PLS 209 Research Methods
Course Documents
Homework
Lecture Notes
 SPSS Data Files
WWW Data Sources
Online Resources
Contact Instructor
PLS Home Page
  One purpose of this home page is to provide you convenient access to several documents that are essential to the course.  When you click on the blue link to a document, the file will be loaded in the Netscape window---some documents are yet other WWW pages and others are plain text files.  In either case, you can then view the document by using the right vertical scroll bar.  If you want to immediately print a copy, click the Print icon on the Netscape icon menu bar.  Or you can save the file to your computer for editing and printing later.  To save the file:  click File on the text menu bar, click Save As.., select where the file is to be saved (e.g., on a diskette in Drive A:), and set the file type to Plain Text. When finished with the document just click the back icon on the Netscape menu bar to return to this page.

A second purpose of this page is to provide a starting point for useful World Wide Web resources for the course.  One major use of the WWW is as a source of data for our research projects.  I have provided some links to get you started.  In addition, I have provided some additional links to resources that are useful for the course.  

Course Documents 

The only document that will be handed out in class is the syllabus.  The syllabus has all the nuts and bolts of the course and all course policies.  You should have copies of all the other files listed below.  Either print them from Netscape or download them and then either view or print them later.

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Data Files   (Restricted to PLS 209)

Several data sets are saved as SPSS files.  Some SPSS files are used in homework assignments and all may be used as the data source for your research project.  

Access to the SPSS data download page is restricted to students in PLS 209.  The instructor will provide you with a username and password to use.  You will be prompted to enter both the username and password when you click on the download link below.

Note: The SPSS download page has directions and a table listing the (1) descriptive data set name, (2) the SPSS file name, and (3) the codebook for the data set.  To download either a SPSS file or a codebook simply double click on the appropriate filename.  Remember that while you can view the codebooks while using most computers, you cannot do anything with an SPSS file unless you are using a computer on which SPSS is installed.  

SPSS Download Page

Some large files may not be on the server.  Contact Dr. Aspin if you get a message that a file cannot be found.

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Homework Assignments 

     The 12 homework problems will be posted (the word Homework will turn blue) as they are assigned during the semester.

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Lecture Notes   (Restricted to Bradley University)

     A reminder about the lecture note files.  These are downloads of just the text portion of the Power Point presentations.  They contain no graphic images and may be missing key elements that you should add in class.  These are not a substitute for attending class.  They are intended to decrease the amount of time you spend taking notes, thus increasing the amount of time you are thinking and asking questions.  Each lecture file will be posted the week before the topic.  The title will turn from back to dark blue when the lecture file has been posted.  Enter the username and password given to you by the instructor. These are different than your other username and passwords.

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Data Sources 

     The following are some of the may WWW pages that contain useful information for research projects.  The following are grouped into those pages that contain data and those that are indexes of data pages.  In addition to the index pages, also use the general WWW search engines (e.g., Altavista) to locate data on the WWW.

Index Sites

Data Sites

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Other Online Resources 

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Problems or Questions
Larry Aspin
Department of Political Science
Bradley University