ABANY: Data Analysis Project, Research Paper Example

Interpretation of Findings:

Overall, the respondents surveyed about their views on the availability of access to an abortion for a pregnant woman for any reason were more likely to respond in the negative. Over half of total respondents (or 60.1% of the respondents) responded with an answer of no, pregnant women should not be able to seek an abortion for any reason. This percentage is substantially greater than the 39.9% of respondents who responded with an answer of yes, pregnant women should be able to seek an abortion for any reason. Within the total respondents, responses were divided into two categories of male and female respondents. Defined by sex, 40.8% of male respondents and 39.2% of female respondents answered the survey with a “yes” response, while 59.2% of male respondents and 60.8% of female respondents answered the survey with a “no” response. As illustrated in the chart’s color coding, the “yes” response by male respondents was much larger than expected. The response of “no” by female respondents was also much larger than expected. Subsequently, the color coding also shows that the “yes” response for female respondents was much smaller than expected and the same is true for males respectively, the “no” response being much smaller than expected from male respondents. The chart shows that both more males and females gave a “no” response than a “yes” response. The weighted numbers listed on the chart show more female respondents participated in the survey than did male respondents. The tendency of women to give a response that pregnant women should not be able to seek an abortion for any reason indicates that their answers take more than the factor’s of a woman’s own immediate self into consideration. It is possible that religious, moral, and ethic issues play a key role in the response reasoning for female respondents. Women with strong religious views prohibiting abortion in general would respond with a no. More often today, legal issues surrounding father’s rights become a key factor in whether a woman is or is not allowed to seek an abortion. Women who believe the father has as many rights concerning an unborn child are likely to respond with a “no” response. Also, women that have born and raised or are raising a child or children in less than ideal circumstances, such as without the father present, in poverty, or amidst unfavorable circumstances such as rape or illness, may be less likely to advocate abortion for others. Men are likely to give a no response for many of the same reasons. Male respondents may have had strong religious views against advocating abortion. Also, men would be strong supporters of the idea of a father’s right to have as much say as the woman as to the unborn child. The sex based differences we see in the male and female responses seem to go against what would be expected from sampling and data. The fact that more females were interviewed than men would seem to indicate a larger yes response, in accordance with the belief that a woman should have the right to make decisions regarding their own body, however as the results show, this is not the case. The fact that more females were interviewed than males could be a typicality of the time requirement necessary for a face-to-face interview. Perhaps more females were available to be interviewed during the day. Given the unexpected responses received from both male and female respondents, the results of this survey could show that our society is moving more toward a religious viewpoint regarding abortion. This could be explored by including a variable for religion in the surveys.