Introduction
to Data Analysis Using the GSS, General Social Survey (edited 2/24/08)
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Due
Date:________________(check class schedule)
| For
this assignment you will perform an analysis of nationally collected
data,
the General
Social Survey conducted by the National
Opinion Research Center (NORC). The data for this exercise has been
made available by the Computer-assisted Survey Methods Program at the
University
of California, Berkeley. Analysis of this data is with SDA, Survey
Documentation and Analysis, a set
of programs
for the documentation and Web based analysis of survey data. We will
demonstrate
a sample research procedure using this web based data in class. You
will
then choose your own variables, based on information from your text and
class, and write up a formal report following the Basic Research
Procedure
steps listed below.
Links
for this page
|
I
-- Carefully read (or preferably take) the Sample
GSS, a selection of questions appearing on the GSS, to become
familiar
with the questions. While taking the survey think about possible topics
you could explore with this data.
- Based
on your general knowledge and knowledge from this course (Introductory
Sociology, Stratification, Critical Thinking, etc.) pick from Sample
GSS one question as an independent variable (cause) and one
question
as an dependent variable (effect) you think might be related. You may
examine
more than two variables if you wish, but only two are required for this
assignment.
- My
hypothesis (place in step "3"), based on the questions in the survey,
is
that religious identity (RELIG) is related to one's attitude about
abortion
(ABANY).
- I
then
expanded my hypothesis to the larger topic (place in step "1") based
on my knowledge of social science. My topic is:
- I am
interested in the importance of a person's religious beliefs.
II
-- Next complete the Basic Research Procedure steps listed
below:
a research topic, a theory, specify a hypothesis, perform analysis and
write up your project.
Basic
Research Procedure: Follow the steps below in this exercise and
in your write up.
(1)
Select a research topic: State the topic you have chosen based on
the
questions in the survey and your social science interest. State the
problem
in a clear, understandable manner. Remember a topic is broader and more
abstract than your hypothesis.
I
want to examine the importance of religious beliefs. Religious beliefs
are concerned with... [Your statement will be a topic sentence followed
by a short paragraph describing your topic and perhaps the importance
of
this topic.]
(2)
Review the literature: Do this with readily available sources;
your
class text, class notes, current news reports you read in the paper,
books
or magazine articles, at least one web source and your general
knowledge (be careful with the last,
as your "general knowledge" is not always a good source). Use your
class
text as the major source for information on your topic, where possible.
You could use library sources, even journals in the library, as a
professional
paper would do, but that can be quite involved and is more than
expected
for this exercise. Cite sources using an acceptable
professional formatting style (American Sociological Association
format
style can be found at: ASA).
Where relevant and possible, summarize agreements and disagreements in
available resources.
Religious
beliefs are important correlates of behaviors and attitudes.
Religious
beliefs...[I would look up in my class text, notes, news articles,
information
about religious beliefs. Summarize the ideas you have found and cite
sources.
Try for some basic ideas about your topic and don't turn this into a
graduate
thesis!]
Web sources for this topic I could use:
(3)
Formulate the problem: First define the problem in terms of an
hypothesis,
an educated guess [a proposed relationship of cause and effect].
Carefully
and completely identify independent (cause), dependent (effect)
variables
and other variables that may be important (this is your research
hypothesis)
Briefly state why your hypothesis should be correct in terms of your
expectations
derived from number two.
a.
State your hypothesis:
My
Hypothesis is that a person's religious identity is related to their
attitude
about abortion.
b.
State
the dependent (effect) and independent variable (cause), the
relationship
you are examining
For
my topic: Religion is the independent variable and attitude
about
abortion is the dependent variable.
c.
What reasons do you have for believing the variables are related?
One's
religion is related to their attitude about abortion...[Summarize
(2) with respect to your hypothesis]
Be
sure
and make your logic clear for believing there is a relationship. You
could
have a general hypothesis (Religious belief is related to attitude
about
abortion) or a more specific hypothesis (People with religious beliefs
will be more likely to be against abortion than those without religious
beliefs). Whichever hypothesis you make be sure your reader understands
why you believe this to be the case.
