you will access from a database of opinion and attitude questions posed to a representative sample of Americans (see below for details on how to do this). You will learn how to use this survey data base, report on the results of survey question(s) and analyze the relationship between the responses to the question and what these attitudes reflect about the changing nature of American values over time. Please read the entire instructions before you begin or you won’t know how to use the survey database, which takes a bit of time to learn. You will present your analysis following using the following organizational format: 1. Introduction: Briefly discuss the relationship between values and how they relate to attitudes about social institutions and societal concerns. 2. Body/Analysis: Describe trends or changes based on the example provided. Be sure to include the most recent data that runs up to 2016 (or later if available) in your report. See the section on "presenting the analysis" below for more specific instructions. 3. Consider the possible "contradiction" or tension in the data results (again, see below for details) in relation to American values we've considered and changes in American society related, for example, to sexuality, gender, rights, etc. Explain what underlying values may be in conflict here that account for the tension? Specifically, what principles of American values that we have covered may be at play in accounting for this? Look back at the Robin Williams list and especially the chapter assigned for Week 5 to help you (you should cite both). What historical events or other shifts in American society may account for the change in attitudes over time? Finally, compare your own values to survey findings from the SDA data. In what ways are these findings from a national sample of Americans relevant to your values? (not necessarily about the specific questions asked if you don't want, but in that case, explain them in relation to what the data may say about change in American attitudes overall).  4. Conclusion: Present the highlights of your analysis and what you consider to be the major implications of your analysis in terms of a connection to the real-world. Note: Remember from SOCY100 that a variable is any socially related phenomena that varies or changes or a category into which people may be grouped in ways that can be different from one another. For example, it may be an attitude, a belief, income, age, social class, etc. There are two major categories of variables: Independent Variables and Dependent Variables. The Independent Variable predicts or affects the value or level of a Dependent Variable. The Dependent Variable is affected by, or differs based on, the Independent Variable. In this assignment, the Year that the survey data was collected is the Independent Variable. You will be comparing changes in survey responses for specific issues, or beliefs from year to year. Therefore, time in this case, is the.

1. you will access from a database of opinion and attitude
questions posed to a representative sample of Americans (see
below for details on how to do this). You will learn how to use
this survey data base, report on the results of survey question(s)
and analyze the relationship between the responses to the
question and what these attitudes reflect about the changing
nature of American values over time. Please read the entire
instructions before you begin or you won’t know how to use the
survey database, which takes a bit of time to learn.
You will present your analysis following using the following
organizational format:
1. Introduction: Briefly discuss the relationship between values
and how they relate to attitudes about social institutions and
societal concerns.
2. Body/Analysis: Describe trends or changes based on the
example provided. Be sure to include the most recent data that
runs up to 2016 (or later if available) in your report. See the
section on "presenting the analysis" below for more specific
instructions.
3. Consider the possible "contradiction" or tension in the data
results (again, see below for details) in relation to American
values we've considered and changes in American society
related, for example, to sexuality, gender, rights, etc. Explain
what underlying values may be in conflict here that account for
the tension? Specifically, what principles of American values
that we have covered may be at play in accounting for this?
Look back at the Robin Williams list and especially the chapter
assigned for Week 5 to help you (you should cite both). What
historical events or other shifts in American society may
account for the change in attitudes over time? Finally, compare
your own values to survey findings from the SDA data. In what

2. ways are these findings from a national sample of Americans
relevant to your values? (not necessarily about the specific
questions asked if you don't want, but in that case, explain them
in relation to what the data may say about change in American
attitudes overall).
4. Conclusion: Present the highlights of your analysis and what
you consider to be the major implications of your analysis in
terms of a connection to the real-world.
Note: Remember from SOCY100 that a variable is any socially
related phenomena that varies or changes or a category into
which people may be grouped in ways that can be different from
one another. For example, it may be an attitude, a belief,
income, age, social class, etc. There are two major categories of
variables: Independent Variables and Dependent Variables.
The Independent Variable predicts or affects the value or level
of a Dependent Variable.
The Dependent Variable is affected by, or differs based on, the
Independent Variable.
In this assignment, the Year that the survey data was collected
is the Independent Variable. You will be comparing changes in
survey responses for specific issues, or beliefs from year to
year. Therefore, time in this case, is the independent variable
(represented by changes from year to year) and attitudes or
beliefs about gay people and rights are the dependent variables.
II. How to access and use Berkeley's SDA data sets necessary to
complete the above:
Follow these Steps:

