Adventures in Social Research: Data Analysis Using IBM SPSS Statistics

Students taking statistics as part of their social science course

Earl Babbie was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1938, but his family chose to return to Vermont 3 months later, and he grew up there and in New Hampshire. In 1956, he set off for Harvard Yard, where he spent the next 4 years learning more than he initially planned. After 3 years with the US Marine Corps, mostly in Asia, he began graduate studies at the University of California—Berkeley. He received his PhD from Berkeley in 1969. He taught sociology at the University of Hawaii from 1968 through 1979, took time off from teaching and research to write full-time for 8 years, and then joined the faculty at Chapman University in Southern California in 1987. Although he is the author of several research articles and monographs, he is best known for the many textbooks he has written, which have been widely adopted in colleges throughout the United States and the world. He also has been active in the American Sociological Association for 25 years and currently serves on the ASA’s executive committee. He is also past president of the Pacific Sociological Association and California Sociological Association.

Fred Halley, Associate Professor Emeritus, SUNY-Brockport, received his bachelor’s degree in sociology and philosophy from Ashland College and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Missouri, respectively. Since 1970, he has worked to bring both instructional and research computer applications into the undergraduate sociology curriculum. Halley has been recognized for his leadership in the instructional computing sections of the Eastern and Midwest Sociological Societies and the American Sociological Association. At Brockport, he served as a collegewide social science computing consultant and directed Brockport’s Institute for Social Science Research and the College’s Data Analysis Laboratory. Off campus, Halley directed and consulted on diverse community research projects that were used to establish urban magnet schools, evaluate a Head Start family service center, locate an expressway, and design a public transportation system for a rural county. Now residing in Rochester, New York, he plays an active role in a faith-based mentoring program for ex-offenders, and he volunteers for Micrecycle, an organization that refurbishes computers used by those on the other side of the computer divide in schools, daycares, youth centers, and other community organizations.

William E. Wagner, III, Professor of Sociology at California State University—Channel Islands, served as a member of the faculty and Director of the Institute for Social and Community Research at California State University—Bakersfield prior to coming to Cal State, Channel Islands. His MA and PhD degrees in sociology are from the University of Illinois, Chicago. In addition, Dr. Wagner earned a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) degree from California State University, Northridge. He holds two separate bachelor’s degrees, one in mathematics and the other in sociology/anthropology, both from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. His work on topics such as urban sociology, sports, homophobia, academic status, and sexual behavior has been published in national and regional scholarly journals. He was elected as a Vice President of the California Sociological Association for 2 years and served for 7 years as the Chair of the Pacific Sociological Association’s Committee on the Status of GLBT Persons. Dr. Wagner has also authored Using IBM SPSS Statistics for Research Methods and Social Science Statistics, 5th edition (SAGE, 2015) as well as a co-authored book on survey research forthcoming from Sage in 2015. His faculty website can be found at http://faculty.csuci.edu/william.wagner/.

Jeanne Zaino, Associate Professor of Political Science, Iona College, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in survey research at the University of Connecticut—Storrs. During that time, she worked as a research assistant at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. She went on to earn a master’s degree and PhD in political science from the University of Massachusetts—Amherst. She is currently chair of the Political Science Department at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, where she teaches courses in American government, institutions, research methods, social statistics, public opinion, scope, and methods. She and her husband, Jeff, are the proud parents of two sons, Maxim and Logan.