
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MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "Does Birth Order Affect Grade Point Average?" Science Buddies, 20 Nov. 2020, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Soc_p018/sociology/does-birth-order-affect-grade-point-average?class=AQXPlriysU7sfWkhVDHQUyrFlzB2sPU_EE4Leo9XDQyyMxZhdB_N_TTwEGTgYHLpUuo5si5G0E84DQuik2TS7GBX. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2020, November 20). Does Birth Order Affect Grade Point Average? Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Soc_p018/sociology/does-birth-order-affect-grade-point-average?class=AQXPlriysU7sfWkhVDHQUyrFlzB2sPU_EE4Leo9XDQyyMxZhdB_N_TTwEGTgYHLpUuo5si5G0E84DQuik2TS7GBX


Last edit date: 2020-11-20
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