Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Cracking the Code of Geo-Identifiers: Harnessing Data-Based Decision-Making for the Public Good(International Conference on Advanced Research Methods and Analytics, 2022) Herzog, Patricia SnellThe accessibility of official statistics to non-expert users could be aided by employing natural language processing and deep learning models to dataset lexicons. Specifically, the semantic structure of FIPS codes would offer a relatively standardized data dictionary of column names and string variable structure to identify: two-digits for states, followed by three-digits for counties. The technical, methodological contribution of this paper is a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications based on FIPS code analysis indicated that between 27,954 and 1,970,000 publications attend to this geo-identifier. Within a single dataset reporting national representative and longitudinal survey data, 141 publications utilize FIPS data. The high incidence shows the research impact. Yet, the low proportion of only 2.0 percent of all publications utilizing this dataset also shows a gap even among expert users. A data use case drawn from public health data implies that cracking the code of geo-identifiers could advance access by helping everyday users formulate data inquiries within intuitive language.Item Philanthropy(Sage, 2018) Herzog, Patricia SnellThis encyclopedia entry covers a definition of philanthropy, its history, participation rates, and impacts. Also covered are changes to philanthropy as the life course extends and Millennials become donors. Philanthropy is a practice of donating to foundations or non-profit organizations for the purposes of bettering the collective good.Item Chicago School: Social Change(Wiley-Blackwell, 2019) Herzog, Patricia SnellThe Chicago School of sociologists theorized social change primarily through a set of theories referred to as the “organism metaphor.” Organism metaphors of society have characterized society as a whole functioning together as a single organism, or have characterized societies as composed of a number of organisms functioning in an ecological system. Chicago School sociologists interpreted the organism metaphor as less functional and more conflict oriented. Their attention to the unequal distribution of social ills across cityscapes shifted away from a naturalistic, scientific, and cohesive view of social organisms toward a medical, interventionist, and struggling view of social organisms. The focus on eradication of social pathologies added a distinctly US style of sociology that viewed social life as in need of amelioration.Item Social Fact(Wiley-Blackwell, 2018) Herzog, Patricia SnellA social fact consists of collective thoughts and shared expectations that influence individual actions. Examples of social facts include social roles, norms, laws, values, rituals, and customs. Violating social facts confirms their existence because people who act against social facts are typically sanctioned. Sociology is one of the primary disciplines in which social facts are studied.Item Civic Morality: Democracy and Social Good(Springer, 2023) Herzog, Patricia SnellThis chapter reviews the concept of civic morality and its role in democracy. The first section defines civic morality, including what it is as well as what it is not. Simply stated, civic morality is the belief that one should engage in efforts to promote social and public goods along with actions intended to promote the wellbeing of others beyond the self. These are neither solely personal individual beliefs that are not publicly shared nor government prescribed public acts. Second, the chapter explains why civic morality matters. Importance includes its role in fostering a social lubricant to collective action, trust in people and social institutions, and democratic participation. The third section summarizes major approaches to the study of civic morality. Interdisciplinary studies are best categorized across the levels of their units of analysis: micro, meso, and macro. Key takeaways are offered based on the findings of existing studies about the relationship of civic morality and other important social phenomena. Reviewed findings are related to philanthropy and generosity, generational changes and youth, socioeconomic inequalities, religiosity and culture, and social norms.Item The Future of Work: Professionalization of Clergy and Nonprofit Collaborations(SocArXiv, 2023) Herzog, Patricia Snell; Plasters, Ronnie; King, David P.Building upon research on the professionalization of clergy, this paper analyzes the future of work in the context of organizational change. Increasing prevalence and rising pressures on nonprofit organizations to collaborate have resulted in a greater need for interagency ties. In this context, engaging in collaborations can be viewed as an indicator of professionalization. Yet, questions remain regarding whether faith-based organizations align with or diverge from broader trends of nonprofits. Thus, this paper investigates the research question: Are nonprofit collaborations more common among professionalized religious leaders? Data are drawn from the National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL), which collected surveys from a nationally representative sample of 1,600 religious