MAJORS OF MSU STUDENTSJ. T.

MATH 240

PURPOSE & HYPOTHESESThe purpose was to discover:

What factors affect the major an individual chooses: Gender Hometown Involvement in sports Whether or not they are planning to attend graduate school

Hypotheses:

An individual's involvement in sports and their major are related (dependent)

An individual’s gender and their major are not related (independent)

Rural students would choose different majors than urban students (dependent)

An individual’s major and whether they are planning to attend graduate school are related (dependent)

DATA COLLECTION Data Collection:

Asked demographic questions Gender Year in school Hometown and rural or city area

Asked about courses of study and plans for the future Major If they had a minor, and if they did what it was Whether they plan to attend graduate school

Other Their involvement in sports Whether they took time off before attending school Why they chose their major

METHODS Used a convenience sampling method

Handed surveys out to students in residence halls, the wellness center, in classes, and elsewhere

Did not choose specific students (asked everybody) in order to ensure that I had a fairly good representation of students at MSU

The sample consisted of 155 MSU students The sample was not representative of the population All responses were voluntary and remained anonymous

Inserted the data into Minitab All data (other than the year in school) was categorical Used cross-tabulation tables with counts and percentages to compare data

RESULTS 49 females and 106 males

61 freshman, 46 sophomores, 32 juniors, 14 seniors, and 2 0ther

38 from North Dakota, 22 from neighboring states, 15 from the east, 6 from the Midwest, 11 from the south, 34 from the west, 21 from Canada, and 15 international (countries that are not the U.S. or Canada)

91 individuals from rural locations and 64 from urban locations

5 Arts Majors, 53 Business Majors, 8 Communication Disorders Majors, 21 Education Majors, 18 Health Science Majors, 16 Science Majors, 27 Social Science Majors, and 7 Undecided

STATISTICAL INFERENCES - SPORTS Used a Chi-Square Test of Independence

Null: Involvement in sports and major are independent

Alternative: Involvement in sports and major are dependent

α = 0.05

P = 0.022 < α

Rejected null, accepted alternative

Involvement in sports and major are dependent

Hypothesis regarding sports was correct

STATISTICAL INFERENCES – GENDER Used a Chi-Square Test of Independence

Null: Gender and major are independent

Alternative: Gender and major are dependent

α = 0.05

P < 0.01 < α

Reject null, accept alternative

Gender and major are dependent

Hypothesis regarding gender was incorrect

STATISTICAL INFERENCES – HOMETOWN Used a Chi-Square Test of Independence

Null: Hometown location and major are independent

Alternative: Hometown location and major are dependent

α = 0.05

P = 0.607 > α

Fail-to-reject null

Hometown location and major are independent

Hypothesis regarding hometown location was wrong.

STATISTICAL INFERENCES – GRAD SCHOOL Used a Chi-Square Test of Independence

Null: Plan to attend graduate school and major are independent

Alternative: Plan to attend graduate school and major are dependent

α = 0.05

P < 0.01 < α

Reject null, accept alternative

Plan to attend graduate school and major are dependent

Hypothesis regarding plan to attend graduate school was correct

CONCLUSION Factors that affect the major an individual chooses:

Gender Plan to attend graduate school Involvement in sports

Factors that do not affect the major an individual chooses: Hometown location (city or rural)

LIMITATIONS & WHAT TO CHANGE Several limitations:

Sample – convenience sample Sample size Survey – open-ended questions

Suggestions for next time: Have no open-ended questions An online survey Consider other factors:

Occupation of parents Age in college Financial situation of the student Religion

WHO CARES? Enrollment services

Graduate school

Recruiters

QUESTIONS?