SOCW 501: Part I
Demographic Briefing
Erin Harrop
SOCW 501 Subject Tutor
Writing Team: Julia Schneider, Jenny Walden, Jim
Leighty, and Gina Mendoza
Getting Started
Overview of Assignment: 5 Big Steps
1. Preliminary paper topic
2. Revised paper topic
3. Demographic briefing
(What’s the situation? What does the data
say?)
4. Theory and policy analysis
(Why does the data look like this? What could be done?)
5. Final draft: Combining 1-4
(put it all together)
Getting Started
1. Keep it simple.
2. LEARNING/Product.
3. Data-driven topics.
4. One step at at time.
5. Re-think, re-create, and re-vise
Getting Started
We all react differently to starting a paper:
Step 1: Review Assignment
Using demographic data from the US Census or a comparable government
source, report on one or more of these topics as it related to
poverty/inequality:
● Employment/unemployment
● Earnings or Income
● Location (city, county, state, etc)
● Education
● Disability
CHOOSE ONE
● Family Structure
● Gender
● Race, ethnicity or nativity
Analysis should include a:
● DYNAMIC (over time) or
Step 1: Review Assignment
Paper Part I – Demographic Briefing
Papers should be no more than four double-spaced pages and include:
1. A brief introduction outlining the purpose and key points of the paper
2. A discussion of relevant context and definitions of important concepts, and
3. An original table or graphic displaying data from your research.
**Support all statements of fact with references to academic, governmental or
reputable non-governmental sources of information
**Use language that clearly documents the situation without eliciting emotion
or action. Let the facts speak for themselves
Step 2: Topic Selection
● Employment/unemployment
● Earnings or Income
● Location (city, county, state, etc)
Dynamic
● Education
● Disability
Comparative
● Family Structure
● Gender
● Race, ethnicity or nativity
Step 2: Topic Selection
Typical Topic Selection Process
Topic
Step 2: Topic Selection
Data-Driven Topic Selection Process
Topic
Step 2: Topic Selection
● Employment and unemployment
● Earnings, income, and poverty
● Income or wealth distribution within a population as defined by gender,
race, ethnicity, geography or some combination thereof
○ Example: wealth among African American men age 65+ vs. wealth
among white men age 65+ in x geographic area
○ Example: Women’s versus men’s earnings in x geographic area
○ Example: Homeownership and wealth in King Co. vs. Pierce Co.
● Wealth (or poverty) and taxes
● Health and income
● Education and income
● Financial asset-holding
● Home ownership and wealth
● Children and poverty
Step 2: Topic Selection
Helpful Hints:
1. DATA: Find data before getting too committed to a topic.
2. APPROACH: Pick a dynamic or comparative approach.
3. SCOPE: Narrow scope! Be specific.
Step 2: Topic Selection
Topic example #1:
“educational attainment and earnings among men and
women in Snohomish County in 2011”
1. DATA: highest level of education achieved and annual
earnings for men and women.
2. APPROACH: Comparative: men versus women.
3. SCOPE: Snohomish County in 2011.
Step 2: Topic Selection
Topic example #2:
“SNAP participation rates among poor households in King
County before and after the recession (2007, 2011)”
1. DATA: households with income below poverty level,
participate in SNAP?
2. APPROACH: Dynamic and comparative: 2007 vs. 2011,
different areas of King County.
3. SCOPE: King County, 2007 and 2011.
Step 2: Topic Selection
Suppose you were interested in children in
poverty.
● Comparative research question?
● Dynamic research question?
● How could you narrow your scope?
Step 3: Topic Introduction
Papers should include:
1. Introduction: purpose and key points of the paper
2. Context and definitions
3. Data summary: Include an original table or graphic displaying data
General rule: Tell them what you’re
going to tell them. Tell them.
Tell them what you told them.
