Basic Research Methodology

Basic Research Methodology

Basic Research Methodology: Section I
Political rights and civil liberties in countries determine the country rankings as either free, partly free or not free. For a country to be free, it must have a clearly spelled electoral and liberal democracies. On the other hand, if a country only has democracy on the part of elections, it’s then termed as a partly free country. Therefore, any state with neither democratic nor liberal democracy falls in the category of countries which are not free.
Free countries include the USA, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Switzerland. The USA is one of the most open countries. USÁ is politically stable with a very well established electoral system. Its citizens enjoy the freedom of speech and democracy. Furthermore, the rule of law is upheld. In Australia, citizens enjoy the advantages of political stability CITATION Mac00 l 2057 (Macintyre, Atikson, Lake, & Pons, 2000). Australians are free to take part in politics, and the life expectancy is high. There are no political prisoners in Australia, and the emigration rates are low. Statistics by open world indicate that Brazil is free with an aggregate score of 81%, freedom rating of 2.0, two political rights, and two civil liberties. Brazil’s per capita income can comfortably sustain its citizens and even offer assistance to other less developed countries. Canada and Switzerland fall in the category of countries that enjoy electoral democracy and civil liberty. These nations equally enjoy political freedom, and the civil rights of its citizens are greatly respected.

There are also no barriers to life expectancy CITATION And11 l 2057 (Andrade, Guevara, Lebrao, de Olivierta Duarte, & Santos, 2011). The countries also enjoy economic prosperity, and the welfare of the citizens is secured.
Kenya is a great match for the USA as a partly free country. The country has adopted some of the policies in use in the USA. For example, in Kenya people are free to vote and choose their leaders. There is the freedom of expression although it has not been embraced fully. Brazil is a perfect match for Tanzania which is a partly free country. In both countries, there is limited media freedom, a fact that makes them similar. In Canada, there is freedom of the internet and there are no government restrictions on bandwidth. Canada is a great match to Ecuador which is a partly free country. Switzerland is known to be the most open country. It matches with Belarus which falls in the category of least free countries in the world. Belarus lacks both electoral democracy and civil rights. Lastly, Australia is a perfect match to Sudan where there is freedom of speech but blasphemy is not allowed.
One of the criteria used to match the countries was correlation analysis. In this case, a comparison based on various aspects such as freedom of the media was made in the countries concerned. Some countries have similar rules concerning the governance of media. For example, in Brazil and Tanzania, there is limited freedom of expression as far as media is concerned. Another criterion that is in use is the statistical analysis approach where statistical data was used to make analysis to obtain the matches. The methods employed make good control variables because they minimize cases of biases hence improving on accuracy.
Basing on the cases of poverty comparison between the five countries, freedom is an enormous contributing factor to the rates of growth of countries. For example, in Sudan, the rate of economic growth has been retarding due to political instability CITATION Ale96 l 2057 (Alesina, Ozler, Roubini, & Swagel, 1996). Sudan has a lot of its Citizens seeking refuge in different countries due to the constant political clashes in the country while Australia enjoys calmness and stability. Such conditions provide a conducive environment for development to the extent that it can offer support to other nations. The methods of research used to rank countries as free, partly free and not free are very accurate. The latest results are therefore a clear picture of the current situation worldwide.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Alesina, A., Ozler, S., Roubini, N., & Swagel, P. (1996). Political instability and economic growth. Journal of Economic Growth, 1(2), 189-211.
Andrade, F. C., Guevara, P. E., Lebrao, M. L., de Olivierta Duarte, Y. A., & Santos, J. L. (2011). Gender differences in life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy among older adults in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Women’s Health Issues, 21(1), 64-70.
Macintyre, S., Atikson, A., Lake, M., & Pons, X. (2000). A concise history of Australia.

Basic Research Methodology: Section II
An observational study is a method of research where the collection of data is based on the measure of variables just as they are in their natural setting with no alteration. Control variables are schemes utilized in a case where a clear difference needs to be brought out when handling observational data involving two variables which are very close. Control variables are handy where problems of self-selection need to be taken care of in observational data.
The dependent variable just refers to the factor that is the researcher’s main item of study. In relating cases of school drop outs and drug use, the dependent variable of interest is the effect of drugs on young people CITATION Men88 l 2057 (Mensch & Kandel, 1988). Substance abuse is seen to cause a lot of effects to young people. Some of the implications are behavior that leads to truancy and addiction leading to health complications which also contribute to cases of drop outs. Other effects are depression, violent behavior, memory damage, early pregnancies and many others. CITATION Kan75 l 2057 (Kandel, 1975).
Independent variables are those who have an influence on the dependent variable although they are not the writer’s main area of focus. In the same article, several independent variables are described. These include measures of adult transitions, where this refers to the extent to which young people transition to adults, the levels of commitment to conventional institutions, delinquent participation, and the various psychological characteristics.
Control variables are used to bring about neutrality in observational data CITATION Rem10 l 1033 (Remler, 2010). The various control variables are facts like an early assumption of adulthood roles may sometimes cause school drop outs. In such a case, some students are better off in that they have someone to partake the roles and therefore their only duty is to study. However, an assumption that every student is in such a position is wrong because there are others who have to attend to their siblings after school or even sometimes miss school. Such occurs when for example, the children are orphans and the eldest though still not an adult has to go out of the way and ensure the rest are being and that their welfare is sorted CITATION Rum83 l 2057 (Rumberger, 1983).Other control variables include; the level of education of the parents, their level of income and occupation. Basing on the youngsters themselves, factors like academic performance and lack of social attachment also are among the control criteria.
For any research report to be up to standards, control variables must always be in use. They are necessary because they help in correlating the variables to ensure that the range is reduced to an acceptable difference. Control variables contribute to reducing the levels of biases in a research report. For example, in the article in reference, the control variables have helped to show that cases of school dropouts are not only as a result of drug use but also some other unavoidable circumstances students may face.
There was no case of bias in the research report. The choice of control variables ensures a level playing field in which to analyze the data and attribute it to dependent variables. All the cases faced fair evaluation, and a consensus reached by the evidence gathering.

References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Kandel, D. (1975). Stages in adolescent involvement in drug use. Science, 190(4217), 912-914.
Mensch, B. S., & Kandel, D. B. (1988). Dropping out of high school and drug involvement. Sociology of Education, 95-113.
Remler, D. K. (2010). Research methods in practice: Strategies for description and causation. Sage Publications.
Rumberger, R. W. (1983). Dropping out of high school: The influence of race, sex, and family background. American Educational Research Journal, 20(2), 199-220.