Zeenajarrar

Do the Shoppers at Barton Creek Mall
Discriminate Against Those Who Wear

the Hijab?
The current terrorism attacks around the world have been causing havoc and islamophobia in
many Americans. This study found that the population at the Barton Creek Mall in Austin, Texas
does not discriminate against Muslims by seeing that they were equally willing to help a
statistician with a question whether or not they had a hijab on.
Zeena Jarrar
Statistics 6
May 22, 2016
Table of Contents
Analytical Report.......................................................................................................2
Works Cited...............................................................................................................6
Appendix A................................................................................................................7
Appendix B................................................................................................................8
Appendix C..............................................................................................................10
Appendix D..............................................................................................................12
Website Link............................................................................................................24
Revised Inquiry Pitch..............................................................................................25
Original Inquiry Pitch..............................................................................................29
Report Rough Draft.................................................................................................32
Peer Review Feedback Form...................................................................................42
Hijabs are currently a very controversial topic all around the world. With the sudden
outbursts of terrorism throughout the continents, people are becoming more and more weary of
Muslims. Though the terrorists have no relation to true practicing Muslims, many people still
have negative connotations with anyone who is Muslim, especially if they wear hijabs. After
reading a blog post from a Christian woman who entered a mall wearing a hijab as a social
experiment and how she realized was treated completely different than she typically was treated
when her hair wasnt covered, the interest of doing a hijab related experiment sparked (Sader).
There are many people who have done social experiments like that one regarding the different
treatment received when they wear a hijab versus their natural hair, but there are no actual
statistics on the subject which is why this study was conducted. The data expected to be viewed
would be that the same amount of people will be willing to help answer a question whether or
not a hijab is worn. The study was conducted at the Barton Creek Mall in Austin, Texas at
different parts all around the mall at different dates and times. Participants were chosen at
random opening with Can I ask you a question? if they responded with yes a miscellaneous
question was asked, if no their answer was recorded.
For this project the data was collected from the population at the Barton Creek Mall on
different days and times. The different days the data were collected was on May 8th, a Sunday,
the 9th, a Monday, the 10th, a Tuesday, and the 11th, a Wednesday. The times the data were
collected was 4:00 pm on Sunday, 8:00 pm on Monday, 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm on Tuesday, and
9:00 am and 5:00 pm on Wednesday. The areas where the data were collected includes the food
court, Dillards, Sephora, Forever 21, Macy's, Cheesecake Factory, Nordstroms, the movie
theater, Apple, and Gap. The areas chosen were all over the mall so the sample would accurately
portray the population. The reason for the data being collected at different dates, times, and areas
2
was to make sure the sample was as random as possible. Although the data was collected
randomly, it was taken within the same week which means it doesnt represent the population as
well as it could. As well as the data being taken within the week, it was taken at similar times
rather than an even amount in the morning, afternoon, and night, which means it might possibly
not represent the population as well. The fact that data was not taken on a Saturday also leaves
out a large part of the population which only goes on Saturdays, therefore not representing the
total population. The fact that the data was taken at multiple days, times, and areas proves it was
as randomly obtained as possible. To collect the data the statistician went to different areas at the
assigned times and went up to the first five people seen, regardless of what they were doing.
Next they were asked Can I ask you a question? if they responded with Yes they were
followed up with Do you believe Donald Trump would be a good president?, their answer for
this question was not recorded because the study was focusing on whether or not they were
willing to answer a question from the statistician if they were wearing a hijab or not. Each day
the statistician made sure to wear the exact same outfit to make sure it wouldnt add bias. The
only difference in the outfit was whether or not the hijab was worn. All of this was done with an
iPhone in hand to record the conversations.
Once the data was collected, a chi-squared homogeneity test was run because a
