Fall 2004: World Cultural Comparisons 12:30-1:50 Tues Thurs SST 155 (Computer Lab)
Anthropology 174AW 60240: Douglas R. White - mirror site at uci (2002) and Canterbury England (you can bookmark in case our class server goes down) Office Hours T,Th 9-9:30 and 2-2:30 SSPA 4169 (949) 824 5893
ORDER OF PRESENTATIONS and proposal topics
Codesheet for Grading Comments (see file above)
Introduction. This course is a self-contained introduction to ethnology -- comparative ethnographic, archaeological and sociohistorical study as anthropological sciences -- that is relevant to international studies and to understanding and explanation of variation in human behavior, gender, religion, politics, and culture. To do exploratory research, make discoveries, and test hypotheses and theories, we make use of SPSS, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, with available databases. Use of SPSS is a course requirement, and requires your presence in the classroom laboratory as well. To learn about SPSS you may also consult the Tutorial on the c: drive of the lab. Spss Demo Use of the on-line two-thousand variable codebook and database for coded variables on human societies is a requirement in the development of a research proposal, writing a draft, making a class presentation and completing a research paper. Students have access in the classroom lab to the materials and software needed. The abundance of on-line materials may be consulted through your internet connection at home but this in no way substitutes for using the primary research materials and software that are only available in the lab!
This is a research writing class, and you will receive feedback at each stage in the research and writing process.
Students need to search for a topic that is covered in the cross-cultural codebook and find references relevant to
their topic in the cross-cultural literature from review articles (available on the web) and from the library.
AUXILIARY but not required options include the use of any of the following: cross-national databases
(available in the lab), national (GSS) or international survey data,
cross-historical, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) mappings of comparative data or White's longitudinal cities and
civilizations database) and archaeological databases
(Peregrine's archaeological Atlas of Cultural Evolution).
The writing assignments and oral presentations for the class consist of: a 1-2 page proposal, a preliminary study for the term project (8-10 pp. plus appendices), an oral presentation of the final project using transparencies, powerpoint or a web page to show your research results, and a term paper (12-15 pp. plus appendices), all to be provided on disk as part of the assignment.
It is absolutely crucial during the first two weeks that you become familiar with the cross-cultural data resources (maps for distributions of variables, codes and codebook, guides to the variables in the codes) and how to use SPSS to access data and show or explore relationships between variables.
Goals and Objectives. When you supplement this process of familiarization with the research materials by readings and lectures, your goals early on should be to master use of SPSS for variables and selective recoding, correlations and cross-tabs, and to learn how to test hypotheses and to practice doing so.
You may focus your research on any subject for which there are adequate data in the datasets provided, which are worldwide in scope. There are no disciplinary or statistical prerequisites. During the quarter you need to learn how to come up with hypotheses and how to test them with SPSS using the cross-cultural database. You need to think about how these relate to general theories about culture and society discussed in class and the readings, and learn how to write up and present your materials for a class presentation and for your term project. The general goal here is to learn how to put theories to the test empirically using a sample of case studies, whether you deal with biology, economics, religion, expressive culture, social organization, politics or the like.
The writing goals are to learn fairly simple strategies for writing up results of empirical research using tables showing relationships among variables. Because this is a writing class, it will also help your grade if you review the Practice Grammar Tests found at the On-Line Writing Lab. Take the tests and you will learn about Punctuation and Mechanics of writing, Grammar Skills, and Writing Techniques. Well worth your time.
Using SPSS: Analysis and Comparison in the Social Sciences
Sample Table for Chapter 5 Example
Text: Your primary guide and orientation, with examples, is provided in
Early readings will provide an overview and review of
literatures useful for your term projects in finding previous studies on possible topics
for your research.
