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Internet Exercises
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1

The Research Homepage at the American Sociological Association website (http://www.asanet.org/research/) provides a great deal of information about trends in the discipline of sociology. By browsing through the tables and figures there, though, you can also begin to understand some of the techniques through which sociologists conduct their research. Go to the ASA Research Homepage, and click on the link to Need Today's Data Yesterday?, and look at some of the tables and figures. Answer these questions.
  1. How do you imagine that these data have been gathered—was it through surveys, interviews, or participant observation, for example? Based on what you know about sociological research, is this the only way that data can be gathered?
  2. What variables do you see along the x and y-axes of these tables and figures? Why do you think that sociologists are interested in such variables?
  3. Look at the footnotes in the tables and figures. Do they tell you anything about the importance of precision in sociological research?
  4. How would you characterize the presentational style? Is it emotional, for example, or factual? Does it attempt to sway your opinion one way or another? Why do you think this is the case?





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