Sociology 357 - Methods of Sociological Inquiry Exercise Two

Problem 1 - Let us consider the racial/ethnic differences in the likelihood of completing an undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin. Three explanations have been proposed to account for this phenomenon: (a) Some claim that minority students were not as prepared in cognitive skills as majority white students; (b) others claim that minority students are more likely to have financial difficulties than majority white students; and (c) still others claim that this difference reflects a discriminatory climate against minority students on the UW campus.

a. Conceptualize and operationalize the core variables that are invoked by the three explanations.

b. Design a cross-sectional study that would allow you to test (accept or reject) the second explanation.

c. Design a longitudinal study that would allow you to test (accept or reject) the first explanation.

Problem 2 - Using the web-based GSS analysis engine at the University of California-Berkeley (http://csa.berkeley.edu:7502/archive.htm) provide answers to the following problems:

a. For all the years combined (i.e., ignoring year), what proportion of the GSS respondents is female? What proportion is male?

b. We know that GSS is based on face-to-face interviews. From a purely methodological point of view, can you find an explanation for the significant difference between the proportion of female respondents and the proportion of male respondents in GSS?

c. Do a crosstabulation to show if political party affiliation (variable name PARTYID) is different between men and women in GSS. Interpret the results.

d. Do a crosstabulation to show if political party identification (variable name PARTYID) in the overall U.S. adult population has changed over time. Interpret the results.