Race+and+Development

=Peer-Reviewed Papers=

=Discussion Area= Having difficulty understanding the papers? Have a question? Add your comments/questions below and we will use this space to build our understanding...

I don't really understand the tables and the right section of page 4.

So in the study, the authors constructed a variety of statistical models for the sake of comparing developmental delays by ethnic groups based on a number of different explanatory factors(these factors are explained in the caption). For each model, they compare the various ethnic groups (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, etc.) to whites and report an odds ratio; since whites serve as the comparison group in this study, the odds ratio for whites is always 1.00. An odds ratio of less than one means that the group is less likely than whites to have gross motor delays (so, for Model 1, Indians are 0.62 times as likely as whites to have delays). Meanwhile, an odds ratio greater than one indicates that the group is more likely than whites (in the same model, Pakistani children are 1.79 times more likely than whites to have delayed development of gross motor skills). The numbers in parentheses following the odds ratio is a 95% confidence interval (think of them like error bars). The column //n// tells you how many individuals were in the study. I wouldn't worry about the Wald test.

Also, I wasn't sure if the last page was saying race did have a big impact or if it was parenting and lifestyles. Reread the third and fourth sentences of the final paragraph -- that should help : )

We (meaning I) noticed that table two and table three have titles that differ in only one thing. What is the difference between gross motor skills and fine motor skills and can you give us examples of what both types of those skills? Good question, James. Gross motor skills are things that require large muscle groups -- think of walking, balancing, sitting, balancing, crawling, etc. These are things that once you learn how to do them, you pretty much never forget. Fine motor skills are just the opposite -- they require smaller muscle groups and are more precise in nature. For example, consider playing an instrument -- if you don't do it for a while, you lose the skill. For early childhood development, some good examples of fine motor skills would be things like using hands to eat, draw, write, build with blocks, zip a zipper, etc. See this link for addition info.

Mr. Hammer, for the media article does it actually have to be from a magazine?

Nope -- it can be from a magazine, newspaper, online source, etc. can it be from a book? also for the essay, do we need to cite a source right after a fact. Example: Biology is a type of science. (Smith) or can can we just have everything in a bibliography at the end? Yes, it can be from a book. Sources should be cited, but if you're referencing the name of the study in your text, there is no need for a parenthetical reference.