Here are some Last Minute Study Hints, in response to popular demand!:
Week Sixteen
Dec 13 - Last
Class - Review for the Final Exam - discussion of Content Analysis
and Unobtrusive Techniques
December 15 - office
hours rescheduled: 3pm to 4pm room 325 Armitage.
December 17 - office
hours rescheduled: 11am to 12pm room 325 Armitage.
remember,
you can always email questions to goertzel@camden.rutgers.edu
also - check this page for any last minute
study hints....
Final Exam - Monday, December 20, 9 to 11. A Review Guide is available. Please bring a calculator, a pencil with an eraser and your copy of the Guide to Computing Margins of Error for Percentages and Means.
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Week One - Overview of the Course and
of the Microcase Software
Sept 1 - We will discuss the
organization
of the course and how to install and use the Microcase software (assuming
the computer in our classroom is working, it is new this semester).
Installing the software is explained in the "Getting Started" preface to
the Social Research Using Microcase workbook.
Sept 3 - Demonstration
of the use of the Microcase System (if the equipment works).
Week Two - Concepts and Theories.
Steps in the Social Research Process - Chapters 1 and 2 in the Textbook
Sept 5 - Labor
Day Holiday
Sept 8 - Discussion of
Concepts and Theories, Chapter One in the textbook (Contemporary Social
Research Methods). For a sample of a new concept, click on virtropy.
Sept 10 - Hand
in the Introductory Exercise on pages 13 to 18 of the workbook.
Discussion of Steps in the Social Scientific Process, Chapter two in the
textbook. The distinction between aggregate, survey and time series
data sets. An interesting example of steps in social science research is
the recent controversy about research on
Abortion and Crime. Another is the role
of research in the controversy over welfare reform. Margaret
Mead's classic work Coming of
Age in Samoa which was extremely influential and, many people now believe,
wrong. Another example is the book The
Bell Curve which generated tremendous controversy and claims that it
should never have been published. Why were each of these studies,
or groups of studies, undertaken? What impact did they have?
Do they reflect an objective scientific pursuit of the truth, or advocacy
for an ideological position?
Week Three - Research with Aggregate and
Survey Data
Sept 13 Hand
in Exercise 1 from the Workbook. Discussion
of the Research Process using Aggregate Data. Understanding scatterplots,
slopes, regression lines, and correlation coefficients.
Sept 15 Guest
lecture by Jon'a Meyer who will talk about three research projects she
has done using different methods: a study of children as witnesses
(experimental), sentencing (quantitative), and Native American justice
systems (qualitative).
Sept 17 Hand
in Exercise 2a from the Workbook The
research process using aggregate data.
Week Four - Measurement - Chapter Three
in the textbook.
Sept 20 - Hand
in Exercise 2b from the Workbook. The Research
Process using Survey Data. Discussion of Levels of Measurement
and Units of Analysis. Some of the statistics used for variables
measured in different ways. Check
What is Chaos: Initial Conditions for an interesting discussion
of the role of measurement in science - especially physics.
Sept 22 - Hand
in Percentage
Exercise - to be handed out in class on September 17 or printed out
from this WEB site.Reliability and Validity. How valid are U.S.
News and World Reports' rankings of colleges?
Sept 24 - Hand
in parts 1 through 3, pages 79-81 of Exercise
3 from the workbook. - Review for first midterm exam.
Week Five - First Midterm - Sampling
Sept 27 - First
Midterm Examination.
This exam will cover
Chapters 1-3. It will be multiple choice with a page of percentage
items to be computed with a calculator. Please bring a calculator
and a pencil with an eraser.
Sept 29 - Exams returned, discussion
of answers. Grades
are available here, please bring any questions to class when I will
give out details.
Oct 1 - Introduction
to Censuses and Sampling, Chapter 4 - Bring a calculator to
class.
Week Six - Censuses and Sampling -
Chapter 4 in the text.
Oct 4 Hand
in Exercise 4, pages 101-110 in the workbook.
Bring a calculator to class. Sampling
Questions will be distributed. There will be a Chautauqua
Lunch
in the Octagon room today. News
story on election polls in India - note the reporting of the "margins
of error".
Oct 6 Computation of
margins of error - Bring a calculator to class. You will need a copy
of Goertzel's
Easy Guide to Computing Margins of Error which will be distributed
in class or can be downloaded from this page. Sampling
Questions will be distributed. Today, we will review basic statistical
concepts such as the mean,
median,
percent, standard deviation
(see formula at the right), range (distance from the highest to the lowest
case), interquartile range (distance from the 25th percentile to the 75th
percentile), and margin
of error. Many of these are defined on a WEB site called "statistics
every writer should know." They are not covered in our textbook,
unfortunately. The margin of error is conventionally defined
as two standard errors. To get a "confidence interval" you subtract
the margin of error from the mean to get the lower bound, and add it to
the mean to get the upper bound.