categorical variable is being measured to see if the two sample populations are independent. The
two sample populations are the people questioned when the statistician wore a hijab and the
other population is the people questioned when the statistician did not wear a hijab. To pursue the
analysis, the assumptions had to be verified. For a chi-square test of homogeneity the
assumptions to be met were that the populations were sampled by using simple random
sampling, that the variable being studied is categorical, and the expected frequency count for
each cell is at least 5. The data was taken by using simple random sampling by going at different
days, times, and areas to get as random of a sample as possible, the variable being studied was
whether or not the subject would help answer a question for the statistician which is categorical
because it is a yes or no question. The final assumption was not satisfied because the expected
count for both the No counts under hijab and no hijab was 3, which is less than the required
number 5. Thus the analysis must proceed with caution because the data could possibly be
skewed. The null hypothesis was that the population collected from when a hijab was worn and
the population from when the hijab was not worn has the same proportion of observations of yes
or no responses. The alternative hypothesis was that the proportions of yes and no responses
from the different populations were different. From running the chi squared test of homogeneity
the results showed that there was a chi-squared of zero with a degree of freedom of one and pvalue of one. This means that the data regarding whether a hijab was worn or not is not
significant data to support the alternative hypothesis therefore the null hypothesis fails to be
rejected. The chi-square statistic came out to be exactly one because the proportions were exactly
the same. The significance interval used to compare the p-value was .05 which means if the pvalue was 1 the chance of collecting the sample distribution if the null hypothesis was true is
100%. The reason for choosing a significance interval of .05 was that it is the most widely used
significance level to determine whether date is statistically significant, and for this analysis the
data was not.
Based on the data collected and the analysis ran, there was no difference between whether
people were willing to answer a question and if the statistician was wearing a hijab. Either way
the hair was worn the same amount of people responded and did not respond to the question. The
original hypothesis that the same proportions of people would help and not help regardless of
headwear held true after the experiment was conducted. The results were partially shocking after
reading many accounts of others being discriminated against for wearing hijabs. A conclusion
which may be pulled from this study is that those who go to the Barton Creek Mall may not
discriminate against those who wear hijabs. Though, a conclusion about all Austinites is not able
to be made because the sample was only collected at one mall in Austin where not everyone was
from this city. A plausible reason for this conclusion occurring is that those who do live in Austin
may be less prejudiced than others as it is a liberal city. If the data was collected in a mall
somewhere in Dallas where there is less tolerance towards Muslims, the results may have been
different. Overall the study conducted had positive results regardless of the fact that the null
hypothesis failed to be rejected. If the null hypothesis was rejected, it would show a sign of
intolerance towards those who wear hijabs. Intolerance of those who are different must cease to
exist, and this study proves that society is moving in the right direction.
Works Cited
Sader, Emily. "A Social Experiment: A Non-Muslim White Girl Relates How She's Treated
after Donning a Hijab." 'Picasso Dreams' N.p., 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Appendix A
Appendix B
R-Studio Code
#First the data table was created
> Observed=matrix(c(26,3,26,3),nrow=2)
> Observed
[,1] [,2]
[1,] 26 26
[2,] 3 3
#This code was used to name the different categories
> colnames(Observed)=c("Hijab","No Hijab")
> rownames(Observed)=c("Responded","Did Not Respond")
> Observed
Hijab No Hijab
Responded
26
26
Did Not Respond
3
3
#The data was put into proportions to more easily compare how many said yes and how
many said no
> prop.table(Observed,2)
Hijab No Hijab
Responded
0.8965517 0.8965517
Did Not Respond 0.1034483 0.1034483
#A bar plot was created to visually display the data
> barplot(prop.table(Observed,2),legend.text=TRUE,
ylim=c(0,1),ylab="Proportions", main ="Responses to Question: Hijab v. No Hijab",
col=c("aliceblue","darkgray"))
#A test of the expected values based on the null hypothesis was calculated, since 50%
of the expected counts were less than 5, the results may be biased or skewed
chisq.test(Observed,correct=FALSE)$expected
Hijab No Hijab
Responded
26
26
Did Not Respond
3
3
Warning message:
In chisq.test(Observed, correct = FALSE) :
Chi-squared approximation may be incorrect
#A chi-squared test of homogeneity was ran on the data to determine if the observed
data proportions differ from the expected proportions in the null hypothesis
> chisq.test(Observed,correct=FALSE)
Pearson's Chi-squared test
data: Observed
X-squared = 0, df = 1, p-value = 1
Warning message:

Appendix C
Data Collected
10
11
Appendix D
Transcription of Questioning
Excuse me can I ask you a question?

