Short Course on Research using Spss with the Standard-Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS)


Suitable for a 7 hour one-day workshop or 4+ 80 minute classes. Please let drwhite [at] uci [dot] edu know about educational use of these public domain materials so that I can list them at the SCCS courses website for the benefit of shared resources.

Preparations:

  • TOPIC: For you or your group to choose a topic of study, you need to begin by finding and reading a number of CROSS-CULTURAL ARTICLES DOWNLOADABLE AS PDFS (UCLA:use Expanded Academic ASAP) or books USING the SCCS for cross-cultural research.
  • SOFTWARE: If you are not in a lab with the software go to Spss to choose a software supplier OR go to Amazon for the same Spss in student version
  • DATA: Use the Spss version of the Standard-Cross-Cultural Sample database - what is it? Standard-Cross-Cultural Sample Encyclopedia article
  • download SCCSvar1-2008Map.sav World Cultures Spss file with DRW factor additions, polygyny codes
  • MANUAL with instructions for Cross-Tabs, Maps, Graphs: Using SPSS: Analysis and Comparison in the Social Sciences
    Search This Site!/Link to Google. When using /Analyse/Regression/Linear in Spss, click Statistics and [x] Durbin-Watson; then use the Durbin-Watson tables to evaluate Galton's problem and reduce the effective sample size if needed.

    Steps to Cross-Cultural Research - use the web links here

  • Step 1. Find what you're interested in (using the SCCS Codebook) and form a hypothesis
    Cut and paste the numbers and categories of each variable for study into your workfile (e.g., paste into Word). Turn in an outline with references (step 4), variables, hypotheses, and what you expect from crosstabs as tests of the hypotheses.
  • Step 2. Do crosstabs, checking strength of correlations, and examine alternatives
    Open the database in Spss, /Analyze/Descriptive/Crosstabs and enter your variables
    When needed, Transform/Recode/into new variable and reorder or combine categories
  • Step 3. Make Visual Representations of Data
    Experiment with /Graphs but then read the MANUAL for graphs and maps
  • Step 4. Do plenty of research, using reliable sources
  • Step 5. Bring it all together in a clear, well organized, and well written paper and powerpoint or pdf presentation.




    Acknowledgements

    The materials for this site are developed with many different authors, as named in respective publications in site materials, but particularly in contributions and collaborations with the successive editors and publishers of the World Cultures eJournal (WCej) and other collaborators who improved the quality and capabilities of the computerizes materials. These include Greg Truex (WCej editor 1990-1991), Michael Fischer (EthnoAtlas interactive software, 1999), Pat Gray (WCej editor, 1992-present), Peter Peregrine (WCej editor, 1992-1999), Stephen Borgatti (WCej publisher, 1993-1995), William Divale (WCej publisher, 1999-present), and Andrej Korotayev (WCej Spss datafile mapping, 2003), We thank the National Science Foundation for the initial funding for the SCCS Cross-Cultural Cumulative Coding Center in an award to G. P. Murdock and D. R. White, 1968-1973. Most of the research materials and software developed for the SCCS have been contributed to the public domain for research and educational purposes.