Step 3: Topic Introduction
Topic #2: SNAP in King County
(Purpose) King County, as a case study, will be used to illustrate the broader
trends in food stamp expansion during the recession and regional inequalities in
food stamp access. Drawing from the American Community Survey 3-year
estimates for 2007 and 2011, (Data) I will address differences in SNAP
participation for both longitudinal and geographic dimensions. Following the
demographic report, I will briefly overview the Recovery Act of 2009 in order to
contextually frame two theories that aim to answer the empirical question:
(Research question) Why are there regional disparities in food stamp participation
in King County? To conclude, various policy responses designed to address
existing inequalities in SNAP participation will be presented. (Plan of paper)
Simply stated, I hope to (1) examine food stamp participation within King County,
(2) present possible reasons to why regional disparities in participation exist, and
(3) discuss current policy responses aimed at addressing the injustices.
Step 3: Topic Introduction
Topic #1: educational attainment and earnings
(Topic, purpose and data) This paper investigates the relationship between
educational attainment and earnings among men and women in Snohomish
County. Two questions are considered. (research questions) First, to what
extent do gender disparities in annual earnings exist? And second, how
might these disparities change with educational attainment? (Plan of paper)
Following a brief demographic report exploring 2011 US Census data, I posit
two complementary theories to explain this earnings inequality. Finally,
using the context of these theories, I analyze two policies that aim to reduce
gendered earnings disparity and offer suggestions of how each might be
most successfully implemented.
Step 4: Context and
Definitions
Papers should include:
1. Introduction: purpose and key points of the paper
2. Context and definitions
3. Data summary: include an original table or graphic displaying data
Beware of definitionitis!
Try to work definitions into
text naturally.
Step 4: Context and
Definitions
Definitions:
● Define all of your terms and major concepts; don’t
assume the reader already knows what you’re talking
about
● Discuss the source of the data and/or how it’s collected
● Discuss limitations of data as needed
Step 4: Context and
Definitions
Topic example #1: educational attainment and earnings
Context:
Over the past century, women have entered the United States (US) workforce in
increasing numbers (Zinn, 2005). More women also complete formal
education, including graduate studies (Iceland, 2006). In fact, higher rates
of women now graduate college compared to men (Coontz, 2012). These
changes in women’s employment and education are noteworthy, because
income has become increasingly related to educational attainment with the
advent of deindustrialization, the technology boom, and globalization
(Iceland, 2006). Still despite women’s achievements, puzzling gender
disparities in earnings persist (Iceland, 2006).
Step 4: Context and
Definitions
Topic example #1: educational attainment and earnings
Definitions:
Of those over 25 years old (an age when most students have completed college),
486,230 persons were biologically male, and 246,103 were biologically
female. Educational attainment is defined as the highest level of school
completed and arbitrarily divided into five gradated, mutually exclusive
categories. Finally, economic equality is examined using annual earnings.
Within this framework, the female-male ratio of median earnings, ranging
from 0 (no equality) to 1 (perfect equality), serves as a measure of gender
disparity.
Step 4: Context and
Definitions
Topic example #2: SNAP in King County
Context:
During times of economic recession, entitlements like the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) act as “automatic stabilizers” by
broadly providing assistance to individuals and families in need (Gunderson
and Ziliak, 2003). Regarded as one of the most responsive federal programs
during economic downturns it is estimated that if SNAP benefits, commonly
known as food stamps, were not in place the food hardships of the Great
Recession would have been twice the amount actually observed (Pilkauskas,
Currie, & Garfinkel, 2012).
Step 4: Context and
Definitions
Topic example #2: SNAP in King County
Definitions:
Our scope will be limited to households with income below the poverty level,
which for the purpose of this essay will be referred to as “poor households”.
Receiving roughly 93% of SNAP benefits nationally, poor households will
act as a litmus test for participation in King County (CBPP, 2012). To
determine the number of households falling below the poverty level, the
American Community Survey (ACS) compares yearly household income
with poverty thresholds appropriate for family size and composition (US
Census, 2011A). Similarly, SNAP participation is classified as one or more
members in a household receiving food stamps within the last 12 months
(US Census, 2011A).
