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Xiaoling Shu

Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, University of Minnesota, 1991-97
  • M.S., Computer Science, University of Minnesota, 1996-97
  • M.A. coursework in Linguistics, BFSU, 1990-91
  • B.A., English & Economics, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 1990

About

Xiaoling Shu’s research focuses on the impacts of two of the most profound processes of our times, marketization and globalization, on gender inequalities, subjective sense of well-being, and gender, family, marriage, and sexual behaviors and attitudes. She uses data science models on national and international data to carry out country-specific (China and the United States) and cross-national analyses.

Dr. Shu served as the director of East Asian Studies at UC Davis in 2017-22, chair of the Section on Asia and Asian America of the American Sociological Association in 2018-21, president of the International Chinese Sociological Association (formerly NACSA) in 2016-17, and vice-chair and graduate director of Sociology in 2014-17.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS  (*Graduate Student)

Books

Shu, Xiaoling and Jingjing Chen*. In Press. Chinese Marriages in Transition: From Patriarchy to New Familism. Rutgers University Press. [Interdisciplinary book series on The Politics of Marriage and Gender: Global Issues in Local Contexts].  
"Using complex and large-scale historical national data as well as comprehensive data from multiple countries, Shu and Chen demonstrate that, while the second demographic transition is unfolding in many advanced Western societies, it is not necessarily a normative form of societal transition. "
" An important and original book that will further the debate on how and why Chinese women and men are charting a different course than their peers in Europe and North America."
- Deborah Davis, Yale University, co-editor of Wives, Husbands, and Lovers: Marriage and Sexuality in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Urban China
"Shu and Chen masterfully integrate China's uniquely "flexible traditionalist" system into that broader story of social change, providing a powerful introduction to Chinese social change for all gender and family scholars."
- Philip Cohen, University of Maryland, author of Enduring Bonds: Inequality, Marriage, Parenting, and Everything Else That Makes Families Great and Terrible

Shu, Xiaoling. 2020. Knowledge Discovery in the Social Sciences: A Data Mining Approach. University of California Press. Examination Copy.
Reviewed in Contemporary Sociology by LAURA NELSON: 
The primary benefit of Shu’s book..is how she conveys an important philosophy of social science research in today’s fast-paced world: social science research today must be grounded in foundational and traditional social science skills and knowledge, while at the same time centering complex data and the new approaches necessary for cutting-edge research. The way Shu presents methods within this broader philosophy is clear and straightforward, with useful images and visualizations to clarify complex topics. Her weaving together of complex methods with traditional concerns presents a thorough and holistic take on knowledge discovery in the social sciences.

Journal Editing 

Shu, Xiaoling. 2020. Editor of Special issue on “Computational Social Science in the Era of Big Data.” Journal of Sociological Studies 3 (in Chinese).

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles 

Shu, Xiaoling and Yiwan Ye*. 2023. “Knowledge Discovery: Methods from Data Mining and Machine Learning.” Social Science Research 110:102817. ISSN 0049-089X, doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2022.102817. Special Issue on Methodological Advances in Quantitative Social Science.  

Shu, Xiaoling, Jingjing Chen* and Yifei Zhu*. 2023. “Changing Times and Subjective Well-being in Urban China.” Chinese Journal of Sociology 9(3):321-354.

Ye, Yiwan* and Xiaoling Shu. 2022. “Lonely in a Crowd: Cohort Size and Happiness in the United Kingdom.” Journal of Happiness Studies 23:2235-2257. 

Shu, Xiaoling, George Barnett, and Robert Faris. 2020. “Telecommunication Ties and Gender Ideologies in the Age of Globalization: International Telephone Networks and Gender Attitudes in 47 Countries.” Chinese Journal of Sociology 6(1):3-34. 

Shu, Xiaoling. 2020. “Opportunities and Challenges of Computational Social Science in the Era of Big Data.” Journal of Sociological Studies 3:1-15 (in Chinese).

Meagher, Kelsey* and Xiaoling Shu. 2019. "Trends in U.S. Gender Attitudes in 1977-2018: Gender and Educational Disparities.” Socius: Journal of the American Sociological Association 5:1–3. 

Shu, Xiaoling and Kelsey D. Meagher*. 2018. “Beyond the Stalled Gender Revolution: Historical and Cohort Dynamics in Gender Attitudes from 1977-2016.” Social Forces 96(3):1243-1274. 

Book Chapters

Shu, Xiaoling and Yiwan Ye*. 2023. “Cohort Size, Historical Times and Life Chances: The Misfortune of Children of China’s Cultural Revolution.” Pages 1131-1155 in Social Inequality in China (Yaojun Li and Yanjie Bian eds). London: World Scientific Publishing.

