Weeks 4-7: Exploring sociocultural dimensions the our database

:This begins the research writing class, based on discovery. Your will have 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: kinship networks, 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 (Henry Wright's Atlas of Chiefdoms and States is recommended and has its own Spss data and codebooks, but you will need to read some of the site reports; there is also (Peregrine's archaeological Atlas of Cultural Evolution). Some good entries (and others very poorly done) are to be found at Wikipedia, such as the social evolution entry.

Grades Auxiliary Reading: The value of skills and research is dicussed in The World Is Flat, by fellow Minnesotan Thomas Friedman - $27.50. You can also attend or sign up for Human Sciences videoconferences, with previous talks in streamed-on-demand.

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.

Textbook and Chapters/Articles:
1. Your primary methodological guide and orientation, with examples, is provided in the on-line text
Using SPSS: Analysis and Comparison in the Social Sciences
2. Statistical Analysis of Cross-Tabs (text: Chapter 5) - and here is your review of>
3. Animated Images: A New Tool for Web- Based Anthropology Glen Davis Stone

Of Interest. World Religions and Social Evolution of the Old World Oikumene Civilizations: A Cross-cultural Perspective, By Andrey Korotayev, 2004. ISBN 0-7734-6310-0
best used textbook prices find ISBN by title Public Anthropology

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

Provided by the Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing and the World Cultures Electronic Journal

• Ethnographic Cultural Summaries - read here texts on the societies we will study from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. Note the Wikipedia entry that has both pop descriptions of the 186 cultures and, for the Old World, the SCCS pinpointing sheets.
• Pre-Coded Variables for the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, from World Cultures, 1998, William Divale, editor
• Ethnographic Atlas, from which the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample was drawn: an explanation of the Atlas
• Introduction to Cross-Cultural Research (with Murdock's Ethnographic Atlas) by Michael Fischer
• Ethnographic Atlas Cross-Tabs by Michael Fischer
• (new)
  2006 Douglas R. White, Standard Cross-Cultural Sample draft 1.1 International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd edition
  Abstract. Since 1969, hundreds of cross-cultural studies have contributed coded data using the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. Some of uses of the SCCS are describing and findings illustrated by reviewing the ideas in major books whose authors coded new data as well as evaluating theories tested from the new and cumulative database. (contains useful bibliography and reviews of major theories).
  See also the Wikipedia sites, 2006: Standard Cross-Cultural Sample and Galton's problem

  Week 1: Read two articles of your choice from the entries in the Article Search for Standard Cross Cultural Studies and pdfs and be prepared to discuss them when called upon!

  • Sep 26: Introduction to Cross-Cultural Research - Evolutionary Adaptation and Complexity in the Self-Organization of Cultural Interactions
    • Shannan Chadek's Lecture
    • class notes!
    • Standard Cross Cultural Sample, Murdock and White
      • Societies and their Characteristics
      • Societies on the Map for the Standard Sample
    • Standard Cross Cultural Survey, reviewed by Philip Silverman and Jacquelyn Messinger, with codebooks for SPSS files STDS01-22
  • Sep 28: Introduction to SPSS for Cross-Cultural Research with the Standard Sample
    • Shannan Chadek's Example of the paper process
    • Essential Data Codebook: copies to a 3.5" diskette for home use
      • Searchable Combined Standard Cross-Cultural Sample Codebook, SCCCodes: 1-2002 data
        NewVarCodes: after 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
      • Discrete Stat Contingency Table Analysis
      • Regression and Autocorrelation
    • Supplementary:
    • How to avoid a Challenger Shuttle Disaster (1986), or the Devastation of New Orleans
    • Glossaries of Anthropological and Sociological Terms
    • White and Veit's EthnoAtlas - a (Standard Sample)
    • Standard Cross Cultural Sample in GIS format courtesy of Margarite S.E. Forest, 2006
    • 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

