Pre-Midterm
1/26 (Thurs) Introduction and overview of course
Week 1
1/31 (Tues) Thinking with numbers
- Reading: Definitions of Statistics, Probability, and Key Terms – Introductory Statistics | OpenStax
- To Use in Class: FAUTH, LEVENTHAL, BROOKS-GUNN: Seven Years Later (password)
- Lab Assignment (Word Doc)
2/2 (Thurs) Quantitative sociology: examples, variables, levels of measurement
Week 2
2/7 Asking quantitative questions
- Reading: Approaches to Sociological Research | Introduction to Sociology | | Course Hero
- Lab assignment for Week 2
- In-class readings (BC Library links):
- The Right to Stay Put, Revisited: Gentrification and Resistance to Displacement in New York City. Newman, Kathe ; Wyly, Elvin K. Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2006, Vol.43 (1), p.23-57.
- Displacement or Succession?: Residential Mobility in Gentrifying Neighborhoods. Freeman, Lance. Urban affairs review (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), 2005, Vol.40 (4), p.463-491.
- Compromises to Carework: The Social Organization of Mothers’ Experiences in the Low-Wage Labor Market after Welfare Reform. Weigt, Jill. Social problems (Berkeley, Calif.), 2006, Vol.53 (3), p.332-351.
- Determinants of Welfare Policy Attitudes: A Contextual Level Analysis. Abner, Kristin S. Sociological spectrum, 2011, Vol.31 (4), p.466-497.
2/9 Operationalizing concepts
- Reading: Everyday Sociology Blog: The Art and Science of Survey Writing
- In class: Community Commons Intro to Data Frameworks
Week 3
2/14 Probability theory, descriptive v inferential statistics
Reading: Understanding Descriptive and Inferential Statistics | Laerd Statistics
2/16 Descriptive stats: charts, graphs, rates, frequencies
- Homework 1 due at start of class
- In class: NYCLU data summaries
- Stop and Frisk datasets
- Lab for Thursday
- Link to instructions for using Excel
Week 4
2/21 CONVERSION DAY, NO CLASS
2/23 Measures of central tendency
- Reading: Central Tendency & Variability – Sociology 3112 – Department of Sociology – The University of Utah
- examples of skewed distributions
- Census data median income 2019 &2020
Week 5
2/28 Dispersion and variance
3/2 Normal curve
- Reading: Normal Distribution in Statistics – Statistics By Jim
- Reading: Normal Distributions in the Wild
- Lab 3/2
Week 6
3/7 Probability theory round 2: Normal distribution and Z-scores
- Readings: Z-scores; areas to the left, right, and between Z-scores
- Z table and the area under the normal curve
- Lab 3/7
3/9 Standard deviation
- Reading: Standard Deviation: Simple Definition, Step by Step Video [up to section on standard deviation with binomials]
- Optional resource: Standard Deviation – Formula, Definition, Methods, Examples [up to section on ungrouped data]
- In class
- Homework 2 (due Tuesday 3/14) table for homework 2
Post-Midterm
Week 7
3/14 Probability and sampling
- Reading: Everyday Sociology Blog: Sampling: Who do You Want to Learn More About?
- Homework 2 due at start of class
- Review for exam during lab
3/16 Midterm exam
Week 8
3/21 Putting the pieces together: probability, sampling, research design
- Begin work on research proposals
- Reading (Password): “Sociology of Discrimination…,” Pager and Shepard, Annual Review of Sociology 2008
- Optional resource: Everyday Sociology Blog: Writing a Literature Review: Connecting Past Studies with Your Research
- Optional resource: Everyday Sociology Blog: Learning from the Literature: How to Find Categories and Themes
3/23 Confidence intervals and margins of error
Week 9
3/28 Hypothesis testing and the null hypothesis
- Reading: Logic of Hypothesis Testing
- Reading: Significance Testing
- Reading: Type I and II Errors
- Reading: One- and Two-Tailed Tests
- Lab for March 28
3/30 1 sample hypothesis testing
- Reading: Testing a Single Mean
- Homework 3: Summary of research topic and question due at start of class
- Outline for a research proposal
- Lab for 3/30
Week 10
4/4 T-tests/2 sample tests
- Reading: Testing Differences Between Means(opens in a new tab)
- Reading: JSSW article: Is Welfare Reform Working? (password)
- Instructions for 2-sample testing in Excel
- Stop n Frisk 2021 dataset
4/5 – 4/13 SPRING BREAK
Week 11
4/18 Review of hypothesis testing and research design
4/20 Bivariate frequencies and the Chi-square
- Homework 4 due at start of class
- Reading: Chi Square [entire chapter]
- How to do a ChiSquare in Excel
- Lab 4/20
Week 12
4/25 Interpreting the Chi-Square
Reading on use of Chi-Square
Answers to homework #4
4/27 Bivariate associations: nominal and ordinal levels
- Reading: Sections of Chapter 12 (password) and Chapter 13 (password) of Joseph Healey Statistics: A Tool for Social Research, 9th Edition, Cengage Learning
Week 13
5/2 Correlation
- Reading: Correlation Coefficient: Simple Definition, Formula, Easy Calculation Steps
- how to calculate statistical significance for correlation coefficient in excel
- NYC Community Health data
- Lab Tuesday 5/2
5/4 Simple regression
Week 14
5/9 Review of bi-variate analysis: t-test, chi-square, correlation and regression
- Homework 5 due at start of class
- CCRB database
- Demographics by zipcode
5/11 Presentation of research proposals
How to identify themes in the literature
5/16 Questions and review for final exam
Homework 5 answers
5/18 Thurs Final Exam (cumulative, notes allowed)
