RESEARCH DESIGNIn order to find an answer to this research question and prove the validity of the hypotheses, a quantitative approach will be adopted. As few studies have been done in this area of ​​research, I will use an observational study involving uncontrolled mean comparisons to explain the relationship between different independent variables and the dependent variable of unemployment rate. I'm just looking to see if there's a relationship at the moment. Further research could involve using controlled mean comparisons to see if an external variable that can be controlled is actually causing a relationship with the unemployment rate. I'm only going to test a relationship to see if my hypotheses are valid, which will then allow me to move on to this more in-depth research. A quantitative approach works best because I deal with measurable variables to see if a relationship actually exists between the dependent and independent variable or if it is caused by something else. A mean comparison analysis is the best tool for my research design because these types of comparisons “condense relationships into a single, easy-to-interpret measure of central tendency.” A mean comparison is also the right tool to use because I am dealing with independent variables at the ordinal level and a dependent variable of unemployment at the interval level. The independent variables I will use in my research will be: the amount of acres that can be used for oil drilling, standardized test scores for different countries in math, reading and science, the dollar amount of tax breaks for multinational corporations, and the amount of endangered species in a given area.VARIABLESEach of these proposed variables...... middle of document ......national student assessment. “PISA country profiles”. OECD program for monitoring international students. http://www.oecd.org/home/0,3675,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html (accessed November 15, 2011). Political factors. “What are the political factors of the world? » http://politiquefactors.com/ (accessed November 14, 2011). Pollock, Philip H. The Essentials of Political Analysis, 3rd ed. Washington DC: CQ Press, 2009, 79. Sachs, Jeffrey. “Why America must revive its middle class.” Time Magazine 178, no. 14, October 10, 2011, 30-32. Spence, Michael. “The impact of globalization on income and employment.” Foreign Affairs 90, no. 4 (July/August 2011): 28-41. “The quest for jobs”. The Economist, September 10, 2011, p. 11. Tocqueville, Alexis de, Democracy in America: Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop, trans., ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.