Because this is a writing class, it will also help your grade if you review the
A sample final paper
example of a powerpoint presentation
example of a web presentation
Provided by World Cultures Electronic Journal
- Pre-Coded Variables for the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, from World Cultures, 1998, William Divale, editor
Week 1: Read two articles of your choice from
Cross-Cultural Research: A Cumulative Database and its Uses
and be prepared to discuss them when called upon!
http://eee.uci.edu/02f/60380/files/SCCSarticles.htm
- Sep 28: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Research - Evolutionary Adaptation and Complexity in the Self-Organization of Cultural Interactions
- Standard Cross Cultural Sample, Murdock and White
- Standard Cross Cultural Survey, reviewed by Philip Silverman and Jacquelyn Messinger, with codebooks for SPSS files STDS01-22
- Sep 30: Introduction to SPSS for Cross-Cultural Research with the Standard Sample
- Essential Data Codebook: copies to a 3.5" diskette for home use
- Searchable Combined Standard Cross-Cultural Sample Codebook, SCCCodes.txt: 1-1863 backups (Note: The correspondence between SPSS and Codebook numbers holds from 1-1805: after that you have to rely on the names of the variables for a match. For home use you can download the word document SCCCodes.doc for All variables: 1-1863 to do your searching, copying and pasting of variables)
- Using the Index of Variables - reference to codebook
- Guide to Variables by Spss Files - essential to print yourself a copy
- Using SPSS in the lab -- and accessing codebooks - essential instructions
- Testing Hypotheses with SPSS Contingency Tables David W. Stockburger, Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models, and Applications.
- Visual Explanation for Normal Curve for Significance
- Contingency Table Analysis for Ordinal (sequenced) Categories
- Contingency Table Analysis Cramer's V (adjusted phi) for nominal correlation up to 5x5 categories
- Contingency Table Analysis Exact Significant test for up to 6x6 Nominal Categories
- 2x2 Contingency Table Analysis (SISA)
- Chi Square Calculator for CrossTabs -
- a good intro here too to stats
- Quantitative Methods -Dave Garson
- Selecting Statistics -Bill Trochim
- Supplementary:
- White and Veit's EthnoAtlas - a (Standard Sample)
- Equal Area projection of continents (correcting Eurocentric bias)
eco animation from satellite
- "Focused Ethnographic Bibliography: Standard Cross-Cultural Sample" Douglas R. White, Behavior Science Research 23:1-145. html version a - b
- Publishing opportunity: UCI Undergraduate Research Journal
- Essential Data Codebook: copies to a 3.5" diskette for home use
Week 2: Find your a Research Topic - and two of the following articles
Week 3: State your hypotheses and Paige and Paige on "Reproductive Ritual" (social theory for pre-state societies), check out
controls and embedding in civilizations
Week 5: Research your Topics and analyze your variables - and finish library research on relevant cross-cultural literature;
How will you write up your research report?
Week 6: Getting References, Tables and your argument in order - reading on reliability
Week 7: Getting your Tables and your Argument in order - review INTRODUCTION
Week 8: Research Presentations by Class Members
Week 9: Research Presentations by Class Members
Week 10: Research Presentations by Class Members
INTERNET INFORMATION: Standard Cross-Cultural Sample
INTERNET INFORMATION: SPSS (for use with standard sample)
INTERNET INFORMATION: Ethno-Atlas
Related Course Materials at other Universities:
INTERNET INFORMATION: Other
Recommended
An extraordinarily useful reference if you can get it:
Towards Explaining Human Culture: A criticial review of the findings of worldwide cross-cultural research. David Levinson
Supplementary Texts: OUT OF PRINT Order CD ROM with the computer lab database for home use
INTERNET INFORMATION: Reference books on writing
During week 4 and 5 eight students from Italy will join the class and will also be learning to use SPSS with the cross-cultural and other databases. Any help you can give them
will be appreciated
Week 4: Check out your variables and their correlations and find further sources on your topic; readings below help in the library search and discuss problems of explanation and methodology
Contributed Cross-Tab of the Week!
Remember: Final papers should discuss at least one specific ethnographic case from your readings that is relevant
to your hypotheses by way of illustration
REPORTS: ??
Cross-Cultural Research Methods $22.00.
The Management of Conflict.
Marc Howard Ross. Barnes&Noble Price: $18.00 new, $13.50 used. Available: Ships in 1-2 weeks (There may be copies in the bookstore)
The Politics of Reproductive Ritual
Karen E. Paige Jeffrey M. Paige. Barnes&Noble Price: $16.95 In Stock: 24 hours (Same Day). Not in the bookstore: order off the web from Barnes and Noble.
The syllabus for this course (2002-forward) has been viewed
times since Sept 29, 2002
FastCounter by bCentral
move to back