Oct 8 Hand
in Sampling
Questions given out in class on Oct 4 and 6 or downloaded from this
page. In class review of statistical concepts, bring a calculator.
Week Seven - Causation and Causal Models
- Chapter 5 in the text
Oct 11 Introduction to Causation
and Causal Modeling. Some causal issues: does
abortion cut the crime rate? Does
smoking cause cancer? A
concession from Philip Morris. PM's
health statement.
Oct 13 Hand
in exercise 5a from the workbook. There
will be a Graduate and Professional School fair today in the campus center
from 11 to 2. Click
here for a list of participating schools.
Oct 15 - Guest lecture by Drew
Humphries concerning causal issues in research on medical assessment of
crack babies.
Week Eight - Second Examination
Oct 18 - Review for Second midterm
exam. Note: Exercise 5B has been delayed until
October 29. We need to devote more time to the topic of regression
analysis, so we will do it after the second midterm.
Oct 20 - Second
Midterm Examination.
This exam will cover
Chapter 4 and chapter 5 up to page 103.
The
exam will NOT cover regression modeling.
It will be multiple choice with a page of sampling questions.
Please bring a calculator and a pencil with an eraser.
Oct 22 - Exams returned and
discussed - Grades
Available Here - NY
Times Survey Story. How
the Times explains sampling errors.
Week Nine - Regression
Analysis and Causal Modeling.
Oct 25 - Read about Regression
Analysis and Causal Modeling: pages 103-113 in the textbook and pages
135-138 in the workbook. In case any of you would like
to experiment with these data yourself, he height and weight Excel
file used in class is available. It must be opened in Excel.
The
Microcase4 file used in class is also available; however our
system does not recognize Microcase files so I had to disguise it as htwtmicrocase.xls.
This is not an excel file. To use it, choose the "save it to disk"
option, then use windows explorer to change the file extension to htwtmicrocase.mc4.
Oct
27 - After the last
class, I decided we needed to do a regression
exercise which will be distributed in class or which can be downloaded
here. We will probably complete this in class - bring a calculator
- but if we do not, or if you miss class, it is due on October 29.
Exercise 5b is delayed until November 1.
This is the
last day to drop a course with a W and an $5 fee. If you have
not achieved satisfactory grades on the two midterms, or have not been
able to keep up with the assignments, you should consider dropping the
course and getting a fresh start next semester.
Oct
28 - Chautauquah
lunch
at Octagon, 12:30. A chance to socialize informally with faculty
members - also free soda and desserts. You bring or buy your own
lunch.
Oct 29 - Hand
in the regression
exercise (unless you completed it in class on the 27th). Today
we will discuss causal modeling. For some useful background and examples
go to the Principles
of Path Analysis sheet from the University of Exeter.
Week Ten - Comparative Research Using Aggregate
Units - Chapter 8 in the text.
Nov 1 - Hand
in exercise 5b from the workbook. We will review Causal
Path Analysis, using the material from exercise 5b andthe
Principles
of Path Analysis sheet from the University of Exeter.
Nov 3 - We will discuss Chapter
8 up through page 187, in preparation for doing Exercise 8.
Nov 5 - Hand
initems 1 to 11 of Exercise 8, pages
199 to 208 in the workbook. I found that when I tried to do item
12, I ran up against a software limitation which required deleting variables.
We will discuss Exercise 8, and go on to discuss the use of aggregate data
to study change over time, pages 188-194 of the text.
Week Eleven - Time Series Analysis
and Computer Graphics Using Excel and the full version of Microcase available
in the computer lab.
Nov 8 - We will discuss
Time Series Analysis, using the Microcase 4.5 Historical Trends procedure.
This is available in the Computer Labs and will be used for the Time
Series Assignment. You must do this assignment at Rutgers, the
software that came with your book does not include this procedure.
Trends in society have been good in the last few years, yet we are reluctant
to acknowledge this: The
Assault on Good News. Crime
trends are particularly encouraging. Is this part of a
long-term
pattern of cyclical trends? Look at the
Trends
Timeline chart. A common practical application is to follow
stock prices. Florence
Nightingale innovated the use of charts to document trends.
Nov 10 Hand
in
Time Series Assignment using Microcase
4.5 in the Computer Labs. The assignment will be distributed in class
or you may download
it here
Nov 12 We
will continue working on making
graphs in Excel using data from the Statistical
Abstract of the United States. Assuming Excel is working, we
will cover producing time series graphs and computing and using regression
equations. We will also introduce the Basic Research Designs from
Chapter 6.
Week Twelve - Basic Research Designs
and Survey Analysis
Nov 15 - Read Chapter 6 in the
Textbook: Basic Research Designs. Bring
the workbook to class, we will go over Exercise 6 in class.
