Department of Sociology
College of Liberal Arts
Texas A&M University
(2018 Fall) SOCI 420 – Advanced Methods of Social Research
– Course information
Meeting location: Academic Building 308, campus map
Meeting times:
Lecture, Monday and Wednesday, 3–3:50pm
Lab, Friday, 3–3:50pm
– Instructor information
Ernesto F. L. Amaral
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Office location: Academic Building 415
Office hours: Monday, 1–2:30pm; and by appointment. Appointment requests must be made at least 72 hours in advance.
Phone: (979)845–9706
Email: amaral@tamu.edu
– Teaching assistant information
Michael Upchurch
Graduate Student, Department of Sociology
Office location: Academic Building 414A
Office hours: Wednesday, 9–10am; Thursday 11:30am–12:30pm; and by appointment on Monday and Tuesday. Appointment requests must be made at least 72 hours in advance.
Email: michaelj.church@tamu.edu
– Lectures, Stata codes, and Exams
Day 01 – August 27, 2018 – Monday
Day 02 – August 29, 2018 – Wednesday
Syllabus & Introduction
Lecture (chapter 1)
The Joy of Stats with Professor Hans Rosling
from Gapminder
Day 03 – August 31, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 1)
Day 04 – September 3, 2018 – Monday
Day 05 – September 5, 2018 – Wednesday
Basic descriptive statistics
Lecture (chapter 2)
Sample weights
Lecture (sample weights)
Material in Excel
Excel: Person-years, rates, probabilities
Excel: Examples of charts
Day 06 – September 7, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 2)
Material about graphs in Stata
Stata twoway bar command
Stata graphics by Dawn Koffman
Stata extra graphics programs
Stata color codes
Day 07 – September 10, 2018 – Monday
Day 08 – September 12, 2018 – Wednesday
Measures of central tendency
Lecture (chapter 3)
Day 09 – September 14, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 3)
Day 10 – September 17, 2018 – Monday
Day 11 – September 19, 2018 – Wednesday
Measures of dispersion
Lecture (chapter 4)
Material in Excel
Excel: Examples of measures of central tendency and dispersion
Day 12 – September 21, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 4)
Day 13 – September 24, 2018 – Monday
Day 14 – September 26, 2018 – Wednesday
The normal curve
Lecture (chapter 5)
Material in Excel
Excel: Examples of normal distribution
Day 15 – September 28, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 5)
Day 16 – October 1, 2018 – Monday
Day 17 – October 3, 2018 – Wednesday
Introduction to inferential statistics
Lecture (chapter 6)
Day 18 – October 5, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (append different years)
Day 19 – October 8, 2018 – Monday
Day 20 – October 10, 2018 – Wednesday
Estimation procedures
Lecture (chapter 7)
Day 21 – October 12, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapters 6 and 7)
Day 22 – October 15, 2018 – Monday
Day 23 – October 17, 2018 – Wednesday
Hypothesis testing I: The one-sample case
Lecture (chapter 8)
Day 24 – October 19, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 8)
Day 25 – October 22, 2018 – Monday
Day 26 – October 24, 2018 – Wednesday
Hypothesis testing II: The two-sample case
Lecture (chapter 9)
Day 27 – October 26, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 9)
Day 28 – October 29, 2018 – Monday
Hypothesis testing III: The analysis of variance
Lecture (chapter 10)
Day 29 – October 31, 2018 – Wednesday
Hypothesis testing IV: Chi square
Lecture (chapter 11)
Day 30 – November 2, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 10)
Stata code (chapter 11)
Day 31 – November 5, 2018 – Monday
Day 32 – November 7, 2018 – Wednesday
Bivariate association for nominal- and ordinal-level variables
Lecture (chapter 12)
Day 33 – November 9, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 12)
Day 34 – November 12, 2018 – Monday
Day 35 – November 14, 2018 – Wednesday
Association between variables measured at the interval-ratio level
Lecture (chapter 13)
Day 36 – November 16, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 13)
Day 37 – November 19, 2018 – Monday
Partial correlation, multiple regression, and correlation
Lecture (chapter 15)
November 21, 2018 – Wednesday
Reading day, no classes
November 23, 2018 – Friday
Thanksgiving Holiday
Day 38 – November 26, 2018 – Monday
Day 39 – November 28, 2018 – Wednesday
Partial correlation, multiple regression, and correlation
Lecture (chapter 15)
Day 40 – November 30, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 15)
Day 41 – December 3, 2018 – Monday
Day 42 – December 5, 2018 – Wednesday
Overall review
Day 43 – December 11, 2018 – Tuesday, 10:30am–12:30pm
