1. Construct data tabulations and interpret univariate and bivariate tables
2. Assess strengths and limitations of data and analytical approaches
3. Identify sources of bias in the data and methodology
4. Communicate data-driven findings to a broad, lay audience
This module is intended for a 200-level Sociology course. Students are comfortable working with counts, proportions, and percentages and are experienced in creating and interpreting tables in Excel. The activities work best for classes with fewer than 40 students. This module was designed to fit into a course that covers introductory demography (age and sex structure, mortality, fertility, and the demographic transition).
This module instructs students in using the American Community Survey (ACS) to conduct a simple decomposition analysis of earnings disparity between two states. The module also addresses fundamental concepts in data analysis, including sampling and representativeness, measurement and data quality, response and nonresponse bias, and confounding and omitted variable bias.
Technology Requirements:
The classroom should be equipped with an internet-connected computer and a projected screen. Students should bring their internet-connected laptops with spreadsheet software (i.e., Excel) to class. The course uses PollEverywhere (an app-based interactive software for real-time classroom participation) and Canvas.