2000 Census Data Analysis Assignment
Module: Differences in Social Class Status and Poverty Levels among Older Adults in the United States
Introduction:
For this assignment, we will explore differences by gender, race/ethnicity, and age group in social class status and poverty rates among the older population (age 65 or older). This module provides a basic introduction to the use of WebCHIP software to conduct simple data analysis using the U.S. 2000 Census. In this module, you will compare a) older men and women by social class/poverty levels, b) racial/ethnic groups by social class/poverty levels and c) age groups within the older population (i.e., 65-74, 75-84, and 85+) by social class/poverty levels. You will use your data results to explain variations in social class/poverty among older people depending upon their gender, race/ethnicity, and age group. Your paper assignment will include all tables (presented in table form from your WebCHIP tables—e.g., exported from an Excel spreadsheet) the bar graph, as well as your interpretation of the quantitative results based upon your answers to the set of questions listed for each section.
Please Note: The variable “eldpov2k” is divided into categories that describe both poverty level (i.e., poor, near poor) and social class status (i.e., middle, comfortable). Therefore, we will refer to this variable as social class/poverty level because it contains both concepts.
Learning Objectives:
Skill
After using this module, students will gain skills in:
- Develop an understanding of WebCHIP procedures for examining frequencies and cross-tabulations.
- Investigate and be able to describe verbally and in writing the relationship between two variables.
- Suggest explanations for your findings.
Substance
- Examine differences in social class status and poverty levels in the U.S. older population using the 2000 census.
- Examine social class status and poverty levels by gender, race/ethnicity, and age group among the U.S. older people.
Part I. Gender Differences in Social Class Status and Poverty Levels among U.S. Older Adults (ages 65+)
A. Creating a Table.
Step 1. Go to
Step 2. From there, click “Browse” on the left sidebar. Find “census2000” in the drop-down box and select it.
Step 3.Scroll down through the list of data sets until you find eldpv2k.dat. Highlight and click “submit” (You can also click here to launch the dataset in WebCHIP).
You will see a page that shows you the different variables with which you can analyze eldpov2k. These include gender, race/ethnicity, age groups within the older population, and marital status.
Step 4. Use theMarginals function todisplay the marginals (or percentages) for the variables in your dataset. You have the table option of either Percent Down or Percent Across. Create a Percent Down crosstabulation with the row variable“Pov” and the column variable “Gender.”
Step 5. Create a table below with the results of your crosstabulations.
Table 1. Distribution of Social Class Status and Poverty Levels by Gender among U.S. Older Adults
Questions: What is the most common social class for older women? What is the most common social class for older men? In what ways do older men and women differ in their social class/poverty levels? Which gender is more likely to be living in poverty in old age? Which gender is more likely to be “comfortable” financially in old age? Based upon class readings and discussions to date, what factors do you think contribute to these differences?
B. Creating a bar graph based upon the percentages in the table above, comparing the social class status and poverty levels of older men and women aged 65 or older.
Step 1. Use the WebCHIP graphing function to create a bar chart.
Part II. Racial/Ethnic Differences in Social Class Status and Poverty Levels among U.S. Older Adults
A. Creating a Table.
Step 1. Go to
Step 2. From there, click “Browse” on the left sidebar. Find “census2000” in the drop-down box and select it.
Step 3. Scroll down through the list of data sets until you find eldpv2k.dat. Highlight and click “submit” (You can also click here to launch the dataset in WebCHIP).
Step 4. Once again you have the table option of either PercentDown or Percent Across. Create a Percent Down crosstabulation with the row variable“Pov” and a column variable “RaceLat.”
Step 5. Create a table below with the results of your crosstabulations.
Table 2. Distribution of Social Class Status and Poverty Levels by Race/Ethnicity among Older People
Questions: Which racial/ethnic group is most likely to be comfortable in old age? Which racial/ethnic group is most likely to be poor in old age? Which racial/ethnic groups are most similar to each other, according to the percentages in each category? What factors do you think contribute to these social class/poverty level differences among racial/ethnic groups in old age?
Part III. Age Group Differences in Social Class Status and Poverty Levels among U.S. Older Adults
A. Creating a Table.
Step 1. Go to
Step 2. From there, click “Browse” on the left sidebar. Find “census2000” in the drop-down box and select it.
Step 3. Scroll down through the list of data sets until you find eldpv2k.dat. Highlight and click “submit” (You can also click here to launch the dataset in WebCHIP).
Step 4. You again have the table option of either PercentDown or PercentAcross. Create a Percent Down crosstabulation withthe row variable“Pov” and a column variable “AgeElder.”
Step 5. Create a table below with the results of your crosstabulations.
Table 3. Age Group Differences in Social Class Status and Poverty Levels among U.S. Older Adults
Questions: Among older people, which age group is most likely to be living in poverty? Which age group is most likely to be financially comfortable? What trend do you see across the three age groups in terms of poverty, near poverty, and being comfortable in old age? What factors do you think contribute to this pattern in old age?