Links to Other Instructional Sites

On this page:

GRAPHS. There are a range of topics here that could fill a web site with links. Many issues can be resolved simply by entering your question in Google or YouTube and picking one of the relevant links. For example, to find out how to construct a graph employing particular software such as SPSS or Excel one can access numerous tutorials that illustrate the steps necessary to create the graph of interest. The same could be said for the topic of graphic design which covers the aesthetics of visual communication with graphs and other visual media. Here there seems to be a battle between those who advocate rules for design versus those who advocate throwing out the rules for design.

MAPS. Making a map involves many of the same steps involved in making a graph and then adds quite a few more. Designing a proper map is not a trivial exercise, and so one should have a basic grasp of the process so that one can at least critique or modify the results created by computer software. People working with SPSS or other statistical software are most likely going to create what is called a thematic map. This type of map is usually highly focused on a specific concept and a limited data set and would be typified by maps of census data by county or census tract. The challenge here is to match your downloaded data records  (by country, state, county, or census tract, etc.) to a boundary file which is a set of records that describe the location or boundaries of the geographic units. Fortunately many common geographic area or point locations already have suitable boundary files so that they do not have to be generated by you to make a map. Usually geographical information system (GIS) software such as ArcGIS is employed to match the two data sets and generate a desired type of thematic map. Most CSU campuses have access to ArcGIS software so that likely will be the software that most CSU faculty will use to make a map. Alternatively, SPSS does have a mapping extension of its own that utilizes Mapinfo software that some departments may have purchased.

RESEARCH DESIGN

SAMPLING

SPSS (officially, “IBM SPSS Statistics”)

  • Miscellaneous:

    • PSPP (The GNU Project).  Downloadable software with the look and feel of SPSS and many (though not all) of its capabilities. For those without access to SPSS, PSPP provides a good (and free) alternative.
      http://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/

STATISTICS

  • Online textbooks

    • Introduction to Research Methods in Political Science: POWERMUTT (Politically-Oriented, Web-Enhanced Research Methods for Undergraduates - Topics and Tools) (John Korey).  The POWERMUTT Project is a Web site that can serve as a basic on-line textbook for teaching research methods in political science and cognate disciplines. Compared to other texts, it is more interactive and less expensive (free!). It also comes with generous terms of use that allow instructors to use the entire resource or to take and modify portions to meet their specific needs. For example, an instructor might wish to simply use one or more of the datasets and codebooks provided.  http://www.csupomona.edu/~jlkorey/POWERMUTT/index.html

    • Seeing Statistics (McClelland, published by Duxbury which is part of Cengage Learning).  An online text (they call it a webbook) which is based on a visual approach to learning statistics.  Uses interactive graphs to illustrate statistical concepts.    http://www.seeingstatistics.com/

    • Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics (Lane).  Online statistics text with many applets and case studies.  http://onlinestatbook.com/rvls.html

    • Stat Trek (company of the same name).  Online statistics text with videos (e.g., what is a variable?), sample problems, statistical tools (e.g., random number generator) and calculators (e.g., binomial probabilities).  http://www.stattrek.com/

    • Statistics Every Writer Should Know (Niles).  A simple but well written introduction to basic descriptive statistics, margin of error, sample size, and statistical testing).  Contains only text but written in a very clear and simple way.  http://nilesonline.com/stats/

    • Electronics Statistics Textbook (StatSoft).  An extensive online statistics textbook which contains lots of materials at the intermediate and advanced levels (e.g., canonical analysis, cluster analysis, log-linear analysis).  Contains only text.  http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/

    • Chance (Dartmouth).  Not exactly an online text book but lots of materials that can be used in any course that deals with quantitative literacy.  http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/

    • Statistical Associates Publishing (Garson).  Series of small books on many statistical topics.  Books area available for the Kindle at a small cost.  Books can also be downloaded for free.  Books are only available at Amazon for the Kindle for 90 days after being published.  After 90 days, they are available to be freely downloaded.  Requires that you register but registration is free.
  • Online discussions of statistical concepts

  • Videos

    • Against all Odds – Inside Statistics (Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications and Chedd-Angier).   A series of 26 videos on various topics such as “the question of causation” and “inference for relationships.”  Originally produced in 1989 which may make some of the videos seem dated but the content is still excellent.  Videos can be purchased but can `be viewed online.  http://www.learner.org/resources/series65.html

TEACHING RESOURCES

  • Research Methods

    • Lecture notes, slides, syllabi and more

      • Opossem - Online Portal for Social Science Education in Methods (hosted by McMaster University Libraries). Online community and repository for sharing of various resources for teaching research methods courses. http://opossem.org/

      • Workshop in Methods (Indiana University). Providing "education and training in sophisticated research methods to graduate students and faculty in the social sciences." Includes slides and videos. http://www.iub.edu/~wim/index.shtml

    • Online textbooks

      • MERLOT (click on “learning materials, then search for “research methods textbook,” refine your search by choosing your discipline’s category – contributions by several academics). Open-source, web-based. http://www.merlot.org/

    • Modules (theoretical perspective and background, discussion of research methods, exercises)

      • SSRIC – Social Science Research & Instructional Center.  (Various academic contributors). Includes U.S. Census, Public Opinion, Macroeconomics and more. http://ssric.org/trd/modules
  • For bringing the use of real data into higher education (across the curriculum)

    • Lecture notes, slides, syllabi and more

      • Teaching with Data (a partnership of ICPSR and SSDAN, both at the University of Michigan). http://www.teachingwithdata.org/qssdl/welcome.action Several types of teaching tools, including
        • Lessons/Lectures
        • Activities/Exercises/Assignments/Modules (some interactive simulations)
        • Syllabi/Reading Lists
        • Tools for analysis, visualization, and course development (including web-based analysis)
        • Data providers
        • Some videos (limited)

      • MERLOT (click on “learning materials, then search for “data,” refine your search by choosing your discipline’s category – contributions by several academics). http://www.merlot.org/ Several types of teaching tools, including:
        • Virtual lab (java based) for Psychology (Malloy)
        • Electoral map simulations for Political Science (Tuthill, Williams, and Donnelly)
        • Interactive Introduction to SPSS Statistical Software (PowerPoints) (Bigham)
        • Some videos (limited)

      • SSRIC  - Social Science Research & Instructional Center. (Various academic contributors). http://ssric.org/ - see “Teaching Resources.” Includes:
        • Exercises
        • Data Subsets
        • Handouts

      • ICPSR Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (housed by the University of Michigan)
        http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/instructors/index.jsp and
        http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/ICPSR/help/datausers/index.html
        Various resources, including:
        • Modules
        • Exercises
        • Tutorials
        • Webinars

    • Print publications and links to other online tools
      • SSDAN – Social Science Data Analysis Network (University of Michigan). Publications and links to various web-based tools (such as CensusScope - an easy-to-use tool for investigating U.S. demographic trends)
        http://www.ssdan.net/
Last updated: March 18, 2013