Final exam
Healey (chapters 1–15)
– Extra chapter
Elaborating bivariate tables
Lecture (chapter 14)
Stata code (chapter 14)
– Assignments
Assignment 1
Instructions
Rubric
Assignment 2
Instructions
Rubric
Assignment 3
Instructions
Rubric
– Resources to write about numbers
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Manuscript formatting (American Sociological Association – ASA style)
Site
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Writing with statistics
Site
Examples of tables and figures
PDF file
Papers
Drafts
– The General Social Survey (GSS)
GSS official website
Site
GSS Data Explorer
Site
GSS resources for this course
Material
– Stata Resources
Instructions for Accessing Stata Through the Virtual Open Access Lab (VOAL) at Texas A&M University
VOAL Instructions
Stata: Data Analysis and Statistical Software
Resource links
Institute for Digital Research and Education (IDRE)
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Stata material
Carolina Population Center (CPC)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
Introduction to Stata
Generalized Linear Latent And Mixed Models (GLLAMM)
Stata Programs for estimating, predicting, simulating
Stata extra modules
Material
– U.S. Census Bureau
Census Bureau
Official website
Site
American Community Survey (ACS)
Official website
Site
American Community Survey (ACS)
PUMS Data
Site
American FactFinder
Site
Current Population Survey (CPS)
Site
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
Site
– Demographic data and resources
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
Minnesota Population Center (MPC)
University of Minnesota
Site
Population Division
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
Site
Population.io
The World Population Project
Site
Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Site
Population Reference Bureau (PRB) DataFinder
Site
Population and Poverty Research Network (PopPov)
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Site
The Human Mortality Database
Site
Latin American Human Mortality Database
Site
The Human Fertility Database
Site
Human Fertility Collection
Site
European Fertility Project
Office of Population Research (OPR)
Princeton University
Site
World Migration Map
Site
Foreign-Born Population: A Nation of Overlapping Diasporas
Digital Scholarship Lab
University of Richmond
Site
Internal Migration Around the GlobE (IMAGE)
School of Geography Planning and Environmental Management
The University of Queensland Australia
Site
Mexican Migration Project (MPP)
Princeton University & University of Guadalajara
Site
Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS)
Iberoamerican University (UIA)
Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE)
Duke University
Site
The New Immigrant Survey
Princeton University
Site
– Other microdata and surveys
American Life Panel
RAND Corporation
Site
Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Site
World Values Survey
Site
Latinobarómetro: Opinion Pública Lationamericana
Site
Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP)
Site
Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES)
Site
– Aggregated-level data
Gapminder: Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact-based worldview
Site
World Bank Data
Site
World Wealth & Income Database
Site
The Equality of Opportunity Project
Site
National Vital Statistics System
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Site
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Data Visualizations
Site
Pew Research Center Data
Site
Global Attitudes & Trends
Pew Research Center
Site
OXFAM - The Power of People Against Poverty
Site
Doctors without Borders
Site
Brookings Institute
Site
– Academic associations
American Sociological Association (ASA)
Site
Population Association of America (PAA)
Site
American Political Science Association (APSA)
Site
American Marketing Association
Site
American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR)
Site
– Sources for literature review
Web of Science
Scientific citation indexing service
Site
JSTOR (Journal Storage)
Digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources
Site
American Journal of Sociology
Site
American Sociological Review
Site
Annual Review of Sociology
Site
Science Direct
Source for scientific, technical, and medical research
Site
PubMed
Citations for biomedical literature, life science journals, and online books
Site
– Public-opinion polls
RealClearPolitics
Political news and polling data aggregator
Site
FiveThirtyEight
Statistical analysis about elections, politics, sports, science, economics and culture
Site