3. Either click on the link below or cut and paste the url in your
browser:
http://sda.berkeley.edu/sdaweb/analysis/?dataset=gss18
This will bring you to the data access page. At the top of the
left-hand margin there is a section entitled: “Variable
Selection”. Find it first.
Next, find the box next to word “selected” and type: YEAR
Click on Col (column). This is the second button in from the
words “Copy to:” The word Year will appear in the box for
Column (more toward the middle of the page).
Now look below the “Copy To” box at the list that begins with
CASE IDENTIFICATION. Scroll down until you see
“CONTROVERSIAL SOCIAL ISSUES” and click on the little
arrow “>”.
Scroll down again until you see “Family Planning, Sex, and
Contraception and click on the arrow. Now, as an example, find
the variable HOMOSEX (which represents responses to a
question about whether American respondent believe that sex
between two people of the same gender is morally wrong or
not). Click on it to highlight it.
Now, while that variable is highlighted, go back up to “Variable
Selection" and click “row” button. The title of the concern
should now appear in the window next to row.
Click on “Run the Table” at the bottom of the page. A table
should appear that provides percentages from 1972 – 2016 for
survey responses to your chosen dependent variable.

4. Note: Looking at the Table, focus your attention on the rows
“Always wrong” and “Not at All Wrong” and how the
percentage of Americans saying each changed over time from
1973 to 2016. (Consider what values may have changed or what
social events have occurred that may account for this shift).
Now repeat Steps 1-8 above, but with a couple of changes:
Remove HOMOSEX from the Row (if you’re starting over
completely, it will be empty)
Now scroll down the list (or back up) again until you see the
category “ATTITUDINAL MEASURES-NATIONAL
PROBLEMS” and click on the little arrow “>”.
Scroll down again until you see Free Speech and click on the
arrow. Now, as an example, find the variable COLHOMO
(which is a question about whether gay people should be able to
teach in public schools). Click on it to highlight it.
Remember to go back up to “Variable Selection" and click
“row” button. The title of the concern should now appear in the
window next to row.
Ensure that YEAR is typed or entered into the Column Field.
Click on “Run the Table” again as before.
Note: Looking at the Table, note how the percentages of people
who believe that gay people should be allowed to teach in
public schools has changed over time. Again, consider what
change in values may be at work as these attitudes changed and
consider why. Importantly, note the difference between your

5. first table and your second. Is there a difference between the
percentage of Americans who believe that sex between two
people of the same gender is always wrong and the percentage
who say that gay people should be allowed to teach? What
underlying values may be in conflict here that account for the
tension? (In other words, if a person believes homosexuality is
morally wrong, you might also expect that person to believe that
gay people shouldn’t be allowed to teach, but that isn’t the case,
or at least not for a good portion of people who said gay people
can teach but also feel that homosexual “relations” are “always
wrong”). Why might that be? Specifically, what principles of
American values that we have covered may be at play in
accounting for this? Look back at the Robin Williams list and
especially the chapter assigned for Week 5 to help you.
III. How to present the data part of your analysis:
Analysis involves reporting percentages not the raw numbers in
the tables. For example, using data for Americans confidence in
Congress as an example, you might write something like:
In 2016 only 5.5% of people had a great deal of confidence in
congress as compared to 23.9% in 1973, whereas 52.6% and
15.7% had “hardly any” confidence in 2016 and 1973,
respectively (note that the totals don’t add to 100 because the
remainder said they had “only some” confidence). [How might
you write this for the analyses you did?]
You should also note any interesting drops or fluctuations
during the time period and consider whether there might be
something that accounts for it. Note that you can also add
responses that are on either side of binary (for example, you
could combine “always wrong” with sometimes” wrong and just
say, X% of American said that homosexual relations were
“wrong” in 2016 where as X% said they were wrong in 1972 -
but just explain what you did, so that your reader can

6. understand).
Please DO NOT report every value in the chart. Describe the
overall trends with some anchor points.
Please note! Navigating the variable sets, and using the survey
data, will take time, practice, and patience.
Take time to familiarize yourself with the SDA site and to
become more comfortable with the data-sets, and be sure to save
outputs for later in case you need to come back to them!