Appendix B -- Notes to the Instructor

DATA

The data for
this module are available as SPSS for Windows system files. The diskette containing
these files may be obtained by writing Edward or Elizabeth Nelson, Department
of Sociology, California State University, Fresno, 93740-0107, or you may
download them from here in SPSS *.por (portable)
format. There are three files containing the sample data for 1985 (called
sr85.por), 1991 (called sr91.por), and 1995 (called sr95.por) and another
file containing all the variables in all three years (called sr8595.por).

SPSS FOR
WINDOWS

There is an introduction
to the basics of SPSS for Windows available for your use, SPSS for Windows
Version 7.5: A Basic Tutorial (Edward Nelson, Elizabeth Ness Nelson, Richard
Shaffer, Nan Chico, John Korey, James Ross). This can be ordered from McGraw-Hill
(ISBN 0-07-366023-X). It is a basic introduction to SPSS and can be used as
a supplement for a class or as a tutorial to learn SPSS by oneself. The hypertext
version is available at this website.

WEIGHTED
DATA

The data for
both 1985, 1991, and 1995 were weighted to make the sample better represent
the population of California with respect to sex, age, and political party
registration.

CODEBOOK

The codebook
is included in this module as Appendix A. A list of all
the variables for student use is at the end of the codebook. A brief introduction
to using the codebook is at the beginning. A variable (YEAR) was created specifying
the year of the survey. If you are using the file containing all three years
(SR8595.SAV), remember that you must either select out the cases for one of
the years or use YEAR as a control variable in a crosstabulation to be able
to distinguish one year from the other year.

CUSTOMIZING
THE MODULE

The module can
be integrated into your classes in many ways. One approach is to assign the
introductory chapters to be read by the students and work through the simpler
exercises in class. Ideally students should be given the opportunity to use
the computer themselves and not just watch you do it. Later, exercises can
be assigned as homework and then reviewed in class. Chapter
5 and Chapter 7 contain a culminating exercise in
which students choose a problem, produce the appropriate tables and statistics,
interpret the tables, and write a brief research report.

A second approach
is for faculty to develop their own exercises to accompany the module. There
is no reason that you should limit yourself to the exercises we developed.
If you do develop your own exercises, be sure to test them before assigning
them.

A third approach
is for faculty to use the data set accompanying the module but not use the
module itself. You would have to develop your own introductory material to
make it relevant to your particular class.

Some of the California
questions can be compared to national data. For example, the question about
favoring or opposing efforts to strengthen and change women's status in society
today was included in the Virginia Slim's surveys on women available through
the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

The module could
also be used by more advanced students as independent studies. The chapters,
"Historical Overview of Women in American Society" and
"Public Opinion on Women's Roles," include a discussion
of the history of the status and roles of women in the United States. The
chapters, "Survey Research Design and Quantitative Methods
of Analysis for Cross-sectional Data," "Introducing a Control
Variable (Multivariate Analysis)," and "Research Design and Methods of
Analysis for Change Over Time," could be used by students
wanting to learn how to analyze categorical data using crosstabulation, chi
square, and measures of association.

The only statistics
used in the module are percentages, chi square, Cramer's V, and Gamma. You
could skip over all these statistics except percentages or you could introduce
other statistical techniques.

Two other appendices
are included for your possible use. Appendix C contains
supplemental instructional materials. Appendix D
contains a description of how to compute the measures of association used
in this module--Cramer's V and Gamma.