The purpose of this Appendix is to provide enough information to enable the reader to understand how the samples were gathered, coded, and processed and how regression analyses were used to construct the tables in the text. I have discussed all these issues, particularly the research design and data collection, in several other contexts. Consequently, the discussion here is not meant to be exhaustive.

This Appendix is divided into nine sections:

1. An overview of the research design

2. Selecting the samples

3. Obtaining additional information on family background

4. Obtaining information on schooling

5. Obtaining information on the male sample member's career

6. The coding and classification of occupations

7. The organization of the data collection and processing

8. The use of regression analysis

9. Assessing contextual effects: the case of the Italians

An overview of the research design

In its essentials, the research design is simple. Manuscript schedules were available from censuses taken by the federal government in 1880 and 1900 and by the state of Rhode Island in 1915 and 1925. Male sample members were drawn from these manuscripts and then traced in their school records. Samples of girls were gathered in the same way from the sources for 1880 and 1915. Finally, all male sample members were traced one decade forward in time in city directories, which indicated their occupations. They were traced in the directories for Providence as well as those for nearby towns.