Skill:
- After using Part I of this module, students will gain skills in:
- Using software to access and analyze census data
- Learning how to construct, read, and interpret bivariate tables displaying frequencies and percentages
After using Part II of this module, students will gain skills in:
- Using software to access and analyze census data
- Identifying independent and dependent variables
- Employing control variables
- Learning how to construct, read, and interpret bivariate tables displaying frequencies and percentages
- Creating visual tools representing quantitative data in the form of charts or graphs
- Identifying population trends over time
- Using real world data to enhance and support key course concepts
This exercise was developed for use in an upper-level sociology course that focuses on race and ethnicity. In this particular exercise, students complete a brief exercise in order to become acquainted with WebCHIP in order to complete the more lengthy Part II of the Social Stratification/Race and Ethnicity activity.
The population of the United States is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. This increasing diversity is an important issue because it is changing the cultural, political, and economic landscape of American life. Our schools, workplaces, legislatures, and national character are constantly being shaped by this growing diversity. Consequently, race/ethnicity issues concern the entire nation, not just the members of minority groups. You will look at the similarities and discrepancies between different race/ethnic groups in terms of educational attainment, occupations and earnings. Over time, all race/ethnic groups have experienced increased education levels, more occupational choices, and higher earnings. However, the rate of these gains varies between race/ethnic groups. After seeing the gaps between race/ethnic groups, you will consider why these discrepancies exist.
This activity uses a customized data set made from the 1990 Census and guides students through data manipulation using WebCHIP software found at DataCounts!. To open WebCHIP with the dataset for the activity, please see instructions and links in the exercise documents under teaching materials. For more information on how to use WebCHIP, see the How To section on DataCounts!
Original Archive Module: https://ssdan.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Datacounts_SocialStratification_Original.pdf