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TERM PAPER PROJECT
The goal of the class paper is for you to analyze some primary demographic data in order to shed light on one of the theoretical questions covered in this class or in order to investigate a demographic topic that you are personally interested in. The default source for data is the IPUMS set of censuses and surveys. Many but not all topics can be investigated with these sources. If you wish to use another data set or source, you should obtain prior permission from your reader. You may not take your data from a published source in which it has already been analyzed. You do not need to use any fancy statistical techniques to do your analysis. Simple is fine.
The text of the papers should be no more than five printed double-spaced pages, plus references (if any) and any figures and tables (maximum seven) you may want to add. The structure of the paper should include (1) an introduction outlining the question you are trying to answer and why it is interesting, (2) an explanation of which data you are using and how you analyze the data, (3) a presentation of your findings, and, finally, (4) a conclusion explaining what light your findings shed on your original question. The conclusion can also recommend a better way to answer the question. For example, you could discuss another real or hypothetical data source that you didn’t analyze.
The goal of the paper is for you to confront theory with real data. You don’t need to do
extensive reading on your subject beyond the reading list. What is important is that your paper be clear, original, and that you explain how your analysis addresses the question you are interested in.
Before doing your data analysis and writing your paper, you will write a paper proposal as part of Problem Set 3 and will receive feedback from your reader. In order to evaluate your proposal, you reader will need a clear definition of your research question and evidence that you will be able to access the data you need.
Here is a list of sample topics. You are also highly encouraged to invent one of your own. Examples of paper topics are: Do the rich have more children? Does divorce increase in hard times? What are the effects of college education on the chance of getting married, divorced, cohabiting? Is assortative pairing (by education, income, etc.) the same for same-sex and opposite sex couples? Does the presence of low-skill immigrants increase wages for the college educated? What is the relationship between population density and income? How does the relationship between socio-economic status and fertility change over the course of the demographic transition? Are health inequalities larger for some ethnic or racial groups than for others? Do education and occupation influence the proportion of female children in India? Which age group was hit hardest by the Great Recession?
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Finding and Analyzing Data: Your term paper should include original data analysis of data available in the IPUMS project (www.ipums.org). This project makes U.S. census data, international census data, and other data sets availailable in a common format. Data extracts can be made to download individual records or tabulations can be made on-line. The analysis of IPUMS data is a valuable skill, that is useful to many students beyond this course. (Although we strongly encourage use of data available on IPUMS, students who wish to analyze other data sets may apply for permission to base their paper on another data set.)
Available IPUMS data sets include decennial U.S. censuses from 1850 to 2010, the American Community Survey for the last decade or so. the Current Population Survey (IPUMS-CPS), and international census data from around the world, which can include questions on fertility and mortality.
Before analyzing your data, narrow your research topic to a specific empirical question. A broad topic might be racial segregation and health, whereas a specific empirical question would be “Do African-American children who live in racially homogenous urban neighborhoods have better health outcomes than African-American children who live in integrated urban neighborhoods, even after controlling for family income and health insurance?” One or two problem sets early in the term will acquaint you with the data sources before you start your paper, as well as with some useful demographic methods.
Students must submit papers electronically through bCourses. To do this, click on the “term paper” assignment and upload your paper as a PDF.
Some students have submitted plagiarized papers in past years, including recycled term papers from previous years, papers copied from published articles, papers purchased on the web, and so on. Those students automatically receive a failing grade on the paper and may receive a failing grade in the course as a whole or be subject to other disciplinary action through the campus Office of Judicial Affairs. To avoid these problems, students’ paper submissions will be checked
through Turnitin via the bCourses site. The web site then compares the text to a vast database, including previous term papers from this and other courses across the country to check for plagiarism.
