Poverty in the United States
Summary
In addition to a quantitative analysis that involves univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis, this module reinforces research terms introduced in Intro to Sociology (independent, dependent and control variables and includes the opportunity to discuss sample vs. population (in the comparison of national poverty data vs. the poverty rate in the sample) and value vs. variable (poverty as a value and a variable and the recoding of the values in the household data). The module also uses the Census website to define the concept "poverty threshold" and look at trends in poverty. Together this reinforces basic components of social science research and analysis in preparation for upper-level classes, including research methods and statistics.
Learning Goals
After using this module, students will gain skills in:
- Using software to access and analyze census data
- Identifying independent and dependent variables
- Forming testable hypotheses using quantitative data
- Employing control variables
- Quantitative writing
- Learning how to construct, read, and interpret bivariate tables displaying frequencies and percentages
- Using real world data to enhance and support key course concepts
We will answer the following questions:
- What is the distribution of poverty, how has it changed over time, and how is it defined?
- What social variables are related to poverty?
- What are some possible explanations for poverty?