Methods in Social Research (SOC 378) Department of Social and Cultural Analysis

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1 Methods in Social Research (SOC 378) Department of Social and Cultural Analysis Fall, 2012 Section 001 MW 1:00-2:15 PM Ferguson 482 Instructor: Jerry Tyler, PhD Office: LAN 329 Phone: Fax: Office hours: Monday: 2:30 4:30 Tuesday: 11:00 1:00 PM Wednesday: 2:30 4:30 Thursday: 11:00 1:00 PM Friday: By appointment Catalog Course Description 378. Basic principles of social research: formulation of research problem, design, sampling, measurement, and data collection. Prerequisite: Advanced standing. Student Learning Outcomes After successfully completing this course, students will be able to explain important research concepts such as causality and correlation, level of measurement, reliability, validity, research design, and sampling (SLO-4); form and interpret hypotheses that include independent, dependent, and control variables (SLO-10); access their major discipline s research code of ethics and state some of its major research guidelines (SLO-3); define, give an example, and state advantages and disadvantages of probability and non-probability sampling (SLO-8); take a theoretical concept and operationally define it so that it can be used in research (SLO- 5); define, give an example, and state advantages and disadvantages of experimental, quasiexperimental, and non-experimental research designs (SLO-6); compare and contrast obtrusive forms of data collection (such as surveys and some forms of observation) and unobtrusive forms of data collection (such as content analysis, secondary analysis, and some forms of observation) (SLO-7); explain what information can be gained from each of the following: mean, median, mode, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, and confidence interval (SLO-11); explain the major features of evaluation research (SLO-9); identify a research article s hypotheses, sample size, unit of analysis, sampling technique, research design, data gathering techniques, major results, and important conclusions (SLO-1); and, be able to identify serious problems when they exist in a research article s review of the literature, methods, presentation of results, and conclusions (SLO-2).

2 Reading Assignments There is one required book for the course. The Basics of Social Research (5th edition) by Earl Babbie (ebook available) Student study resources worth checking out: Exams There will be four exams for the course. The exams are not cumulative. One week before each exam, you will be given a list of several short essay questions based on the class material since the last exam. Not all of those questions will appear on the exam, and you will be able to choose, for example, three of four questions to answer. There is no extra credit for answering all the questions. The short essay questions each typically can be answered well in about 100 to 200 words. Each exam is worth 100 points and determines 20% of your final grade. Before each exam you turn in an unmarked small blue book and get a different blue book in which to write your answers. You must write in pen and your answers must be legible. Persons coming more than 20 minutes late for a scheduled exam may be required to take a make-up exam. Reading/Class Understanding Quizzes Multiple-choice or fill-in-the blank questions will be asked on the day your reading is to be done. Fifteen times during the semester there will be a five-to-ten question quiz on the reading assigned for that day, or on material covered during class. You will have five minutes to answer the questions. Occasionally you may have a quiz on D2L to complete and bring to class in lieu of a quiz. Persons coming to class after the questions have been distributed will have what time remains of the five minutes to answer the questions. There are NO make-ups for quizzes; however, only the best ten quiz scores will count toward the 100 total points you can receive. Quizzes thus account for 20% of your final grade. Grading Procedure Grades will be posted only on Desire2Learn (D2L) Your final grade for the course will be based on your 4 exam grades and your 10 best quizzes. There will be no possibility of extra credit work. The final letter grade will be assigned as follows: Total points Grade A B C D Below 300 F

3 Other Information Missed Exams. Persons who for any reason miss the first exam may take a make-up exam on Thursday, December 6, at 1:30 p.m. Persons who for any reason miss the second exam may take a make-up exam on Thursday, December 6, at 2:30 p.m. Persons who for any reason miss the third exam may take a make-up exam on Thursday, December 6, at 3:30 p.m. These make-up exams will be the same format as the original exams but with different questions. Persons presenting documentation for why it was not possible to take the final exam at the scheduled time will be allowed to make-up the exam at a later time with no penalty. Other persons missing the final exam may be allowed to make-up the exam at a later time but will have 25 points deducted from their score as a late penalty. Attendance Policy. Your attendance is not directly factored into your course grade; however, missing class means you will miss some quizzes and that can directly factor into your course grade. Also, some material covered in class is not in your textbook. Attendance will be monitored but only to understand why some persons are doing poorly in the course. Appealing Grades. Any appeals of quiz grades should be made the day those quizzes are returned. Exam appeals must be made prior to the beginning of the next scheduled class. Academic Accommodations for Disabled Students. To obtain disability-related accommodations, alternate formats, and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, Room 325, / (TDD), as early as possible in a semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to The Grade of WH. Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor and with the approval of the department chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms, the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average. Note that a grade of WH is given at the discretion of the course instructor and department chair. Both must agree that a WH is appropriate. Furthermore, only students who have completed almost all of the course work will be considered for a grade of WH. Forwarding Your . Any correspondence for this course will be sent to your SFA address or within D2L. If you normally use some other address, be sure to forward mail from your university address to the address you actually check. Doing this will forward not only your for this course but also any official university sent to you. You can easily set a forwarding address by going to the following web site:

