Assignment 1

Respond to each question in a paragraph or two. This material will be the basis for your project proposal. (You'll have an opportunity to alter it, but you should try to get as much of it in place as you can. If you are planning to work in groups, you can discuss the assignment in your group, but you should compose answers on your own.) Email the file with your answers prior to the start of class on Wednesday, February 12.

1. Briefly describe the topic of your project.

2. What is your sociological question about this topic?

3. What is the significance of this question? How does answering this question help us understand this topic?

4. What variables do you need in order to answer this question? Think about a dependent variable, independent variables and control variables or covariates. That is, build an explanatory model. Explain why you chose these variables.

5. What data sources contain these variables or reasonable proxies of them?

6. What data quality issues might you encounter with these data?