Guidelines for Marx and MicroCase Exercise
(from last year's class)

Major Potential Problems To Be Aware Of:

• Probably the most frequent problem is that people didn't read the question carefully enough. They therefore failed to answer the question that was actually asked. Be sure you understand exactly what the question is asking before you proceed further. Then make sure that you actually answer the question. If the question asks you to provide a reason both Marx and Swanson might put forward to explain why belief in high gods is associated with high levels of stratification, be sure you actually provide an answer that might explain why that connection exists.
• Pay attention to the bolded and italicized quotations that are interspersed throughout the text. They are there to place what follows in context and to remind you of some key theoretical ideas that Marx put forward. They are there for a reason, as are the introductory paragraphs in the various sections.
• Use your knowledge of Marx. If you are asked to guess what Marx would say about contemporary data on self-reported class, use what you know about Marx to answer the question. Consult the readings by and about Marx if you need to. Put aside your own preconceptions and focus on what Marx would say, not on what you would say.
• Use your knowledge and common sense, period. If you are working with a database of pre-industrial societies, you should know without my telling you that there were no such classes as capitalist and working class in those societies.
• Remember that hypotheses should always state a determinate relationship between two or more variables and that they should almost always take the following form: The higher/lower [the value of the independent variable], the higher/lower [the value of the dependent variable]. Be sure you follow the right order: your independent variable should be mentioned first. E.g.: the higher the social class of a person, the more likely that person will be to vote in an election. This format should also be followed in cases where you are asked to summarize the relationship between two variables in a table. Do not simply talk about the extremes, e.g. upper and lower classes. Your job is to make a statement about a consistent relationship that applies to all values in the dependent and independent variables.
• Understand the variables you are working with. This was a major problem: people didn't really understand what the variables they had plugged into a table were about. It's impossible to create a hypothesis or a statement about the relationship between variables if you don't understand what those variables actually mean.
• Understand the unit of analysis you are working with. This was also a major problem. People didn't seem to know what kind of data they were working with. People acted like the data were about individuals when they were about societies, or sometimes vice versa. Be sure your hypothesis correctly identifies the proper unit of analysis. For example, all the scatterplots were about societies, and therefore propositions about the relationship between variables need to reflect this. E.g.: The greater the level of inequality of a country (as measured by the proportion of total income claimed by the top 10% of the population), the higher the level of illiteracy in that country.
• Watch the wording of propositions carefully. It matters if the hypothesized relationship is positive or negative (inverse) when you look to the data to see if it is supported.
• In evaluating data, remember always to look at the test of statistical significance. If the data do not meet the test of significance, then you must assume that no relationship exists. You can't say that a relationship exists but it is not significant. If it is not significant, it does not exist.
• Don't put down an answer that you don't understand. If you need extra help, get it. Look up things you don't understand. Come get help from me if you need it. (That of course also means planning ahead so that you'll have time to come see me if you need help.)
• Do your own work. It's ok to discuss general concepts and procedures, but your answers must be your own. Absolutely no written work connected with this exercise should circulate.