leaders. Two mechanisms are posited for professionalization in nonprofit collaborations: intergenerational change and information access. Findings have implications for religious leaders and professionals in nonprofit organizations.Item Applying Bibliometric Techniques: Studying Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education Curriculum(Computation, 2022) Herzog, Patricia Snell; Ai, Jin; Ashton, JuliaBibliometric methods are relevant for a range of applications and disciplines. The majority of existing scholarship investigating citation and reference patterns focuses on studying research impact. This article presents a new approach to studying the curriculum using bibliometric methods. Through a review of existing definitions and measures of interdisciplinary research and standardization procedures for comparing disciplinary citations, three measures were considered: variety, balance and dissimilarity. Bibliometric algorithms for assessing these measures were adopted and modified for a curriculum context, and three interdisciplinary programs were investigated that span undergraduate and graduate degrees. Data objects were course syllabi, and required references were coded for disciplinary affiliations. The results indicated that—despite purportedly pursuing a singular goal in the same academic unit—the programs employed distinct citation patterns. Variety was highest in the master’s program, and balance was highest in the doctoral program. Dissimilarity was highest in the doctoral program, yet a novel technique for disambiguating disciplinary composition was implemented to improve interpretation. The analysis yielded unexpected findings, which underscore the value of a systematic approach in advancing beyond discourse by harnessing bibliometric techniques to reveal underlying curricula structure. This study contributed a well-grounded bibliometric method that can be replicated in future studies.Item The Importance of Peer Review: Recommendations for Reviewers and Authors(Sage, 2023) Herzog, Patricia SnellThis editorial provides an overview of the importance of peer reviewing, generally and to the Review of Religious Research journal. Several practical recommendations are offered to reviewers. Following these practices will aid reviewers in communicating their feedback clearly to the editor and having it received well by authors. Additionally, several practical recommendations are offered to authors. Following these practices will aid authors in successfully responding to reviewers and communicating their thor- ough and thoughtful revisions. Peer reviewing is an important activity that advances knowledge and supports the academic community. The Review of Religious Research edi- torial team thanks its reviewers and authors for treating this process with integrity, sin- cerity, and authenticity. The journal invites experienced and emerging scholars to serve as reviewers. Whether new or experienced, this editorial provides reviewer and author recommendations for a successful process.Item Durkheim’s Impact on Social Theory: Context, Cooperation, Collectives(Sage, 2023) Herzog, Patricia SnellThis chapter provides a brief background on Émile Durkheim, who he was as a person and as a social theorist. Durkheim’s contributions to theories are grouped within their understanding for social contexts. The next section summarizes his contributions to theories regarding cooperation in society, and subsequently social collective. The chapter concludes by covering the lasting impacts of Durkheim’s social theories in contemporary studies.Item The Open Science Movement: Funders, Foundations, and Federal Regulations(SocArXiv, 2023) Herzog, Patricia SnellThe National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, and National Endowment for the Humanities are among a growing list of federal agencies issuing open science regulations. The NSF states that open data should be publicly available, fully accessible and usable, made available to the widest range of users for the widest range of purposes, and without restrictions placed upon use. Beyond federal agencies, philanthropic and nonprofit organizations are also engaged in perpetuating the movement. With funding from the John Templeton Foundation, the Center for Open Science established the Open Science Framework, and the Open Science of Religion project was launched to advance openness in the science of religion and spirituality. JTF is a founding member of the Open Research Funders Group, which is a partnership among 25 philanthropic organizations committed to open data, including: Gates, Lumina, Sloan, Zuckerberg, Arnold, and Johnson Foundations. Additionally, journals are increasingly required to comply with open data regulations. Yet, questions remain regarding the extent to which qualitative data can ethically be de-identified. The NIH supplemental states that indirect identifiers may pose particular challenges to inferences. Researchers question whether qualitative researchers are ready to share data (Mozersky et al. 2020; 2021). Guidelines and software applications exist to assist with technical aspects of the de-identification process, but broader questions remain regarding whether qualitative researchers can share data without violating the trust of their participants and uphold research ethics for confidentiality.