Department of Sociology
College of Liberal Arts
Texas A&M University

(2024 Fall) SOCI 600 – Introduction to Sociological Data Analysis

Syllabus


– Course information

Time: Monday, 9:00am–12:00pm

Location: Liberal Arts Social Sciences Building (LASB) 317, campus map

Canvas website:
https://canvas.tamu.edu/courses/324848

I will utilize Canvas to write announcements to students, receive assignments and quizzes, and post grades.


– Instructor details

Ernesto F. L. Amaral
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology

Phone: (979)845–9706

Email: amaral@tamu.edu

Office hours: https://tamu.zoom.us/my/amaral
I will provide office hours by appointment. Students must request appointments by email at least 48 hours in advance. When you enter this Zoom session, you will be placed in a waiting room. I will add you to the chat after I finish talking to the previous student.


– Assignments and quizzes

Submit on Canvas. Look for exact dates in the syllabus and on Canvas.

Assignments: Details about each of these assessments are provided on this course website.


– Lectures, Stata codes, and other materials

1. Introduction
Lecture 1

The Joy of Stats with Professor Hans Rosling
from Gapminder


Statistical software
Stata code 1


2. Basic descriptive statistics & Survey weights
Lecture 2a: Basic descriptive statistics
Lecture 2b: Survey weights

Material in Excel
Excel: Person-years, rates, probabilities
Excel: Examples of charts



Statistical software
Stata code 2


3. Measures of central tendency and dispersion
Lecture 3

Material in Excel
Excel: Examples of measures of central tendency and dispersion

Statistical software
Stata code 3


4. Normal curve
Lecture 4

Material in Excel
Excel: Examples of normal distribution

Statistical software
Stata code 4


5. Summary of inferential statistics and hypothesis testing
Summary of lectures 05

5a. Inferential statistics
Lecture 5a

5b. Estimation procedures
Lecture 5b

Statistical software
Stata code 5a
Stata code 5b (append different years)

5c. Hypothesis testing: One-sample case
Lecture 5c

5d. Hypothesis testing: Two-sample case
Lecture 5d

Statistical software
Stata code 5c-d


6. Summary of bivariate associations
Summary of lectures 06

6a. Analysis of variance
Lecture 6a

6b. Chi square
Lecture 6b

Statistical software
Stata code 6a-b

6c. Bivariate associations for nominal- and ordinal-level variables
Lecture 6c

6d. Bivariate associations for interval-ratio-level variables
Lecture 6d

Statistical software
Stata code 6c-d


7. Ordinary least squares regression
Lecture 7

Material in Excel
Excel file with different logarithm functional forms
Excel file with formatted OLS models and predicted values



Statistical software
Stata code 7


– Assignments
Rubrics for all assignments

Assignment 1
Instructions

Assignments 2, 3, and 4
Instructions


– Research papers for class presentations
Research papers


– Examples of tables and figures
PDF file
Papers and drafts


– American Community Survey (ACS)

ACS resources for this course
Material (course.zip)

Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
Minnesota Population Center (MPC)
University of Minnesota
Site

ACS official website
Site

ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)
Site


– The General Social Survey (GSS)

GSS resources for this course
Material (courseGSS.zip)

GSS official website
Site

GSS Data Explorer
Site


– Stata licenses

Instructions for Accessing Stata Through the Virtual Open Access Lab (VOAL)
Texas A&M University

VOAL Instructions

Student Short-Term Stata License (free for a maximum of one week)
Site

Student Single-User Stata License (lower prices)
Site


– Stata Resources

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

Material about graphs in Stata
Stata twoway bar command
Stata graphics by Dawn Koffman
Stata extra graphics programs
Stata color codes


– U.S. Census Bureau

Census Bureau
Official website
Site

Explore U.S. Census Bureau Data
Data.census.gov

What is data.census.gov?
Explanation about transition from American FactFinder
Site

American Community Survey (ACS)
Official website
Site

American Community Survey (ACS)
Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)
Site

Current Population Survey (CPS)
Site

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
Site

Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) Program
Site

Migration/Geographic Mobility
Site

County-to-County Migration Flows
Site

Census Flows Mapper
Site

TIGER/Line Shapefiles
Site

Demographic Analysis and Population Projection System (DAPPS)
Site

Quick Facts about the United States
Site


– Demographic resources

The DHS Program
Demographic and Health Surveys
Site

Family Inequality
Demographic facts your students should know cold in 2018
Site

Population Pyramids
Site

Population
Science special issue
Site

Population Connection
America's Voice for Population Stabilization
Site

Rob J. Hyndman – Monash University, Australia
Demography: Forecasting mortality, fertility, migration and population data
R package
Site

Coherent population forecasting using R
Site

Applied Demography Toolbox
Department of Demography
University of California Berkeley
Site

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

The Pudding - Human Terrain
World's Population in 3D
Data from the Global Human Settlement Layer
Site

Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Site

Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Data Visualization and Dissemination
Site

Population and Poverty Research Network (PopPov)
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
Site

European Social Survey (ESS)
Site

Eurostat - Your Key to European Statistics
Site


– COVID-19 Pandemic

Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)
Our World in Data
Site

Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases
Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE)
Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
Site

COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
Worldometer
Site

Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak
The New York Times
Site

COVID Community Vulnerability Map
Jvion – Prescriptive Analytics for Preventable Harm
Site

Resources about demography and COVID-19
Population Europe
Site

Sex, gender and COVID-19
Global Health 5050
Site


– Mortality data sources

The Human Mortality Database
Site


– Fertility data sources

The Human Fertility Database
Site

Human Fertility Collection
Site


– Migration data sources

Foreign-Born Population: A Nation of Overlapping Diasporas
Digital Scholarship Lab
University of Richmond
Site

Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Site

Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Tool to generate graphs of countries of birth for U.S. immigrants, 1960-Present
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

Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)
Site


– Resources about refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Site

Syria Regional Refugee Response
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Site

Syrian Refugees Project
Migration Policy Centre (MPC)
Site

Asylum Quarterly Report
Eurostat Statistics Explained
Site

REACH - Informing more Effective Humanitarian Action
Site


– Other microdata and surveys

Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Site

Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Site

American Life Panel
RAND Corporation
Site

World Values Survey
Site

Latinobarómetro: Opinión 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
Videos

World Bank Data
Site

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Data
Site

World Wealth & Income Database
Site

Opportunity Insights
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 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