Exercise 1: Getting Started
Now it is time to formally begin your investigation. This exercise will introduce you to some of the quantitative social science evidence presented in Bowling Alone and teach you how to search codebooks, and how to run frequencies and summary statistics using SDA.
A. Reading
Read Bowling Alone, Chapters 1-3
Answer Questions 1-3
B. Learning and Practicing: Searching Codebooks
C. Learning and Practicing: Running and Interpreting Frequencies, Bar Charts, and Summary Statistics
Turn to the bottom of page 59 in Bowling Alone where Putnam writes, "In 1987, 61 percent of all organization members had served on a committee at some time or other, and 46 percent had served as an officer." You can reproduce or replicate 
these percentages.
Practice
searching the GSS codebook for variables about serving on a committee and as an officer. To do this, follow the same logic that you learned above about searching the DDB codebook.Learn how to run and interpret frequencies
Practice
running a frequency on "Has R served as officer in group?" (LEADGRP)Answer Questions 6-7
On page 60, Putnam writes "In twenty-five annual surveys between 1975 and 1999 the DDB Needham Lifestyle surveys asked more than eighty-seven thousand Americans 'How many times in the last year did you attend a club meeting?'"
Practice
searching the DDB codebook for this variable and running a frequency on this variableLearn how to run and interpret a frequency and summary statistics on club meeting attendance for 1987
Practice
running a frequency on club meeting attendance for a year other than 1987Answer Questions 8-9