Nov 17 - Read Chapter 7 in the
Textbook: Survey Analysis. As an example, we
will examine the New
York Times's latest election survey. Also an example of how they
explain their sampling
procedures. Music dance & poetry from Shakespeare's time
is being presented in the Fine Arts Theater after class.
Nov 19 - Hand
in a Graph made with data obtained from the
Statistical
Abstract of the United States. You may use Excel or any other
computer program that makes graphs. Make whichever kind of graph
you think best illustrates the data you have found. Print out the
data as well as the graph. Write a paragraph explaining what the
graph shows. Today we will discuss the Path
Analysis Project that will
be due on December 6.
Week Thirteen -
Nov 22
Hand in Exercise 7 on Survey Analysis AND the Time Series graph (due
November 24) IF you want to take the day before Thanksgiving off.
We will go over tips for the Path Analysis project for those who want to
work on it over the break.
There will be a Chautauquah luncheon today
after class on the topic "is there too much violence and sex in film."
Nov 24
OPTIONAL CLASS for students who have not handed in their Time Series graph.
IF it is not done, go directly to the computer labs in the Business and
Science building (rooms 133, 108, 109, 110), find a computer and start
working. I will circulate around and help people individually.
If nobody is there by 11:30, I will leave! If your graphs are complete,
take the day off! For this graph, you should graph ONE of the trends
on the Bureau of
Justice Statistics site. Just double click twice on one of the
graphs to get the numerical data. Enter the years and the data for
ONE variable into Excel. Make a time series graph. Compute
the regression equation, and use it to predict the rate for the year 2000.
An example can be found in the
Property Crimes file, which must be opened in Excel.
Nov 26 - Thanksgiving
Holiday
Week Fourteen -
Field and Experimental Research as well as hints on the Path Analysis Project.
Nov 29 -
Reading: Chapter 9 on Field Research. Margaret Mead, the only
anthropologist (or sociologist) to get her own postage
stamp, won fame through field work, primarily her book Coming
of Age in Samoa. Later, this book was denounced by anthropologist
Derek Freeman in his book Margaret
Mead and the Heretic : The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth.Anthropologists
have come to Mead's defense, and
have restudied the case, but I would have to agree with your text that
"had Mead come back from Samoa with an accurate ethnographic report, it
would not have made her famous. There are many problems with
field research: ethical issues, problems of reliability and validity
when data are gathered by only one researcher, etc. Field researchers
sometimes seem to find examples that fit their preconceptions, and their
work is often ignored by those who do not like the results, e.g., Leon
Dash's book When
Children Want Children and
Rosa Lee which are just ignored by welfare advocates who prefer
more sympathetic treatments. One of the best field studies is
Kathryn Edin's book Making
Ends Meet. which is highly sympathetic to the mothers. However,
edit collected statistical data as well her illustrative observations.
The statistics showed that almost none of the mothers actually lived off
their grants alone. Eli Anderson's book Streetwise
on men in a Philadelphia ghetto has been well received, in large part because
goes beyond one-sided advocacy. Myra Bluebond-Langner's book The
Private Worlds of Dying Children has been very influential; she
has just published a sequel called In
the Shadow of Illness : Parents and Siblings of the Chronically Ill Child
A controversial book is Laud Humphrey's
Tea
Room Trade, which raises ethical issues. Field reserch offers
a richness of description and possibility of new insights that is unparalled
by any other method. Unless it is supplemented with other methods,
it does not provide statistical data, and it is hard to replicate.
Dec 1 - Hand
in a printout of the univariate frequency
distributions for all the variables in your Path
Analysis Project, recoded
as necessary to make the appropriate for regression analysis (dichotomous,
ordinal or interval measurement). Today we will work on the Path
Analysis Projects, using some of your variables as examples. I am
also working on a Sample
Project which I have posted although it is not yet complete.
We can work on it in class.
Dec 3
Today we will work on Path Analysis examples. There is a Slide
Show on Path Analysis available on the WEB, but it goes beyond what
we are doing. There is also A
Dummy's Guide (actually 7 idiot-proof steps) to Path Analysis which
is much more useful. Unfortunately, it is Geocities so you have to
keep Xing out the advertisements that pop up.
Week Fifteen -
Dec 6 Hand
in your Path
Analysis Project. Read
Chapter 10: Experimental Research. We will discuss the New
Jersey Welfare Reform Experiment. For an html version of a file I
prepared on this data, click here.
For the original Excel file, which must be opened in Excel, click here.
For a paper I wrote on this general topic, click here.
Dec 8
Papers returned, course evaluation, review.
Dec 10 we
do not have class, this is officially listed as a "Reading Day" -We
do, however, meet on December 13, which is the official last day of classes.