B3846 - LABORATORIO DI METODI E TECNICHE QUANTITATIVE AVANZATE PER LA RICERCA SOCIALE

Learning outcomes

The Laboratory introduces the basic knowledge required for data analysis using the statistical package Stata. At the end of the course, the student: (i) has gained a good level of familiarity with the program's interface; (ii) knows how to import databases and manages the main data file operations; (iii) is able to create and recode variables, and prepare the final dataset for statistical analyses; (iv) performs the main univariate and bivariate statistical analyses and correctly interprets the results of such analyses; (v) can independently acquire more in-depth skills in using Stata for multivariate statistical analysis

Course contents

The course is designed for those with theoretical knowledge of social research methods and techniques but who have not yet developed empirical skills specifically related to data analysis and interpretation. The course is structured in two different teaching phases.

The first phase focuses on reading and discussing two papers that use quantitative methods and analyze data with regression techniques. The first of these papers deals with the link between residential segregation and the police stop rate in New York. The second paper represents an attempt to empirically test David Graeber's hypothesis of "bullshit jobs." Although it is not mandatory, it is useful to come to class having already read the two papers to have a general idea of the topics they cover

The second phase involves replicating the results of these papers using the STATA analysis software. The last 10 hours of lessons will be dedicated to i) manipulating data and recoding variables ii) using the analysis techniques employed in the two papers and discussed in the first phase of the program iii) interpreting the data in light of the previous discussion.

Readings/Bibliography

Schenker, L. et al. (2023). Segregation and “Out-of-Placeness”: The Direct Effect of Neighborhood Racial Composition on Police Stops. Political Research Quarterly, 76 (4), pp.1646–1660. Available at: doi:10.1177/10659129231171516.

Walo, S. (2023). ‘Bullshit’ After All? Why People Consider Their Jobs Socially Useless. Work, Employment and Society, 37 (5), pp.1123–1146. Available at: doi:10.1177/09500170231175771.

Graeber, D. (2013). On the phenomenon of bullshit jobs: a work rant. Strike! Magazine 3: 10–11.

Corbetta, P. (2015). La ricerca sociale: metodologia e tecniche. L’analisi dei dati (Vol. 4). 2° edizione. Il Mulino.

Teaching methods

The first block of lessons (10 hours) will be organized through frontal teaching, where the papers will be discussed, focusing on i) how research questions and hypotheses are formulated based on the theoretical framework of each paper ii) what methodological choices are made to set up the empirical exploration of the research questions iii) the specific techniques used to conduct the empirical analysis.

In the second block of lessons (10 hours), students will perform practical exercises under the supervision of the instructor, using the STATA statistical analysis software. During this phase, students will be provided with the datasets used in the two papers and will have to reproduce the analyses conducted in the papers.

Active student participation in laboratory activities will be encouraged. The STATA software (SE version) can be downloaded for free by accessing this address https://www.unibo.it/secure/software-stata/ with Unibo credentials.

Assessment methods

The assessment of the preparation and skills acquired during the laboratory activities will be carried out both through a practical exercise at the end of the course and through activities and exercises during the course. The practical exercise aims to verify that the student has acquired the ability to perform univariate and bivariate statistical analyses on survey data and to present and comment on the results of these analyses through tables. Instructions for the delivery of the exercise will be communicated on Virtuale


To obtain a record of the final result, it is neither necessary to register nor to show up for the examination appointments.

Teaching tools

STATA software and PowerPoint presentations will be available to students.

Office hours

See the website of Lorenzo Cattani