Shu, Xiaoling and Yiwan Ye*. Forthcoming. “China, Quality of Life and Well-Being” Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (Filomena Maggino ed.). Springer.

Research Focus

Social Stratification, Gender, quality of life, Quantitative Methods, Life Course, Social Demography, Comparative Studies, Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining

Expertise in data science modeling

Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation models, multilevel linear and nonlinear models, cross-classified fixed- & random-effect models (age-cohort-period cross-classified fixed- & random-effect models), event history analysis (discrete-time event history analysis & Cox regression), and dynamic modeling (partial adjustment models).

M.S. in Computer Science specializing in Artificial Intelligence, knowledge discovery and data mining.

Selected Publications

Gender Ideology, Gender Inequalities in China, U.S., and Globally 

Shu, Xiaoling and Jingjing Chen*. In Press. Chinese Marriages in Transition: From Patriarchy to New Familism. Rutgers University Press. [Interdisciplinary book series on The Politics of Marriage and Gender: Global Issues in Local Contexts].  

Shu, Xiaoling, George Barnett, and Robert Faris. 2020. “Telecommunication Ties and Gender Ideologies in the Age of Globalization: International Telephone Networks and Gender Attitudes in 47 Countries.” Chinese Journal of Sociology 6(1):3-34. doi.org/10.1177/2057150X19897450.

Meagher, Kelsey* and Xiaoling Shu. 2019. “Trends in U.S. Gender Attitudes in 1977-2018: Gender and Educational Disparities.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 5:1–3.

Shu, Xiaoling and Kelsey D. Meagher*. 2018. “Beyond the Stalled Gender Revolution: Historical and Cohort Dynamics in Gender Attitudes from 1977-2016.” Social Forces 96(3):1243-1274. doi.org/10.1093/sf/sox090. Top 3% of more than 21 million research outputs (Altmetric). Featured in Science Daily, Phys.org, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Flynn, Heather Kohler*, Diane H. Felmlee, Xiaoling Shu, and Rand D. Conger. 2018. “Mothers and Fathers Matter: Influences of Parental Support, Hostility, and Problem Solving on Adolescent Friendships.” Journal of Family Issues 39(8):2389–2412. Top 1% of more than 21 million research outputs scored by Altmetric. Reported by 42 news outlets e.g. National Public Radio, Association for Psychological Science, WABE, etc.

Shu, Xiaoling, Yifei Zhu*, and Zhanxin Zhang. 2013. “Patriarchy, Resources, and Specialization: Marital Decision-Making Power in Urban China.” Journal of Family Issues 34(7):885-917.

Shu, Xiaoling and Yifei Zhu*. 2012. “Uneven Transitions: Cohort- and Period-based Changes in Gender Attitudes in China: 1995-2007.” Social Science Research 41(5):1100-1115. 

Shu, Xiaoling, Yifei Zhu*, and Zhanxin Zhang. 2007. “Global Economy and Gender Inequalities: The Case of the Chinese Urban Labor Market.” Social Science Quarterly 88(5):1307-32 (special issue on Women in Global Society).

Shu, Xiaoling. 2005. "Market Transition and Gender Segregation in Urban China." Social Science Quarterly 86(5):1299-1323 (special issue on Income/Poverty/Opportunity).

Shu, Xiaoling. 2004. "Education and Gender Egalitarianism: The Case of China." Sociology of Education 77(4):311-336.

Shu, Xiaoling and Yanjie Bian. 2003. "Market Transition and Gender Gap in Earnings in Urban China." Social Forces 81(4):1107-1145.

Shu, Xiaoling and Yanjie Bian. 2002. "Intercity Variation in Gender Inequalities in China." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 19:267-307 (Special issue on The Future of Market Transition).

Shu, Xiaoling and Margaret Mooney Marini. 1998. "Gender-Related Change in Occupational Aspirations." Sociology of Education 71(1):44-68. doi.org/10.2307/2673221.

Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining

Shu, Xiaoling and Yiwan Ye*. 2023, "Knowledge Discovery: Methods from Data Mining and Machine Learning." Special Issue on Methodological Advances in Quantitative Social Science. Social Science Research.

Shu, Xiaoling. 2020. Knowledge Discovery in the Social Sciences: A Data Mining Approach. University of California Press.

Shu, Xiaoling. 2020. Editor of Special issue on “Computational Social Science in the Era of Big Data.” Journal of Sociological Studies 3 (in Chinese).

