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Headings: !!General Teaching Modules and Classroom Exercises !!Simulation Tools !!Subject-Specific Assignments and Modules

General Teaching Modules and Classroom Exercises ^

• SSDAN Exercise Modules - SSDAN is a network of resources - census datasets, class exercises, and teaching modules - created to help teachers in the social sciences introduce "hands-on" data analysis in substantive courses. SSDAN exercise modules use the StudentCHIP software, or it can be completed using its WebCHIP brother, which is almost identical and has most of the capabilities of the StudentCHIP (follow this link to learn more about the programs). The exercise modules provide good guidance for users of StudentCHIP, and we have provided a little tutorial that explains things that are different in WebCHIP. Concrete assignments and modules are linked from individual topic pages accessible from the project's homepage.
  • SSDAN KIDS COUNT modules follow the same format as the other SSDAN exercises, but the topic is always related to children. The difference between the general SSDAN assignments and modules and the ones offered by the KIDS COUNT project, is that the latter uses specific on-line analytic tools, data and resources. The analytic tools are hosted by SSDAN, but you can also browse a separate kids count project homepage to learn more about the project and its funding.
  • National Science Foundation funded a special project through ASA to encourage the use of hands-on data analysis in the form of SSDAN class assignments and exercise modules into sociology undergraduate education in selected sociology departments. The call for applications is here. Georgetown University was one of the winning places and prepared an evaluation report describing the activities conducted to promote this activity and their experiences.

• The California State University Social Sciences Research and Instructional Council. Teaching Resources Depository provides an excellent collection of teaching modules, stand-alone sample exercises with codebooks and datasets, and links to other teaching and research-related resources. The modules and exercises are at a somewhat advanced level and are biased towards users of SPSS. However, the design of the assignments themselves is exemplary. Also, several examples have a California focus.

• Site for Instructional Materials and Information is an ICPSR web site developed to disseminate resources for undergraduate and graduate education. Includes class assignments developed by faculty at ICPSR member institutions. Materials are freely available to members of other member institutions. Contains about 55 teaching modules, most of them quite advanced. Contains downloadable data files in various formats (STATA, SPSS,...), references to literature and more. Examples of particularly relevant exercises are linked from topic pages.

Simulation Tools ^

• In his model of racial segregation, Thomas Schelling (1971, 1978) argued that even in the absence of real prejudice, segregation can nonetheless arise. We describe here and provide links to a basic and an advanced simulations of Schelling's model.

• The Prisoner's Dilemma is often used to illustrate how cooperation can be undermined by commitment problem. However, Axelrod (1985) argued that if one acknowledged that interaction is not a single, one-shot game, as portrayed in the standard version of Prisoner's Dilemma, but is instead a continuous process, cooperation can emerge. On our examples page, we describe Axelrod's model in a bit more detail and provide links to a variety of implementations.

Subject-Specific Assignments and Modules ^

DEVIANT BEHAVIOR (Click here for more detailed information about the assignments we selected and assessed for this section)

• Juvenile delinquency (KIDS COUNT) is an exercise which incorporates some interesting statistics, maps, rankings, and allows the creation of graphs.
• Child mortality from accidents, homicide or suicide (KIDS COUNT)This assignment uses a multiplicity of embedded tools available from its homepage including graphs and state rankings; analytic tools for use in Excel are also available on-line. Very instructive and rich.
• Fear of crime and victimization (SSDAN) Uses General Social Survey data and the GSS on-line analytic tools. Walks the student through all the steps including how to analyze the necessary GSS variables on-line.
• Correlates of Desistance (SSDAN). The exercise module employs Census data and describes trends in the correlates of desistance and leads students to speculate about the consequences of these trends for the actual desistance process. Uses StudentCHIP or WebCHIP software. See our comments on the exercise on the Resources for Classes on Deviant Behavior Page.
• Crime in America (R. Long, Delmar College) Uses data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report (UCR). Students are provided with data tables and are asked to create graphs, analyze results, and discuss findings about concentrations of crime in different parts of the United States.

• Effect of Education and Occupation on Earnings (SSDAN) Students are asked to examine factors such as education and occupation in terms of the role they play in determining earnings. Includes downloadable data modules for the StudentCHIP software platform.
• Current and Historic Patterns in the Distribution of Income (SSDAN) This exercise examines income stratification and economic inequality using contemporary and historical Census data.
• Income Inequality In the United States (SSDAN) This assignment examines the impact of gender and race on the earnings of workers in 2000. Uses StudentCHIP at an introductory level.
• Are Income Levels in Different Regions Converging or Diverging? (SSRIC) Using metro area and California county data, this exercise walks students through detailed statistical analysis of differences in income across areas. Exercise requires SPSS. Some of the questions are at an advanced undergraduate level.
• Texas Border Socio-Economics (R. Long, Delmar College). Using US Census data, this exercise asks students to look at per capita income, poverty, and unemployment rate data and create tables and graphs that illustrate key socio-economic features of poor counties along the Texas border.

FAMILY (Click here for more detailed information about the assignments we selected and assessed for this section)

• Women and Household structure (SSDAN)
• Cohabitation (SSDAN)
• Diversity in Family and Household Patterns (SSDAN)
• Housing Patterns, Living Arrangements and Life Chances (SSDAN)
• Family Change 1950 to 1990 (SSDAN)
• Fertility and Family Planning (SSDAN)
• Race and Changing Household Structure (SSDAN)

POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY (Click here for more detailed information about the assignments we selected and assessed for this section)

• Continuity and Change in American National Elections, 1952-1996 (SIMI)
• American Voting Behavior: Presidential Elections from 1952-1980 (SIMI)
• Citizen Attitudes Toward Local Government (SIMI)
• Political Participation: An International Social Science Council (ISSC) Workbook in Comparative Analysis (SIMI)
• American Voting Behavior in Presidential Elections, 1972-1992 (SIMI)

• Comparative Cities Teaching Package provides SPSS data that illustrate contrasts among cities at different stages of industrialization and the demographic transition in Europe and America. (SIMI)
• Citizen Attitudes Toward Local Government (SIMI). Examines citizen perspectives using survey data from Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, and San Diego.
• Residential mobility (SSDAN). Uses StudentCHIP or WebCHIP software.
• Social structure of the cities (SSDAN). Assignment based on CPS and Census data. Uses StudentCHIP or WebCHIP software.

• Race and the Death Penalty In this assignment, students look at data on the relationship, between race and the death penalty. By looking at the problem from different perspectives, students get a feeling for the complexity of racial bias. A harder version without contingency tables is also available.
• Fear of Crime (SSDAN) In this module, the objective is to examine the effect of sex and race on a person's fear of crime and then to see how fear of crime is also affected by actual victimization.
• Do Blacks Earn Less than Whites and Why? (SSDAN) This module compares the income earnings of Blacks and Whites. It motivates the student to be good data analysts by getting them to think about all aspects of the problem (e.g. what is income, how should it be measured; and differences across time periods, full v. part-time and age groups) before attempting do a more focused analysis. Uses StudentCHIP software
• Part 1 - Social Stratification and Part 2 - Race and Ethnic Inequality (SSDAN) In this module, the objective is to examine the relationship between education, occupation, earnings and race. Uses StudentCHIP and WebCHIP software.
• Race and Changing Household Structure (SSDAN) In this module, the objective is to examine the changing demographics of households over time and by race and by household type (i.e. married, female headed family etc.).

• The Impact of Immigration . Students analyze data on U.S. immigration by region or country of origin during the 20th century.
• Immigration in the U.S. (SSDAN). In this module, students examine the impact of immigration by comparing characteristics of native-born residents with foreign-born residents.

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