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Fall, 2006 (Roos, Soc. 501) Assignment 1: Thinking Causally (readings due September 20th, written assignment due September 27th) The point of this assignment is to get you thinking through causal relationships in a logical way. To accomplish this assignment, read three of the six articles noted below (all six are recent articles published in either the American Sociological Review or Sociological Forum; they represent several different analytic approaches and data collection methods). The readings are due September 20th, when we begin to address causality. The writing assignment is due September 27th. Written assignment: For two of the articles, summarize in one paragaraph the theories tested, the article's specific goals (research questions), the methods used, and the article's findings. Close with 2-3 sentences evaluating the article. Did the authors successfully contribute to the literature in their field? Elaborate. Write a broader analytic critique of the third article (2-3 pages), including the questions above but expanding your essay (see Clarke, "On Writing and Criticism" for advice on how to write an analytic critique). In the course of your review, summarize the causal relationships. If there is more than one causal relationship, choose one of the major ones (i.e., one that illustrates the article's major point). In teasing out the causal relationship(s) identify at least three variables. In your writeup point out your three variables, the bivariate relationship, the trivariate relationship, how the variables are conceptualized and operationalized, and your units of analysis. You may want to illustrate your bivariate and trivariate relationships in figure form (circles and arrows). Conclude by critiquing the article as a whole. Were the authors successful in reaching their research goals? Don't worry if you don't yet understand some of the data analytic techniques (e.g., OLS regression, logistic regression, cross-sectional time series). By the time you leave grad school you will have a greater familiarity with understanding such analyses, even if you don't use them in your own work. Readings: Jeffrey L. Kidder. 2006. "'It's the Job that I Love': Bike Messengers and Edgework. Sociological Forum 21:31-54. Nancy J. Davis and Robert V. Robinson. 2006. "The Egalitarian Face of Islamic Orthodoxy: Support for Islamic Law and Economic Justice in Seven Muslin-Majority Nations." American Sociological Review 71:167-190. [uses World Values Survey] Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis, and Douglas Hartmann. 2006. "Atheists as 'Other": Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society." American Sociological Review 71:211-234. Peggy C. Giordano, Monica A. Longmore, and Wendy D. Manning. 2006. "Gender and the Meanings of Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Focus on Boys." American Sociological Review 71:260-287. Miller McPherson, Lynn Smith-Lovin, and Matthew E. Brashears. 2006. "Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks over Two decades." American Sociological Review 71:353-375. [uses GSS] Alexandra Kalev, Frank Dobbin, Erin Kelly. 2006. "Best Practices or Best Guesses? Assessing the Efficacy of Corporate Affirmative Action and Diversity Policies." American Sociological Review 71:589-617.
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