Shu, Xiaoling. 2020. “Opportunities and Challenges of Computational Social Science in the Era of Big Data.” Journal of Sociological Studies 3:1-15 (in Chinese).

Shu, Xiaoling and Jingjing Chen*. 2017. “Data-Driven Research and Causality in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining.” Chinese Social Science Review: Journal of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 11(2017.3):18-28. (in Chinese). PDF

  • Reprinted in Sociology. 2018. 3:58-66. Renmin University Press. 

Shu, Xiaoling and Bowen Zhu*. 2016. “Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining in the Era of Big Data.” Journal of Guizhou Normal University, 203(6):49-53(in Chinese).

Shu, Xiaoling. 2003. “Artificial Intelligence” in The Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods (M. Lewis-Beck, A. Bryman, and T. F. Liao eds.). Sage Publications. 

Quality of Life and Stratification

Shu, Xiaoling, Jingjing Chen* and Yifei Zhu*. 2023. “Changing Times and Subjective Well-being in Urban China.” Chinese Journal of Sociology. doi.org/10.1177/2057150X231180022.

Ye, Yiwan* and Xiaoling Shu. 2022. “Lonely in a Crowd: Cohort Size and Happiness in the United Kingdom.” Journal of Happiness Studies. doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00495-x. Featured in NewScientist, MSN, Daily Mail. Top 5% of more than 21 million research outputs (Altmetric).

Shu, Xiaoling and Yiwan Ye*. 2023. “Cohort Size, Historical Times and Life Chances: The Misfortune of Children of China’s Cultural Revolution.” Pages 1131-1155 in Handbook of Sociology of China (Yaojun Li and Yanjie Bian eds.). World Scientific Publishing.

Shu, Xiaoling and Yiwan Ye*. Forthcoming. “China, Quality of Life and Well-Being” Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (Filomena Maggino ed.). Springer.

Shu, Xiaoling and Yifei Zhu*. 2009. “The Quality of Life in China.” Social Indicators Research 92:191-225 (Special issue on The Quality of Life in Confucian Asia).

Shu, Xiaoling and Yifei Zhu*. 2014. “China, Quality of Life” pp 822-826 in Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (Alex C. Michalos ed.). Springer.

Shu, Xiaoling and Margaret Mooney Marini. 2008. “Coming of Age in Changing Times: Occupational Aspirations of American Youth in 1966-80.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 26(1):29-55. doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2007.11.004

Bian Yanjie, Xiaoling Shu, and John R. Logan. 2001. "Communist Party Membership and Regime Dynamics in China." Social Forces 79(3):805-841. doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0006.

Shu, Xiaoling, Pi-Ling Fan, Xiaoli Li, and Margaret Mooney Marini. 1996. “Characterizing Occupations with Data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles,” Social Science Research 25(2):149-173. doi.org/10.1006/ssre.1996.0007.

Teaching

Graduate

Knowledge Discovery in Social Sciences: A Data Mining Approach, Soc 206

Social Transformation and Life-course Dynamics: Theories and Methods, Soc 295

Advanced Topics in Quantitative Methods: Structural Equation Models, Soc 208

Advanced Topics in Quantitative Methods: Multilevel Models, Soc 207A

Market Transition and Social Stratification in China, Soc 295 

Undergraduate

Honors Seminar: Methods of Data Mining and Machine Learning, Soc 195

Social Stratification, Soc 140 

Intermediate Social Statistics, Soc 106 

Introductory Social Statistics, Soc 56

Markets, Culture, and Inequality in China, Soc 188 

The Emerging Middle Classes in China, Soc 195

Awards

Book Publication Assistance Grant, Office of Research & Letters & Science Dean’s Office, 2019.

Faculty Career Development Award, Academic Affairs, 2017, 2011, 1999.

Grant for Regional Faculty Groups, Global Affairs, 2017.

Fellow, Institute for Social Sciences, 2017.

Undergraduate Instructional Improvement Program Grant, 2007, 1998.

MacArthur Fellowship, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,1991-95.

Xiaoling Shu

Xiaoling Shu

Affiliated Faculty:

Data Science and Informatics,

Computational Social Science,

Communication Graduate Program Group,

Feminist Research Institute,

East Asian Studies,

Global Tea Culture and Science Initiative.

Offices & Labs

Department of Sociology

  • Social Sciences and Humanities
  • One Shields Avenue
  • Davis, California 95616
  • 530-754-0771
Office Hours for Spring 2023
  • 3-4 pm Monday & 1-2 pm Tuesday