Department of Sociology
College of Liberal Arts
Texas A&M University
(2018 Spring) SOCI 420 – Advanced Methods of Social Research
– Course information
Meeting location: Academic Building 308, campus map
Meeting times:
Lecture, Monday and Wednesday, 1:50–2:40pm
Lab, Friday, 1:50–2:40pm
– Instructor information
Ernesto F. L. Amaral
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Office location: Academic Building 415
Office hours: Monday, 3–5pm and by appointment
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, 3–4pm; Thursday 12–1pm; and by appointment
Email: michaelj.church@tamu.edu
– Lectures, Stata codes, and Exams
Day 01 – January 17, 2018 – Wednesday
Introduction
Lecture (chapter 1)
The Joy of Stats with Professor Hans Rosling
from Gapminder
Day 02 – January 19, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 1)
Day 03 – January 22, 2018 – Monday
Day 04 – January 24, 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 05 – January 26, 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 06 – January 29, 2018 – Monday
Day 07 – January 31, 2018 – Wednesday
Measures of central tendency
Lecture (chapter 3)
Day 08 – February 2, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 3)
Day 09 – February 5, 2018 – Monday
Measures of dispersion
Lecture (chapter 4)
Material in Excel
Excel: Examples of measures of central tendency and dispersion
Day 10 – February 7, 2018 – Wednesday
The normal curve
Lecture (chapter 5)
Material in Excel
Excel: Examples of normal distribution
Day 11 – February 9, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 4)
Stata code (chapter 5)
Day 12 – February 12, 2018 – Monday
Day 13 – February 14, 2018 – Wednesday
Introduction to inferential statistics
Lecture (chapter 6)
Day 14 – February 16, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (append different years)
Day 15 – February 19, 2018 – Monday
Day 16 – February 21, 2018 – Wednesday
Estimation procedures
Lecture (chapter 7)
Day 17 – February 23, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapters 6 and 7)
Day 18 – February 26, 2018 – Monday
Day 19 – February 28, 2018 – Wednesday
Hypothesis testing I: The one-sample case
Lecture (chapter 8)
Day 20 – March 2, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 8)
Day 21 – March 5, 2018 – Monday
Day 22 – March 7, 2018 – Wednesday
Hypothesis testing II: The two-sample case
Lecture (chapter 9)
Day 23 – March 9, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 9)
March 12, 2018 – Monday
March 14, 2018 – Wednesday
March 16, 2018 – Friday
Spring Break
Day 24 – March 19, 2018 – Monday
Day 25 – March 21, 2018 – Wednesday
Hypothesis testing III: The analysis of variance
Lecture (chapter 10)
Day 26 – March 23, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 10)
Day 27 – March 26, 2018 – Monday
Hypothesis testing IV: Chi square
Lecture (chapter 11)
Day 28 – March 28, 2018 – Wednesday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 11)
March 30, 2018 – Friday
Easter, reading day, no class
Day 29 – April 2, 2018 – Monday
Day 30 – April 4, 2018 – Wednesday
Bivariate association for nominal- and ordinal-level variables
Lecture (chapter 12)
Day 31 – April 6, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 12)
Day 32 – April 9, 2018 – Monday
Day 33 – April 11, 2018 – Wednesday
Association between variables measured at the interval-ratio level
Lecture (chapter 13)
Day 34 – April 13, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 13)
Day 35 – April 16, 2018 – Monday
Day 36 – April 18, 2018 – Wednesday
Elaborating bivariate tables
Lecture (chapter 14)
Day 37 – April 20, 2018 – Friday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 14)
Day 38 – April 23, 2018 – Monday
Day 39 – April 25, 2018 – Wednesday
Partial correlation, multiple regression, and correlation
Lecture (chapter 15)
Day 40 – April 27, 2018 – Friday
Day 41 – April 30, 2018 – Monday
Statistical software
Stata code (chapter 15)
Day 42 – May 1, 2018 – Tuesday
Redefined day (overall review)
Day 43 – May 7, 2018 – Monday, 3:30–5:30pm
Final exam
Healey (chapters 1–15)
– 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
– 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)
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
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
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
