Race and identity

Instructions

  • For the data, right-click, “save/download file as…”
  • Open the data
  • Complete all of the tasks associated with that data and keep track of your answers / images
  • Once you are done, go on Canvas and answer the questions related to the assignment
    • the Canvas assignment is timed; if you open it prior to completing the tasks you will run out of time

Skills used:

  • counting categories
  • plotting
  • filtering
  • summary statistics / grouped summary statistics

My awkward Google Sheets video tutorials are here

Task 1: Identity in your country

  1. Find an article1 discussing race, ethnicity, or other identity2 in the country you started working with last week (include link to article). Give me a brief summary of what exactly the issue or challenge is at hand, and connect it to concepts from either the readings or lecture/discussion. (2 pts)

Task 2: Race and skin-tone

Here, we are going to work with a big survey of 4 countries fielded in 2014 by the Latin American Public Opinion Project. Download the dataset here. Each row in the dataset is a person who answered the survey. For the skin tone variable see the palette at the bottom of this page.

  1. Let’s look at racial identity across countries. Count the number of people who identify with each ethnic category, by country. Hint: this will involve putting two variables on row. How many people identify as indigenous in the country with the most indigenous respondents? (1 pt)

  2. Using this same table, in which country are most respondents answering “Don’t know” to the ethnicity question? (1 pt)

  3. Now let’s look at the concept of color elasticity. Count the number of respondents with each skin tone, but filtering so you only look at respondents who identify as White. How many respondents who identify as White have a skin tone that is 6 or higher on the scale? (1 pt)

  4. Repeat the process for (4), but this time for respondents who identify as Black. What is the lowest (“lightest”) number on the skin tone scale that a Black-identifying respondent chose? (1 pt)

  5. Look at the color palette below. Pick a shade, perhaps one that is close to your own3. Count the number of people who identify with each ethnic group, but filter so you are only looking at people with your skin tone. Now, make a bar chart of etid to look at the distribution of ethnic categories for people with this particular skin-tone. Save the barplot to upload to Canvas. (1pt)

  6. Overall, what are your reactions to the plot? Briefly. (1pt).

Task 3: LGBT rights

LGBT rights in Latin America have become a growing topic of discussion in the last two decades.

  1. Calculate the average level of support for d5 by country. In which country is support lowest? (1 pt)

  2. Calculate the average level of support for d6, by respondent age. Make a line graph, with age on the x-axis and average support on the y-axis. Describe the pattern in broad terms. (1 pt)

Variable dictionary

original labels
pais Country
q2 Age
etid Ethnicity
ed Years of Schooling
colorr Skin tone (as observed by enumerator)
q10new_14 Monthly Household Income
d5 Approval of Homosexuals’ Right to Run for Office (1 - strong disapprove, 10 - strong approve)
d6 Approval of Same-Sex Couples’ Right to Marry (1 - strong disapprove, 10 - strong approve)


Color palette

LAPOP color palette

Footnotes

  1. News article is fine, or a journal article, anything works. If there’s a Wikipedia article on your topic, that’s fine.↩︎

  2. any kind of identity is fine↩︎

  3. I know these are cartoonishly absurd colors that don’t really match human skin. But it’s what LAPOP uses…↩︎