This award supports collaborative research on societal influences on family patterns in China through use of probability sampling and statistical analysis of data collected in the first two years of this project. The US investigator, Dr. Martin K. Whyte, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, will work with two Chinese sociologists at Sichuan University to conduct extensive statistical analysis of data collected in Chengdu, Sichuan, during the summer of 1987. Through use of the same data and same statistical software on microcomputers at both institutions and through frequent exchange of output and disks, the Chinese and American scientists will be able to coordinate their comparative analysis. Following analysis of the data, efforts will be made to develop systematic comparisons of Chinese and American family patterns. In addition to contributing to our understanding of the nature of Chinese family structure and societal influences of that structure, this project will serve to train students and faculty at Sichuan University in survey research, family sociology, and related skills and to facilitate the development of the discipline of sociology. This will provide the basis for a more realistic awareness in both societies about how the other society really operates and allow us to make some informed decisions about our future relations with the PRC.