  Week 2: Find your a Research Topic - and two of the following articles

  • Oct 3: Cross-Cultural Research Topics - What is Feasible?
  • Proposal due thurs week 3
  • See additional Resource articles: Article Search for Standard Cross Cultural Studies and pdfs
    
  • Oct 5: Using SPSS for your Cross-Cultural Research

  Week 3: State your hypotheses; also read/discuss Paige and Paige on "Reproductive Ritual" (social theory for pre-state societies), check out controls and embedding in civilizations

  • review of Reproductive Ritual, by Paige and Paige
  • summary of Reproductive Ritual, by Paige and Paige
  • Oct 10: Practicum with SPSS
  • What statistics to use in SPSS?
  • Oct 12: Focusing your topic; Proposals due

  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

• CLICK HERE to get week 4 assignment A
  • Oct 17: Expanding your Topics - finding other variables - replication
  • Cross-Cultural Surveys Today, 1987, by Michael Burton and Douglas White, Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 16:143-169
    • see Marilyn Strathern: commentary on cross-cultural method as described in the article above
  • Cross-Cultural Comparisons Joseph G. Jorgensen. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 8. (1979), pp. 309-331.
  • Why Exceptions? The Logic of Cross-Cultural Analysis A. J. F. Kobben. Current Anthropology, Vol. 8, No. 1/2. (Feb. - Apr., 1967), pp. 3-34.
  • Sample Size and Research Strategy in Cultural Anthropology Thomas Schweizer, Hartmut Lang. Current Anthropology, Vol. 30, No. 4. (Aug. - Oct., 1989), pp. 514-517.
  • Oct 19: Replication with multiple variables; Replication by Region
  • CLICK HERE to get week4 assignment B
  • Contributed Cross-Tab of the Week--from Julius--becoming a favorite new type of graph!

  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?
  Contributed Cross-Tab of the Week--from DRW--see reading below by Marshall Sahlins Annex

  • Oct 24: Review of Theories, Publications and Topics in Cross-Cultural Research, and Using the Library search engines from the PC lab (in our classroom) to find cross-cultural and topical references
  • A secret weapon for Chi-squared and Exact Significance Tests
  • Oct 26: Elements of the research report, Putting it all together
  • CLICK HERE for outline of Rough Draft assignment due thurs week 6

  Week 6: Getting References, Tables and your argument in order - reading on reliability

  • Oct 31: Tables, Percents, Logic of Arguments - Putting it all together again
  • CLICK HERE Using percentages and getting the form of relationship right
  • How to make Interpolation Graphs in SPSS for presentations
  • CLICK HERE How to clean up your act: Presentation of Tables or BarGraphs
  • Nov 2: Finding further references on topics (Pauline Manaka will graciously host an 80 min presentation and practicum in use of library search facilities from 12:30-1:50 in the Library Lab -2nd Floor room 228, right behind the exhibits! If you absolutely need our computer lab for work on your project with spss it will be open and free, but there is much that Pauline has to show you that will be invaluable and not only for his class but others)
  • American Anthropologist: search 1888-2000+
  • Presentations - begin week 7

  Week 7: Getting your Tables and your Argument in order - review INTRODUCTION

  • Kickoff ppt with Christina's Five Step Process to your Final Paper
  • Nov 7: Getting ready for your oral report
  • Illustration for Kristen Cully's study of Religion and Community Leadership
  • CLICK HERE Further help with conditional versus linear relationships
  • Nov 7: ... and Getting Significance
  • CLICK HERE Chi-Square and Exact Significance Tests - as in week 3 BELLWEATHER REPORTS: The presentations (2002: Brian Manoogian on Warfare and Polity)
  • Contra Expectations Original Affluent Society--Marshall Sahlins
    Remember: Final papers should discuss at least one specific ethnographic case from your readings that is relevant to your hypotheses by way of illustration
• Nov 9: First Student Research Presentations!

