SOC 341-01/51 (Kuechler)
Fall 1997

Homework Assignment #2 (due Oct 6 at class time)

Select one of the three topics below:

• spanking (one's children)
• marital happiness
• alcohol abuse

Find two scholarly articles dealing with the selected topic that include a precise description on how the key variable ("spanking", "marital happines", or "alcohol abuse") was measured.. For these two articles

• provide full bibliographic details (author(s), title, journal titles, year, page numbers)
• give a brief but precise description of the measure(s) used
• assess the measurement validity

Then

• Compare and contrast; which of the two studies seems to have higher measurement validity?
• Submit copies of the relevant parts (possibly a section labeled "methods") of these two articles with your typed write-up.

You can get a maximum of 20 points for this assignment.

Hints:

1. Use the various databases available within CUNYPLUS or "sociofile" (a CD-ROM based resource available in the library, 4th floor) - see homework assignment #1.

2. Reread chapters 1 and 2 with respect to measurement validity. Keep your discussion to this particular issue, do not summarize the whole study, the findings, etc.