FARM STRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING - A LOOK AT 3 METHODOLOGICAL SINS

Sociologists have increasingly turned to secondary data sources to stu dy social and economic change.. As our experience in this area increas es, so should our methodological rigor. Three common methodological si ns-model mis-specification, inattention to regional influences, and fu zzy operationalizations-are illustrated through a critique of Barnes a nd Blevins' (1992) study of farm structure and economic well-being in nonmetropolitan areas. This paper argues, and demonstrates empirically , that many of Barnes and Blevins' conclusions are suspect because the y did not include ethnic and regional variables in their regression st udies.