Spring, 2005 (Roos, Soc. 502)

Assignment 1: Crosstabulating (due February 2nd)

This assignment is designed to get you making tables and writing about them. If you have your own data set, you should use that. If not, feel free to the use the General Social Survey, which is located online. I'll give some instructions on the first day of class, or click on the "Analyze" button from the GSS web page, and work your way through it.

Select at least three categorical (nominal) variables, choosing variables that can be suitably elaborated (as discussed in class). Choose an independent, dependent, and test variable.

Here's what to do:

1) Invent a hypothesis that you can test with your independent and dependent variables. Briefly describe the reasoning underlying your expectation. Test your claim, percentaging the table appropriately, using chi-square to test for the significance of your relationship.

2) Take the bivariate relationship you ran in #1 and add in a third (test) variable, justifying it theoretically. Test your claim; use chi-square. Explain your results. What happened to the bivariate relationship when you added in the third variable? Review the elaboration paradigm if it's not already burned into your memory (e.g., Earl Babbie, The Practice of Social Research, 10th edition, Ch. 15).

Use the information you derived in #1-2 and write an essay that discusses your results. Do not just list your results; write a sociological essay that discusses the issues theoretically, describes the operationalization of your variables, and discusses your results. Transfer the data in your computer output over to completely labeled and titled tables, as they would appear in a journal article. Use Word or Excel to produce tables. Write it all up in no more than 3-4 double-spaced typewritten pages.

Turn in a copy of the computer printout that produced your tables (at least one bivariate table, and the accompanying partial tables).