UROP Project

Exploring Fertility Patterns and Predictors in the United States at the State Level: Comparative Analysis Using America Community Survey (ACS) Microdata

Fertility, Demography, Socioeconomic Factors, State Comparison, ACS, STATA, Logistic Regression, US States

Research Mentor: Mr Sabahat Hussain,
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida State University, Social Sciences and Public Policy
Contact Email: shussain2@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors who are interested in conducting quantitative research using household surveys.
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-6, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Friday, September 5
  Start Time: 2:00
  End Time: 2:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/96761837543

Project Description

This project investigates recent patterns in fertility across US states, focusing on demographic and socioeconomic predictors. The project will utilize American Community Survey (ACS) microdata (various surveys) to examine differences in fertility rates and their association with variables such as education, income, marital status, age, and broader state-level economic factors. The research uses descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to explore the impact of individual and structural factors on fertility. Ultimately, this comparative state-level analysis aims to shed new light on subnational fertility variation, an area increasingly important in US demography.


Research Tasks: Literature review of state-level fertility patterns - training provided
Data extraction and cleaning - training provided
Analyzing descriptive statistics - training provided
Documentation, coding, and variable selection - training provided
Statistical modeling (basic logistic regression analysis) - training provided
Drafting research summaries and results for project outputs (i.e., the student's poster)

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
Interest in social science research
Basic computer literacy

Recommended:
Familiarity with statistical analysis or data visualization
Interest in Social science research
Willingness to learn STATA and basic coding for data analysis