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
1. Introduction: purpose and key points of the paper
2. Context and definitions
3. Data Summary: include original table or graphic displaying data
Data can be fun!
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
Figures:
• Using figures is a way to describe data, but:
• Don't overuse figures
• Make sure they're clear and necessary
• Use only when they assist the reader in
comprehending groups of data
• Always refer to figures you insert
• Number each figure
• Give a concise title
• Make sure categories are clear
• Give source information in APA style
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
Figure 1. Median 2011 annual earnings for males and females over 25 years in
Snohomish County by educational attainment. Adapted from the U.S. Census
Bureau 2011 American Community Survey.
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
Helpful Hints:
Don’t just show the graph--explain it!
Support all statements with facts.
Use clear neutral language.
Let the facts speak for themselves.
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
Examination of 2011 US Census data revealed that the median male
annual earnings in Snohomish County was $50,271, whereas the median
female annual earnings was $32,412. The difference between these median
earnings represents 55.1% of female earnings (US Census, 2011). Overall,
females earned approximately 64.5% of the financial gains incurred by
males. These differences in earnings become increasingly more evident
when earnings are compared for men and women of similar educational
attainment (see Figure 1). Men consistently earned higher incomes at each
educational level (US Census, 2011). Furthermore, while male earnings
increase steeply with each level of education, females do not show this same
rate of increase.
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
Poor households participating in
SNAP
Seattle
South King County
North King County
East King County
2007
33.67%
49.70%
37.68%
14.28%
2011
37.65%
55.09%
41.50%
20.49%
Table 2. Comparison of SNAP participation rates among poor households in King County
What do you notice about this table?
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
As shown in Table 2, SNAP participation rates among poor households
has increased consistently across King County, with each region increasing
by a net gain of approximately 4-6% (US Census, 2007; US Census, 2011B).
It is important to note that even with an increase in SNAP participation
county-wide it appears that the majority of households with income below
the poverty level are not receiving food stamps. The highest percentage of
food stamp participation by poor households is 55% in South King County.
Even with the highest rate of participation in King County, nearly half (45%)
of the poor households in Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Burien, and Renton
are not receiving food stamps despite meeting income eligibility
requirements (US Census, 2011B).
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
When referring to figures in your paper
• Don’t describe all of the data in the figure
Give the highlights
• Always refer to the figure number: “Figure 1
shows…”
• Never: “The figure on page three…” or
“The figure above shows…”
• Use numerals (1, 2, 5) to refer to figure numbers,
not words (one, two, five)
•
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
Use #s when:
writing about percentages or other statistics
referring to a numbered table
numbers refer to population sizes or ages
the number is 10 or above
•
•
•
•
Use words and #s when:
you’re rounding a number
(Example: nearly 7 million)
you’re using numbers together in a potentially confusing
way
(Example: nineteen 14-year-olds)
•
•
Step 5: Data! Tables, Graphs
American FactFinder
http://factfinder2.census.gov
Take the virtual tour!
http://factfinder2.census.gov/help/en/american_factfinde
r_help.htm#
Tips for the whole paper:
•
•
•
•
•
Focus on organization
Use headings (Optional)
Use shorter sentences when possible
Back up claims w/data
501 is a good assignment because you get to re-visit it
several times to perfect it
APA Questions?
See Purdue OWL
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
UW Libraries’ citation guides
http://guides.lib.washington.edu/citations
Additional Writing Support
Erin’s Office Hours:
Mondays 8:30-9:30am
Mondays 12:30-5:00pm
*Additional times may be accommodated.
Please email: erind2@uw.edu to set up an
appointment.
Due Friday 10/11
1. Preliminary paper topic: In no more than two doublespaced pages, describe the topic you will investigate for
your class project.
●
●
●
●
●
What is the empirical question?
Why is this interesting to you?
What data will you use?
What is your hypothesis?
Explain why you believe this will be the case.