Assignment 4: Wiki Project
Due Online Oct-15
For this assignment you’ll work in groups of four to develop a wiki page describing a
research method as it is used in an empirical research article. This project will introduce
you to multiple research methods to be discussed in detail later in the course.
Part One
You’ll be assigned one of the following research methods/articles. Begin by finding your
assigned exemplar article, reading it and taking notes. Be sure to use the critical questions we
discussed in lab to guide your reading and note taking:
1. Experiment:
Pager, Devah, Bruce Western and Bart Bonikowski. 2009. “Discrimination in a Low-Wage
Labor Market: A Field Experiment.” American Sociological Review 74:777-799.
2. Surveys
Street, Debra and Jeralynn S. Cossman. 2006. “Greatest Generation or Greedy Geezers? Social
Spending Preferences and the Elderly.” Social Problems 53(1):75-96.
3. Ethnography
Chambliss, Daniel F. 1989. “The Mundanity of Excellence: An Ethnographic Report on
Stratification and Olympic Swimmers.” Sociological Theory 7(1):70-86.
4. Content Analysis
Dill, Karen E. and Kathryn P. Thill. 2007. “Video Game Characters and the Socialization of
Gender Roles: Young People’s Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media Depictions.” Sex Roles
57:851-864.
5. Secondary Data Analysis
Ainsworth-Darnell, James W and Douglas B. Downey. 1998. “Assessing the Oppositional
Culture Explanation for Racial/Ethnic Differences in School Performance.” American
Sociological Review 63(4):536-553.
6. Comparative Historical
Armstrong, Elizabeth A. and Suzanna M. Crage. “Movements and Memory: The Making of the
Stonewall Myth.” American Sociological Review 71:724-751.
As you read pay special attention to the description and implementation of the methods the
researchers used. This will be useful for the second part of the assignment.
Part Two
What is a wiki? You’re probably already familiar with Wikipedia but this is only one
application of wikis. “Wiki” is short for the Hawaiian word “wikiwiki” which means speedy.
Essentially, wikis are a quick way to collaboratively develop a website. For this assignment
you’ll produce a wiki site describing major elements of your assigned article.
Below you’ll find the details on the general and specific elements you’ll need to include
in your wiki page. Points will also be awarded for creativity and style. Do not simply list the
elements below. The material should be written in paragraph format as you might find on a real
Wikipedia entry. After these wikis have been completed you’ll use them all to complete an
additional assignment synthesizing the material. Your classmates will depend on you producing a
high quality end product.
General Elements: Your Wiki should include the following general elements:
1. The name of the research method used in the article.
2. The full ASA citation for the research article.
3. What was the research question?
4. How does this article fit into the broader literature on the topic? You don’t need to be too
specific here but a general overview will help your readers understand why this article is
relevant.
5. What are the major concepts and topics dealt with in the article? How were these
concepts measured?
6. Did the authors present hypothesis for their research? Were the hypothesis supported or
refuted?
7. What were the main findings of the article?
8. How do the main findings contribute the literature on the topic as discussed in the
literature review?
Specific Elements: Include the specific elements below corresponding to your assigned research
method/article. Refer to your textbook if you have questions about specific concepts or issues
with this material.
1. Experiment – Pager et al. 2009
• In general, describe the experimental procedure. What type of experiment is this?
• What was the experiment location? How many testers participated? How were testers
assigned to experimental groups? How did the researchers find the entry level positions
used in the experiment?
• What was the dependent variable? Why was this variable chosen?
• Obviously race cannot be experimentally assigned. How did the researchers attempt to
ensure comparability between testers?
2.
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Surveys – Street and Cossman 2006
What survey data did the researchers use? How was this data gathered?
What was the sample size? Who was represented in the sample?
What were the dependent variables used in the study? How were they measured?
What were the main independent variables used in the study? What was the role of time
points in the study?
3. Ethnography – Chambliss 1989
• What type of ethnography is this? What role did the researcher assume? (hint: look at the
roles described in chapter 9 of your textbook).
• Describe how the data were gathered and the research settings?
• What sorts of comparisons does the researcher make between settings and research
subjects?
• What was the role of field notes and interview notes in presenting to researcher’s
arguments?
• Describe how the researcher presents his data. This ethnography does not appear to have
a discrete dependent variable so how does the researcher draw on his experience in the
field to make causal assertions in his research?
4. Content Analysis – Dill and Thill 2007
• For study one in the article, how did the researchers select their magazines from the
population of game magazines?
• How did the researchers select which character images to include in their investigation?
• Describe the coding process and ratings criteria used in the content analysis.
• Describe how the findings are presented. What role does statistical analysis play? What
about the use of examples from the analyzed images?
5. Secondary Analysis – Ainsworth-Darnell and Downey 1998
• Where did the data for this study come from? What is the sample size? Who is included
in the sample?
• Describe three (3) of the dependent variables used in the analysis. How are these
dependent variables related to the main concepts under investigation?
• What was the main independent variable in question?
• Without getting into the details, what analytic technique did the researchers use to study
their secondary data?
6. Comparative Historical – Armstrong and Crage 2006
• How did the researchers identify the events to include in their data? What types of
materials were reviewed as part of this data collection? What do the authors mean when
they said they “worked inductively as well as deductively” (pg 728)?
• What themes did the researchers find to be relevant in describing the cases? How were
these themes used in the analysis and comparison of cases? (hint: Table 1 summarizes the
themes).
• In your textbook (chapter 12) Schutte describes the “method of agreement” and the
“method of difference” as approaches to comparative case study designs. How are these
relevant to the Armstrong and Crage article?
• Describe how the data are presented in the article.
To begin creating your wiki page click on the link on the moodle page labeled “Methods
Wiki”. Next click on the wiki page for the method/article you’ve been assigned. I’ll give
additional instructions on this process in class.