Comparisons and Associations
Drawing comparisons and identifying associations between variables underpins most quantitative sociological analyses. While in week 2 we practiced describing variables individually, we now focus on describing variables in relation to one another. We make further steps in understanding the concept of “social trust” by exploring various factors that appear associated with it. Identifying associations and patterns in a dataset, and setting up new research hypothesis based on them is often the most that we can realistically do with our data.
Most often than not, however, our true aim is to set up a statistical model that can be used for making predictions or testing causal relationships about our phenomenon of interest. We will explore these aims and their limits over the next two weeks in exploring how we can make more directed comparisons and identify cleaner associations using regression techniques.
Readings
Statistics:
- IMS: Chapters 4 (“Exploring categorical data”) and 5 (“Exploring numerical data”)
Application:
- Chapter 4 (“Community life and social relations”, pp. 49-62) in Wilkinson, Richard G., and Kate Pickett. 2010. The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
- Delhey, Jan, and Kenneth Newton. 2005. “Predicting Cross-National Levels of Social Trust: Global Pattern or Nordic Exceptionalism?” European Sociological Review 21(4): 311–27
Further reading:
- Dinesen, Peter Thisted, and René Bekkers. 2017. “The Foundations of Individuals’ Generalized Social Trust: A Review.” Pp. 77–100 in Trust in Social Dilemmas, edited by P. A. M. van Lange, B. Rockenbach, and T. Yamagishi. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.