  Week 8: Research Presentations by Class Members

  • Nov 14: REPORTS: see ORDER OF PRESENTATIONS Papers 1-6 (as time allows) 7-12
  • CLICK HERE Slides for Overhead Projector - optional
  • Nov 16: REPORTS: 7-12 and 14-18
  • a new excerpt and guide to statistics from the textbook

  Week 9: Research Presentations by Class Members

  • Tues Nov 21: REPORTS: Sexuality Papers 14-18, Religion 20-23
  • Thur Nov 23: Thanksgiving (and how!) HOLIDAY

  Week 10: Research Presentations by Class Members

  • Nov 28: REPORTS: Papers 25-31
  • Nov 30: Discussion of Standard Sample FILM on Dance in Human History, by Alan Lomax. The film is no longer available but will soon appear as streamed versions on internet. The film footage gives feel for the diversity of cultures in our sample since Lomax uses film on dance for the same societies. Lomax mapped out the large world regions and showed how they differ continuously in cultural features, and also how they intermix. Lomax also tests hypotheses using the percentaging method for cross-tabs, one of the options for this class.
    To see some of the discussions about the film, create your UserName then login, and click "Discussions, Lectures, and Interviews: and look for "Dance and Human History" in discussions with Forrestine Paulay. Go back to Home and Alan Lomax and ACE for background, or to ACE. Here is an excerpt from Lomax's film The Land Where Blues Began and there are Clips here from Dance and Human History. His three teaching films are described in the Biography. The three films are reviewed in the journal Ethnomusicology. Some of the cross-cultural (cross-tab) correlates are given on pp 308-309.
  • Standard Sample explanation.
    REPORTS: ??

  INTERNET INFORMATION: Standard Cross-Cultural Sample

  • World Cultures guide to cross-cultural studies

  INTERNET INFORMATION: SPSS (for use with standard sample)

  • SPSS version of the Standard Sample Database
  • A Student Guide to SPSS for Windows by Thomas W. Pavkov, Kent A. Pierce - Amazon.com Price: $6.95
  • Step-By-Step Calculations and Computer Techniques Using SPSS for Windows by Duncan Cramer - Amazon.com Price: $29.99

  INTERNET INFORMATION: Biographies

• Biography of G.P. Murdock with Bibliography
• Biography of John M. Roberts with Bibliography publisher

Related Course Materials at other Universities:

• William Divale Tattooing and Techniques of Cross-Cultural Research
• Cross-Cultural Analysis chapter by Judith L. Gillies - in Anthropological Theories: A Guide Prepared By Students For Students -- Dr. Michael D. Murphy, Dept of Anthropology, University of Alabama
• Research Questions and Hypotheses Instructor Brad Huber, College of Charleston
• HRAF Data Recovery (requires use of the statistical program SPSS) Instructor Brad Huber, College of Charleston
• Group Poster Presentations Instructor Brad Huber, College of Charleston
• Basic Guide to Cross-Cultural Research by Carol Ember and Mel Ember
• Ethnographic texts: eHRAF files
• Ethnographic examples: eHRAF files

INTERNET INFORMATION: Other

• Brad Huber's website
• The Trobriand Ethnographies
• Experience Rich Anthropology
• eHraf - instructional projects (Teaching eHRAF)
• eHraf ideas on individual societies
• UCI Electronic Educational Environment
• Home pages for students in the class

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: 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)

OUT OF PRINT 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.

Order CD ROM with the computer lab database for home use

INTERNET INFORMATION: Reference books on writing

• Writing A to Z, custom 4th edition by Ebest et al. (McGraw-Hill 2003) (you may also consult the campus writing coordinator or the Learning and Academic Resource Center for workshops and consultations
• The Craft of Research, by Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams. University of Chicago press (paperback). $10.36
• Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) Joseph M. Williams, $7.96
• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing); Kate L. Turabian, et al, $10.36
• Writing for Social Scientists : How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing); Howard S. Becker, $7.16

---

The syllabus for this course (2002-forward) has been viewed times since Sept 29, 2002
FastCounter by bCentral