Questions for Exercise 3: Why?

A. Reading

1. According to Putnam in chapter 10, what are the several tests that explanatory factors must pass to assess their relative importance?

2. Briefly discuss the qualifications that Putnam makes with regard to the conclusions about women's employment/work and civic engagement.

3. According to Putnam, what has been the single most important explanatory factor or prime suspect contributing to the decline in civic engagement? What is the second most important explanatory factor or suspect? Briefly explain why.

B. Learning and Practicing: Running and Interpreting Crosstabulations With Two Variables

4. In your crosstabulation on "Did volunteer work" (volunt) and "Size of city residence" (citysize), what are the percent differences between rural dwellers and the largest city dwellers?

5. Compare your results in this crosstabulation with Putnam's results in figure 50 on page 206. What is different or similar about doing volunteer work and serving as an officer or attending public meetings?

C. Learning and Practicing: Crosstabulations With a Third Control Variable

6. In your crosstabulation on "Did volunteer work" (volunt) and "Size of city residence" (citysize), with "Work status" (emplmrg3) as a control variable, does work status appear to affect the original relationship? Why or why not? Be sure to discuss differences between categories of the independent variable, city size.

7. Overall in chapter 12, does Putnam conclude that urbanization is a prime suspect or not? Why or why not?