Maybe, can you?
Do you think Donald Trump would be a good president?
Not particularly.
Alright thank you.
Thank you.
Excuse me, may I ask you a question?
Yes.
No.
Excuse me, can I ask you a question?
Sure.
No.
Okay thank you. Do you?
No.
Yes.
No.
12

Yeah.
Yes, over Hillary, yes.
Whats up?
Uh, no.
Thanks.
Have fun with stats class.
Uh-huh.
Im not sure.
Hi, can I ask you a question?
Huh.
Can I ask you a question?
Yes.
Donald Trump? No.
Hi, can I ask you a question?
Oh no thanks, sorry.
13
Yeah.
Oh Im sorry I dont speak English.
Sure.
I dont know. I dont even vote.
Yeah.
No.
No.
Huh.
No.
Yeah.
No.
Thank you.
Youre welcome.
14

Yes.
Um, do you? Donald Trump. I dont think he will be a good president.
Yeah.
Uh, no. Probably not.
Mhm.
Im not a US citizen so I dont have.
You can. I might not have an answer for you.
I dont know. Well see.
Uh-huh.
No.
Alright, thank you.
Huh.
15

No.
No.
Yeah.
No.
Sure.
No.
Sure.
I dont know. I dont really get into politics.
Ok thanks.
Yeah sure.
Sure.
No.
16
Sure.
Uh, no.
Mhm.
No.
Sure.
That's a terrible question, because he would be a terrible president.
Alright thank you.
Yes.
No.
Yeah.
Uh, I dont think so.
Oh Im sorry Im in a hurry.
No problem.
17

Sure. Im not familiar with. But you can ask them.
Donald Trump? No lord.
Okay thank you.
No.
Yes.
Uh, no.
Okay thank you.
Sure.
Definitely not.
Thank you.
Okay.
Yes.
No.
18
Sure.
I dont speak.
Okay no problem.
Yeah.
No.
Alright, thank you.
Sure.
No.
No.
Mhm.
I dont know.
Yeah.
No.
19

Sure.
Will be?
Do you think he would be?
I think hes full of surprises.
Alright, thank you.
I dont think he. I think hes got more of a brain than he has been showing us, to put it that way.
Alright, thank you.
Yeah, whats up.
No.
Yeah, what up?
Uh, no.
Okay thank you.
Yeah.
Huh?
Whats that.
20

Awesome. Im praying.
Uh, yeah.
Uh, no.
Sure.
Out of the options, yes.
Okay thank you.
Mhm.
No.
Alright, thank you.
Sure.
No.
Sure.
21
I dont think thats just a quick question.

Okay, thanks.
Sure.
I dont know. I dont know enough about politics.
Alright, thank you.
Sure.
No.
Yeah.
No.
Sure.
Why are you asking?
Its for my stats project.
Id prefer not to answer.
Okay thank you.
22
Hm?
Okay.
I dont know, I dont know.
Okay thank you.
23
Website Link
http://hijabexperiment.weebly.com/
24
Revised Inquiry Pitch
Do the Barton Creek Mall-goers discriminate