(4)
Create a research design: Since the study has been done, you are
performing
"secondary research" (research on a data set collected prior to your
study).
Simply state the study method (survey), specifics of the sampling
procedure,
and measurement instrument (state the specific questions you used to
test
your hypothesis).
What
method was used?
The
sample was a ...[check the material about the GSS sampling
technique
used and summarize for the reader. What sampling procedure was used? Be
sure to specify the population and sample. Include population, selection
procedure (who/how selected), time, place and size,
etc.]
What
were
the questions you used from the survey (repeat the exact wording from Sample
GSS).
ABANY
[Abortion if woman wants for any reason]
_______Please
tell me whether or not you think it should be possible for a pregnant
woman
to obtain a legal abortion if: the woman wants it for any reason?
1.
Yes
2.
No
3.
Don't know
RELIG [Respondent's religious preference]
_______What
is your religious preference? Is it Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, some
other religion, or no religion?
1
PROTESTANT
2
CATHOLIC
3
JEWISH
4
NONE
5
OTHER
8
DK
(5)
Collect data: The data are already collected so all you will need
to
do is go to the web and create your table and statistics. Instructions
on how to do this are at obtaining data from
the
GSS
(6)
Interpreting and analyzing data: Examine your table and write up a
description about what it shows... (supports your hypothesis, rejects
your
hypothesis, not conclusive, etc. and why). Check the how
to read a table if you need to refresh your memory. Check interpreting
statistics if you need a refresher about basic statistics in this
table.
Explain
your table - Use words and describe the patterns or the lack of
patterns
in your table. This would include individual variable
distributions
and the relationship between variables. Just look at the table and tell
me what the distribution shows. Don't worry about the numbers or the
extra
statistics. Add percentages or numbers in parenthesis if you want
specifics but the essence of your description should be words. Explain
those statistics discussed in interpreting
statistics
if your instructor requires this.
State
whether the table supports, rejects or is not conclusive about your
hypothesis.
If the answer is there is no relationship or the data is not
conclusive,
offer reason(s) as to why.
Make
useful suggestions as to further research on this topic (e.g.,
restatement
of question, different sample or population, other questions [specify]
etc.)
(7)
Publishing findings: Write up as a formal paper. Your paper must
be
typed and tables should be cut from printed output and pasted to the
appropriate
page location in your paper. Your write-up should be carefully
organized
around the steps listed above and care should be taken to be clear and
unambiguous to your audience. You paper should have a title page
followed
by the paper (a section for each numbered step listed above.) The last
page of your paper should be a bibliography following an acceptable
professional formatting style (American Sociological Association
format
style can be found at: ASA).
Remember in writing your paper, your audience is students like yourself
who are not in this class. You should be able to have a friend
read
your paper and be able to explain what you did. You should be able to
give
a verbal or written summary of your efforts on this assignment if asked.
Possible
Grading Criteria:
Your
annotations should be well written (typed with your name, date and
assignment
number at the top), grammatical, complete, free of spelling errors. You
will be graded down for papers that look like first drafts. Organize
carefully
and clearly, proof before submitting. Remember, your audience is
someone
like yourself who is not taking this class. The reader should be
able
to read, understand and apply the ideas used in your paper.
(1)
Typed professional quality of your paper -- your name, class,
date
and assignment number should be at the top right of your paper. Proper
referencing (APA, MLA, etc.), identifying the sources, should be
included
at the end of your paper if needed.
(2)
Precise use of concepts. The concepts you use should be used
correctly;
be certain that you understand them.
(3)
Subtlety or profundity of the annotation. This is a rather
more
subjective criterion. It identifies the difference between acceptable
and
accurate work on the one hand, and, on the other, really interesting
work.
In other words, the difference between "C" or "B" work and "A" work.
Modified
3/12/01
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