Courtney Gallardo

UNST 133G, Craig

Survey Research Project
April 26, 2016

Introduction
The essential question we ask in this survey is whether or not ones
socioeconomic status effected the incorporation of art into their career. We
hypothesize that those who make over $1,000 per month are more likely to
pursue art in their careers. It is important to study the access and value of
art in terms of socioeconomic status to provide evidence of the real world
importance of having access to both education and art. This survey will be
conducted on campus at Portland State University; this survey is oriented
towards current PSU students.

Race and Gender Composition

The sample for the current quantitative study consists of 42 students
enrolled in courses at Portland State University. Of the 42 participants, 14
(19.7%) were male, 23 (32.4%) were female, one (1.4%) identified as
transgender, two (2.8%) chose not to say, and one (1.4%) specified other.
(See Figure 1.) The racial composition of the sample was as follows: 25
(35.2%) were White, one (1.4%) was African American, three (4.2%) were
Latino, three (4.2%) were Asian, seven (9.9%) reported that they were mixed
or identified as more than one [race], and one (1.4%) listed as other. (M=
20.80, SD=3.148) (See Figure 2.)

Chi-Squared Test of Independence

A chi-square test of independence was used to evaluate the relationship
between income level and intention of incorporating art into ones career.
We found an insignificant relationship between income level and intention of
incorporating art into ones career 2(1, N=33) = .021, p = .886. There were
no difference in intention of incorporating art into ones career in either low
income or livable income. However, although the sample size was too small
to have enough explanatory power, our statistics show that 73.7% of those
with lower income stated that they are more likely to incorporate art into
their careers, while only 26.3% of those with a higher income plan to
incorporate art into their careers.

Independent Sample t-test

An independent-samples t-test was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis
that those with an income of 1,000 or more are likely to spend more time
consuming art. Contrary to this hypothesis, those with an income level below
1,000 (M = 3.08 SD = 1.613) than those with an income of 1,000 or higher
(M = 3.56, SD = 1.236), t(33) = .79, p = .43. (See Figure 3.)
Conclusion
This survey found that Portland State University students with an income of
$1,000 per month or more were not more likely to involve art into their
careers. Contrary to our hypothesis, this survey shows that those who make
less than $1,000 per month were more likely to incorporate art into their
careers. These findings are important because it shows that access and
exposure to art seems to have a positive impact on those of a lower
socioeconomic status. However, this survey and its findings are limited due
its small number of participants. For future research, a larger sample size
would measure both the population of PSU students and validity of the
surveys findings more accurately.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3