against those who wear the hijab?
Inquiry Pitch
Zeena Jarrar
Statistics 6
April 15, 2016
25
The sudden outburst of terrorism all over the world has sent the population in a frenzy.
Everyone is afraid that ISIS will come to their country and wreak havoc. Although ISIS is a real
threat to society, many people have associated Muslims with terrorist therefore many Muslims
around the world have been unfairly persecuted against. To put this to the test, I will complete a
social experiment where I ask a random group of Barton Creek Mall goers if they will help me
with a survey, once with a hijab on and once without. I will see if people are more willing to help
me when Im not wearing a hijab than when I am. My idea first sparked when I read a blog post
on a Christian woman who entered a mall wearing a hijab and how she was treated completely
different than she typically was treated when her hair wasnt covered (Sader). I researched many
social experiments yet there werent any with hard statistical analysis which is why I would like
to my experiment.
For my experiment I will have a difficult time collecting a random sample but I will make
it as representative of my population as possible by coming at different times during the day,
different days of the week, and different regions of the mall. I plan on going around 12 pm, 4pm,
and 8 pm, on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays so I will get a diverse sample. I will go to regions
such as the food court, nordstrom, and dillards area. Going at different times, days, and areas will
make sure I get a more diverse sample that represents my population more accurately than if I
were to stand in the same area the whole time on the weekends. How I will pick my subjects is I
will go up to the first 5 people that I see in the specific region I decided on (whether or not they
are having a conversation or doing something) and ask if they will help me with my survey
(sometimes I will be wearing a hijab and sometimes not) then I will ask them a miscellaneous
question such as, do you believe wealthy Americans in the top 1% should be paying higher taxes
than lower and middle class Americans, their answer will not actually recorded because I am
26
only testing to see if they are willing to help me. I will then ask them for their race (categories
being White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian
or Other Pacific Islander, or Asian) just in case I find a correlation between that factor and if they
help me as well. My variable will be the hijab, half times wearing it and half times not. Then it
will only be a yes or no if they ended up helping me, but I will also be recording other
characteristics such as race and age range in case it has a correlation, but I will mainly focus on
whether or not I was helped. I will be making sure that I am picking a random sample from all
around the mall at different times and different days of the week. I will also make sure I pick a
sample which represents the population; those who are on the phone, sitting down, standing up,
shopping, eating, or with their family. I will make sure my question is simply Would you mind
helping me with a survey so the words I say dont effect if they want to do it or not (for example
saying it is long or short). I will be voice recording my conversations for proof of validity.
I expect to be helped around 90% of the time when I am not wearing a hijab, but when I
do wear the hijab I plan on being helped around 70% of the time. It is still a high percentage
because Austin is a more liberal city where I feel people are less discriminating, yet it is still
lower than when Im not wearing a hijab because with recent terror attacks people have been
more wary around Muslim people. For the analysis I plan on running a chi-squared homogeneity
test because I am measuring a categorical variable and seeing if my two sample populations are
independent.
Overall I will be testing if people are more willing to help me when I am not wearing a
hijab versus when I am. I will wear the hijab (or not wear it) at different times of day and
different days of the week all around the mall to get a sample as random as possible. Some
problems I may run into is that my sample may not be very random and it will be hard to get two
27
similar samples for when I am and when I am not wearing a hijab. Also there could be other
factors to why someone doesnt help me, possibly because they are in a rush, which may make
my data seem skewed in a way. Since it is extremely difficult to get rid of bias in my data I will
just make sure the sample is extremely random and represents my population correctly.
28
Original Inquiry Pitch
Do the Barton Creek Mall-goers discriminate

against those who wear the hijab?
Inquiry Pitch
Zeena Jarrar
Statistics 6
April 15, 2016
29
The sudden outburst of terrorism all over the world has sent the population in a frenzy.
Everyone is afraid that ISIS will come to their country and wreak havoc. Although ISIS is a real
threat to society, many people have associated Muslims with terrorist therefore many Muslims
around the world have been unfairly persecuted against. To put this to the test, I will complete a
social experiment where I ask a random group of Barton Creek Mall goers if they will help me
with a survey, once with a hijab on and once without. I will see if people are more willing to help
me when Im not wearing a hijab than when I am. My idea first sparked when I read a blog post
on a Christian woman who entered a mall wearing a hijab and how she was treated completely
different than she typically was treated when her hair wasnt covered (Sader). I researched many
social experiments yet there werent any with hard statistical analysis which is why I would like
to my experiment.
For my experiment I will have a difficult time collecting a random sample but I will make
it as representative of my population as possible by coming at different times during the day,
different days of the week, and different regions of the mall. I plan on going around 12 pm, 4pm,
and 8 pm, on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays so I will get a diverse sample. I will go to regions
such as the food court, nordstrom, and dillards area. Going at different times, days, and areas will
make sure I get a more diverse sample that represents my population more accurately than if I
were to stand in the same area the whole time on the weekends. How I will pick my subjects is I
will randomly go up to someone and ask if they will help me with my survey (sometimes I will
be wearing a hijab and sometimes not) then I will ask them a miscellaneous question such as, do
you believe wealthy Americans in the top 1% should be paying higher taxes than lower and
middle class Americans, I will then write down their race and age range just in case I find a
correlation between those factors and if they help me as well. My variable will be the hijab, half
30
times wearing it and half times not. Then it will only be a yes or no if they ended up helping me,
but I will also be recording other characteristics such as race and age range in case it has a
correlation, but I will mainly focus on whether or not I was helped.
I expect to be helped around 90% of the time when I am not wearing a hijab, but when I
do wear the hijab I plan on being helped around 70% of the time. It is still a high percentage
because Austin is a more liberal city where I feel people are less discriminating, yet it is still
lower than when Im not wearing a hijab because with recent terror attacks people have been
more wary around Muslim people. For the analysis I plan on running a chi-squared independence
test because I am measuring categorical variable and seeing if my two samples are independent.
Overall I will be testing if people are more willing to help me when I am not wearing a
hijab versus when I am. I will wear the hijab (or not wear it) at different times of day and
different days of the week all around the mall to get a sample as random as possible. Some
problems I may run into is that my sample may not be very random and it will be hard to get two
similar samples for when I am and when I am not wearing a hijab. Also there could be other
factors to why someone doesnt help me, possibly because they are in a rush, which may make
my data seem skewed in a way.
after
Donning a Hijab." 'Picasso Dreams' N.p., 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Report Rough Draft
31
Do the Shoppers at Barton Creek Mall

