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<br />~~00 <br />~~~ <br />Aggregation of the Findings <br /> <br />Preparation of Conclusions and Recommendations <br /> <br />The logic and procedures concerning each of these considera- <br /> <br />tions is presented below. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />1.3.1 Identification of the Independent, Dependent, <br />and Mediating Variables <br /> <br />The fundamental question posed by the social assessment <br /> <br />is whether the building of a large water development project, <br /> <br />or failure to do so, is likely to lead to important social <br /> <br />effects, for good or ill, in the lives of the citizens in <br /> <br />the area (and in some cases beyond the area). <br /> <br />In the language <br /> <br />of social research, this means that each of the three alterna- <br /> <br />tives (No Project, Narrows Project, or Hardin Project) consti- <br /> <br />tutes an independent variable. <br /> <br />If one alters the present <br /> <br />situation by either of the Projects (or chooses to leave the <br /> <br />present situation as is) what will be the subsequent and corol- <br /> <br />lary effects of that decision with respect to social impacts? <br /> <br />In Section 1.2, we have described these impacts as including <br /> <br />Quality of Life, Social Well Being, and Relative Social Rela- <br /> <br />tionships. <br /> <br />In research language, the effects of the decision <br /> <br />are considered to be the dependent variables; that is, what <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />happens to people. <br /> <br />Finally, certain conditions may tend to <br /> <br />influence how the dams have an impact, such as population, <br /> <br />economic base, existing services, etc., and these are referred <br /> <br />to a mediating variable in the design. <br /> <br />Thus,' the first step <br /> <br />in the effort was to define the key social questions around the <br /> <br />projects themselves by making these the key independent variables. <br /> <br />19 <br />