4 Academic Dishonesty. Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as by abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism. SFA describes cheating and plagiarism in the following manner: Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit. All graded work for this course should represent individual effort. Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punished by failure on the test, failure in the course, and/or expulsion from the university. The university s full policies on academic dishonesty and academic appeals by students are at and **Classroom Rules: Bring no food into the classroom. Turn cell phones off during class. Do not text message during class. If I see a cell phone during class, I count that as a disruption of the class and the offender automatically receives a zero for the next quiz. During exams, I assume any visible cell phone is being used for an unfair advantage, and the grade on the exam will be zero. Some Important University Dates Aug 30, last day to add a course Sep 3, Labor Day holiday Oct 22, last day to apply for December graduation Oct 24, last day to drop a course and withdraw from the university without a WP or WF Nov 21-25, Thanksgiving holiday Nov 26, last day to withdraw from the University (grades of WP and WF given) Dec 15, graduation How SOC378 Supports the Sociology Curriculum. The Department of Social and Cultural Analysis has designed the sociology major curriculum to enable students to achieve seven broad learning outcomes ( The Research Methods course (SOC378) directly contributes to three of those outcomes: PLO 2. The student will be able to identify the principles of good social scientific research design. Such principles include validity, reliability, precision in measurement, and sampling methodology. (supported by Student Learning Outcomes 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) PLO 4. The student will be able to apply sociological knowledge and skills to a variety of settings. (supported by Student Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 5)

5 PLO 7. The student will be able to analyze a data set using statistical techniques and draw conclusions from the results. (supported by Student Learning Outcomes 11) How SOC378 Supports the Social Work Curriculum. By addressing knowledge, values, and skills associated with quantitative data analysis, SOC378 supports the following BSW generalist practice behaviors (GPB): GPB 21. Students will use practice experience to inform scientific inquiry. GPB 22. Students will use research evidence to inform practice. Tentative Semester Schedule Date Day Topic & Reading Aug 27 Mon Introduction: Syllabus and available resources Aug 29 Wed Defining Science Babbie, chapter 1 Sep 5 Wed Testing Theoretical Predictions: Deductive Research Babbie, chapter 2 Sep 10 Mon Codes of Professional Ethics; Ethical Controversies Babbie, chapter 3 Sep 12 Wed Research Design Babbie, chapter 4 Sep 17 Mon Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement Babbie, chapter 5, pages Sep 19 Wed Measurement Reliability and Measurement Validity Babbie, chapter 5, pages Sep 24 Mon EXAM 1 (bring unmarked 8.5 x 7 blue book) Sep 26 Wed Common Social Science Indexes and Scales Babbie, chapter 6 Oct 1 Mon Nonrandom Sampling Techniques; Probability Theory Babbie, chapter 7, pages Oct 3 Wed Random Sampling Techniques Babbie, chapter 7, pages Oct 8 Mon The Classical Experiment; Assigning Subjects to Groups Babbie, chapter 8, pages Oct 10 Wed Other Experimental and Preexperimental Designs Babbie, chapter 8, pages

6 Oct 15 Mon EXAM 2 (bring unmarked 8.5 x 7 blue book) Oct 17 Wed Survey Question Wording and Order Babbie, chapter 9, pages Oct 22 Mon Methods for Delivering Surveys Babbie, chapter 9, pages Oct 24 Wed Field Observation Babbie, chapter 10, pages Oct 29 Mon Focus Groups Babbie, chapter 10, pages Oct 31 Wed Content Analysis; Babbie, chapter 11, pages Nov 5 Mon Using Government (and Private) Statistics Babbie, chapter 11, pages Nov 7 Wed EXAM 3 (bring unmarked 8.5 x 7 blue book) Nov 12 Mon Assessment: Measurement ; Research Designs Babbie, chapter 12, pages Nov 14 Wed The Qualitative Analysis of Quantitative Data Babbie, chapter 13, pages Nov 19 Mon Simple Statistics: Measures of Central Tendency ; Dispersion Babbie, chapter 14, pages Nov 26 Mon Reading and Writing Social Research: Reading Babbie, chapter 15, pages, Nov 28 Wed Reading and Writing Social Research: Writing Babbie, chapter 15, pages, Dec 3 Mon Conclusions and Review Dec 5 Wed Continuation of review Dec 6 Thur Make-up exams beginning 1:30 pm Dec 10 Mon FINAL EXAM, 1-3 pm DISCLAIMER: This syllabus represents a best plan for the course; but, as with most plans, it is subject to change. Any changes will be announced by or in class.