Discriminate Against Those Who Wear
the Hijab?
The current terrorism attacks around the world have been causing havoc and islamophobia in
many Americans. This study found that the population at the Barton Creek Mall in Austin, Texas
does not discriminate against Muslims by seeing that they were equally willing to help a
statistician with a question whether or not they had a hijab on.
Zeena Jarrar
Statistics 6
May 19, 2016
Hijabs are currently a very controversial topic all around the world. With the sudden
outbursts of terrorism throughout the world, people are becoming more and more weary of
Muslims. Though the terrorists have no relation to true practicing Muslims, many people still
have negative connotations with anyone who is Muslim, especially if they wear hijabs. There are
32
many people who have done social experiments regarding the different treatment received when
they wear a hijab versus their natural hair, but there are no actual statistics on the subject which
is why this study was conducted. The data expected to be viewed would be that overall about
90% of people will be willing to help answer a question when no hijab is worn and that only
70% of people will be willing to help answer a question when a hijab is worn. Participants were
chosen at random opening with Can I ask you a question? if they responded with yes a
miscellaneous question was asked, if no their answer was recorded.
For this project the data was collected from the population at the Barton Creek Mall on
different days and times. The different days the data were collected was on May 8th, a Sunday,
the 9th, a Monday, the 10th, a Tuesday, and the 11th, a Wednesday. The times the data were
collected was 4:00 pm on Sunday, 8:00 pm on Monday, 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm on Tuesday, and
9:00 am and 5:00 pm on Wednesday. The areas where the data were collected includes the food
court, Dillards, Sephora, Forever 21, Macy's, Cheesecake Factory, Nordstroms, the movie
theater, Apple, and Gap. The reason for the data being collected at different dates, times, and
areas was to make sure the sample was as random as possible. Although the data was collected
randomly, it was taken within the same week which means it doesnt represent the population as
well as it could. As well as the data being taken within the week it was taken at similar times
rather than an even amount in the morning, afternoon, and night, which means it might possibly
not represent the population as well. The fact that data was not taken on a Saturday also leaves
out a large part of the population which only goes on Saturdays, therefore not representing the
total population. The fact that the data was taken at multiple days, times, and areas proves it was
as randomly obtained as possible. To collect the data the statistician went to different areas at the
assigned times and went up to the first five people seen. Next they were asked Can I ask you a
33
question? if they responded with Yes they were followed up with Do you believe Donald
Trump would be a good president?, their answer for this question was not recorded because the
study was focusing on whether or not they were willing to answer a question from the statistician
if they were wearing a hijab or not. Each day the statistician made sure to wear the exact same
outfit to make sure it wouldnt add bias. The only difference in the outfit was whether or not the
hijab was worn. All of this was done with an iPhone in hand to record the conversations.
Once the data was collected, a chi-squared homogeneity test was run because a
categorical variable is being measured to see if the two sample populations are independent. The
two sample populations are the people questioned when the statistician wore a hijab and the
other population is the people questioned when the statistician did not wear a hijab. To pursue the
analysis, the assumptions had to be verified. For a chi-square test of homogeneity the
assumptions to be met were that the populations were sampled by using simple random
