IHP 340 Module Three Short Paper Guidelines and Rubric

Overview: The following scenario and corresponding Figure 2.57 are provided below.

The website TED.com offers free short presentations called TED Talks, which cover a variety of interesting subjects. One of the talks is titled The Happy Planet Index. In it, Nic Marks comments that we regularly measure and report economic data on countries, such as gross national product, when we really ought to be measuring the well-being of the people in the countries. He calls this measure “Happiness,”  and  the  larger the number in a country, the greater the level of happiness, health, and well-being. In addition, Marks believes we ought to be measuring the ecological footprint per capita of the country, with larger numbers indicating greater use of resources (such as gas and electricity) and more damage to the planet. Both variables are quantitative (continuous).

Figure 2.57

Prompt: For this short paper assignment, complete the following:

1. For the graph, interpret what the graph is telling us about happiness and ecological footprint, as described above.
2. Provide a range (minimum to maximum value), with a width no more than 0.2, for where you think the correlation statistic falls and support your decision with an explanation of the data points you see.
3. What could affect the size of the correlation statistic?
   1. In regard to the actual data points (hint: what are we assuming about the data?)

• In regard to how the variables were measured (i.e., what information is used to define them, as well as other potential information not considered?)

Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Submit your paper as a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. References are not required. The point of this paper is to show how well you interpret a scatterplot and correlation. However, if you do provide information from a published resource, be sure to cite and reference it.

Critical Elements	Exemplary (100%)	Proficient (85%)	Needs Improvement (55%)	Not Evident (0%)	Value
Interpretation of Graph	Direction and strength of association are discussed clearly, completely, and accurately using correct variables	Direction and strength of association are discussed fairly accurately using correct variables	Direction and strength of correlation are discussed inaccurately, or one is missing	Does not interpret graph	30
Correlation Statistic	Range of values of correlation statistic is appropriate and narrow, and explanation supports values and range	Range of values of correlation statistic is possible, and explanation supports values and range	Contains major errors in range values or explanation	Contains major errors in both range and explanation, or none are provided	30
Effects	Provides clear, complete, and accurate explanation regarding what data points were used and how variables were measured and affect correlation statistic	Provides a mostly accurate explanation of data points and correlation statistic	Explanation of data points, measured effects, and correlation statistic is unclear or inaccurate	No explanation is provided	30
Articulation of Response	Submission is free of errors of organization and grammar	Submission contains errors of organization and grammar, but errors are limited enough so that the assignment can be understood	Submission has major errors related to organization and grammar that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas	Submission has critical errors related to organization and grammar that prevent understanding of ideas	10
				Total	100%