Sociology · Level 2 · Intermediate
Lost Letter Measure of Variation in Altruistic Behaviour in 20 Neighbourhoods
Holland J, Silva AS, Mace R (2012). PLOS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0043294 · CC BY 4.0
Step 1 of 2Read the paper
Are people in some neighbourhoods more willing to help a stranger than others? Researchers dropped stamped, addressed letters on the pavement in 20 London neighbourhoods with very different income levels, then counted how many were posted back, and used regression to see which neighbourhood features predicted a letter being returned.
How to read it
- The last paragraph of the Introduction lists the prediction and every other variable tested.
- In Methods, note how many letters were dropped, where, and what was kept the same for every letter.
- Table 1 is the heart of the paper: read each odds ratio together with its 95% confidence interval.
- The Discussion explains why poverty and crime cannot be separated; read it before judging the conclusion.
Step 2 of 2Take the test
15 questions · about 40 minutes including reading · pick an answer to see straight away if it’s right. Nothing is saved.
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Paper: Holland J, Silva AS, Mace R, PLOS ONE (2012), licensed CC BY 4.0. Summary and questions are Research Nest’s own; read the original for the full study.