Friday, May 28, 2010

SIP ideas

1st SIP: Presidential Approval

A SIP idea that one could perform would be to examine the differences in presidential approval rates throughout the last couple of years based on Gallup Poll research. One could look at specific periods of time where the approval rating drops, to where it raises, and then look at other variables such as bill proposed or vetoed by the president, congressmen or others speaking out against the president, presidential action overseas, and other different aspects. This could be an interesting topic to look at especially in these times when the country is divided in approval, and to look at what other presidents have to done to improve their rating to watch for current and up and coming presidents making similar decisions or actions.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

2nd SIP: The Cost of Entry-Level College Courses

One SIP idea would be to measure different levels of education from surrounding colleges/universities. I could communicate with colleges/universities and research entry-level courses in economics. Schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Western, and Kalamazoo Community College, to see what differences there are in the types of education offered. If possible, I could speak with the head of each department from each school and ask them to distribute a survey asking details about what the course contained, and then a final exam from one of entry-level courses here. The objective of this would be to see if the entry-level courses here are worth the extraordinary difference in price. A null hypothesis one could test is whether there is no difference in the education offered at Kalamazoo College and Michigan State. It would be interesting to see if there is a significant difference in the education level, or what information is being taught.

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