Matthew Snipp, PhD

Research Fellow, U.S. Bureau of the Census

C. Matthew Snipp is the Burnet C. and Mildred Finley Wohlford Professor of Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Sociology at Stanford University. He is also the Director for the Institute for Research in the Social Science’s Secure Data Center. He has been a Research Fellow at the U.S. Bureau of the Census and a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He has published 3 books and over 70 articles and book chapters on demography, economic development, poverty and unemployment. He is also currently serving on the National Institute of Child Health and Development’s Population Science Subcommittee. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

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Q&A Comments (24)

Why does the sample size matter so much?
The premise of a survey is that you're going to collect data from a group and then analyze that data to make inferences. If your sample size is too small, it can throw off your ability to draw meaningful conclusions. Picture you have 100 people. If you only ask 5 of them to tell you their age, you aren't getting a very full picture of the average age of the group. But if you ask 80 of those people, you're going to get a much clearer estimation of the group's average age.
What is the importance of evaluating a research paper?
The nature of academic research is that you're always investigating and questioning the nature of things. When you look at a research paper, you're really looking at someone's argument or analysis of the way things are. The evaluation part of this process is where you put some pressure on their ideas to see what sticks. It's totally fine to disagree or find problems in someone's work, and that's kind of the beauty of the process. It's about building on the previous work in a field to try and reach some kind of underlying truth.
Is it okay to disagree with a research paper? Does that make it bad?
No, it's totally fine if you look at a research paper and you aren't completely on board with their conclusion. That doesn't even necessarily mean that their work is wrong or poorly executed. Someone can have great sources, strong data, and a coherent analysis, but that doesn't mean you have to buy everything they're selling.
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