sampling, that the variable being studied is categorical, and the expected frequency count for
each cell is at least 5. The data was taken by using simple random sampling by going at different
days, times, and areas to get as random of a sample as possible, the variable being studied was
whether or not the subject would help answer a question for the statistician which is categorical
because it is a yes or no question. The final assumption was not satisfied because the expected
count for both the No counts under hijab and no hijab was 3, which is less than the required
number 5. Thus the analysis must proceed with caution because the data could possibly be
skewed. The null hypothesis was that the population collected from when a hijab was worn and
the population from when the hijab was not worn has the same proportion of observations of yes
or no responses. The alternative hypothesis was that the proportions of yes and no responses
from the different populations were different. From running the chi squared test of homogeneity
34
the results showed that there was a chi-squared of zero with a degree of freedom of one and pvalue of one. This means that the data regarding whether a hijab was worn or not is not
significant therefore the null hypothesis fails to be rejected. The chi-square statistic came out to
be exactly one because the proportions were exactly the same .The significance interval used to
compare the p-value was .05 which means if the p-value was 1 the chance that the sample being
that way if the null hypothesis was true is 100%.
Based on the data collected, the conclusion is that there was no difference between
whether people were willing to answer a question and if the statistician was wearing a hijab.
Either way the hair was worn the same amount of people responded or did not respond to the
question. This shows that those who go to the Barton Creek Mall in Austin, Texas dont have
prejudice against Muslims. A conclusion about all Austinites is not able to be made because the
sample was only collected at one mall in Austin where not everyone was from this city. A
plausible reason for this conclusion occurring is that those who do live in Austin may be less
prejudiced than others as it is a liberal city. If the data was collected in a mall somewhere in
Dallas where there is less tolerance towards Muslims, the results may have been different.
35
Works Cited
36
Appendix A
37
Appendix B
R-Studio Code
> Observed=matrix(c(26,3,26,3),nrow=2)
> Observed
[,1] [,2]
[1,] 26 26
[2,] 3 3
> colnames(Observed)=c("Hijab","No Hijab")
> rownames(Observed)=c("Responded","Did Not Respond")
> Observed
Hijab No Hijab
Responded
26
26
Did Not Respond
3
3
> prop.table(Observed,2)
Hijab No Hijab
Responded
0.8965517 0.8965517
Did Not Respond 0.1034483 0.1034483
> barplot(prop.table(Observed,2),legend.text=TRUE,
ylim=c(0,1),ylab="Proportions", main ="Responses to Question: Hijab v. No Hijab",
col=c("aliceblue","darkgray"))
chisq.test(Observed,correct=FALSE)$expected
Hijab No Hijab
Responded
26
26
Did Not Respond
3
3
Warning message:
> chisq.test(Observed,correct=FALSE)
Pearson's Chi-squared test
data: Observed
X-squared = 0, df = 1, p-value = 1
Warning message:
38
Appendix C
Data Collected
39
40
Peer Review Feedback Form
41

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Do the Shoppers at Barton Creek Mall

Discriminate Against Those Who Wear

In chisq.test(Observed, correct = FALSE) :

Excuse me can I ask you a question?

Excuse me, can I ask you a question?

Excuse me, can I ask you a question?

Do you think Donald Trump would be a good president?

Excuse me, can I ask you a question?

Excuse me, can I ask you a question?

Do you think Donald Trump would be a good president?

I dont think thats just a quick question.

Revised Inquiry Pitch

Do the Barton Creek Mall-goers discriminate

Original Inquiry Pitch

Do the Barton Creek Mall-goers discriminate

Report Rough Draft

Do the Shoppers at Barton Creek Mall

Peer Review Feedback Form

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