METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

Transcription

1 1 METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH SYA4300 Sections Fall 2015 Distance Learning Section Course Website: Professor: Jennifer Marie Brailsford TA/Mentor: Kristin Allen Office: Bellamy 615 COURSE DESCRIPTION This course covers research design, data collection, and data analysis (not statistics) in social research. There are no formal prerequisites, but some knowledge of or experience with the study of social sciences will be helpful. Over the course of the semester, we will explore how sociologists construct and answer research questions, as well as the reasons why they select particular research methods to conduct their analyses. I am a firm believer that the process of conducting research is best learned through hands-on experiences. Thus, you will find that many lessons we cover will be accompanied by course assignments and projects that will allow you to apply these research methods in the real world. While this is a required course for many students, most may not go on to enter research fields after graduation. Whatever your future goals, I encourage you to think of this course as an opportunity. My hope is that you will learn techniques that will not only help you make sense of the social world but also enable you to become a more informed citizen by bringing into question what many take for granted. COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Actively read and critically evaluate social research; 2. Understand and apply basic concepts of research to the study of human society; 3. Identify the differences, strengths, and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative methods; 4. Develop social research instruments and use them to collect both qualitative and quantitative data; and 5. Draw from theory and past research to create research questions, define variables for social research projects, and apply the most appropriate methodology for analysis.

2 2 REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS The textbook I have requested comes bundled with an electronic version of the textbook that is very interactive and provides you with many great tools for the same price of the printed textbook on its own. The textbook is required (although the bundle is not, but costs the same as the brand new textbook alone) and is available at both Bill s and FSU Bookstores in Tallahassee or may be ordered online or from the publisher s site ( Specifically, it can be found using the following information: BUNDLE: Chambliss, D.F., and Russell K. Schutt.. MAKING SENSE OF THE SOCIAL WORLD 4 th Edition + Interactive E-Book. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. ISBN: Note that this is the FOURTH (4 th ) Edition of the textbook. Any additional materials and course announcements will be posted in the course library on the Blackboard website: Software & system requirements: You must be able to access the Internet, read PDF documents, view streaming video, and listen to audio files, as well as use word processing (WORD compatible) and spreadsheets (EXCEL compatible). If you do not have a high-speed Internet connection at home, you need to set aside time in your schedule to access the online material from another computer. A slow Internet connection is not a valid excuse for failing to complete your assignments on time. We recommend you complete tasks early to allow for problems that may arise from technology failures. Also, keep backups of everything you do. COMMUNICATION: BLACKBOARD, , AND ETIQUETTE Your comfort with navigating and using the Blackboard website ( is critical to your success in this course. Please take the time at your earliest opportunity to log in and familiarize yourself with the site. Ensure that you are comfortable with major features of the site, including where to find and submit assignments. Additionally consult the website before contacting the mentors or your professor with questions regarding course requirements and due dates. Please remember that I will post all due times in EASTERN TIME. This is particularly important when turning in assignments; the links will close and not be accessible after the due date and time. is the primary form of communication in this course. You will be expected to check your FSU at least once a day for any updates, alerts, reminders, or changes in the syllabus. Read every thoroughly to ensure you do not miss any important information. When contacting your mentors or myself, be sure that you have constructed a professional that has 1) an appropriate subject title that includes either SYA4300 or Research Methods (if it is not being sent directly from Blackboard s app); 2) has been proof read for clarity (grammar and spell check); 3) gives specifics (e.g. dates, page numbers, assignments) pertaining to your message content; and 4) is sent from your official FSU account and signed with your FULL

3 3 NAME (as there may be multiple people in class with your first name). Before ing us with questions please refer to the syllabus and/or Blackboard. Often when students have questions, the answers can be found in these course guides. Please note that neither your mentors nor your professor monitor their s 24/7; therefore allow 24 hours for a response during the week. While you should consider your mentors as the first point of contact, you should also feel free to contact your professor directly when needed. COURSE EVALUATION Critiquing and Understanding Research (17.5%) Article Review #1 5% Article Review #2 (this also serves as your final exam) 12.5% Preparing to Conduct Human Subjects Research (5%) NIH Human Subjects Training Certification 5% Survey Project (27.5%) Part 1. Literature Review & Statement of Problem 5% Part 2. Conceptualization of Variables & Hypothesis 5% Part 3. Survey Questionnaire 5% Part 4. Report of Findings, Conclusions, and Self-Critique 12.5% Data Analysis Project (12.5%) Part 1. Intro to Archives & Index Construction 5% Part 2. Basic Hypothesis Testing & Data Controls 7.5% (Both parts are completed simultaneously) Qualitative Project (20%) Part 1. Statement of Problem & Interview Guide 7.5% Part 2. Report of Findings and Methodological Reflection 12.5% Participation & Conceptual Understanding (17.5%) Meet and Greet Introductions & Peer Responses 2.5% Submission of Proposed Survey Variables for Approval 2.5% Survey Questionnaire Draft Posts & Peer Feedback 2.5% Chapter/Lecture Material Quizzes 1% each) 10% COMPONENTS Article Reviews: For these assignments, you will read and react to a published research article, using what you have learned up that point in the semester, thinking logically about the methodological principles, the data and the interpretation.

4 4 Survey Project: A mini survey on a topic of your choice (subject to approval). This will be turned in and graded in four parts: (1) a literature review consisting of three or four recent articles and a statement of the problem; (2) a statement on how you are conceptualizing your variables and the hypothesis you are trying to test; (3) the first draft and revised draft of the questionnaire you constructed; and (4) a report of the findings, conclusions, and a self-critique. You will be required to get at least 16 respondents to take your survey. You must conduct all surveys face to face. Data Analysis Project: An introduction to secondary data analysis. This consists of using very basic statistics to analyze whether a series of hypotheses you develop receive support in a national survey (archived on the web), and what the data suggests about the general causal relationships among your several variables. The purpose of this project is to teach the logic of data analysis, not statistics. The logic here is the same as in research more generally. This project will also be turned in and graded in two parts: (1) an introduction to the secondary data archives and illustration of index construction; and (2) a basic hypothesis test and understanding of the importance of control variables (although both parts are completed simultaneously). Human Subjects Certificate: An online training module provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research. It covers ethics and issues relevant to the protection of human subjects in social science research. This certificate is necessary for engaging in any kind of research involving human participants, in or outside of this course. Qualitative Project: An introduction to qualitative research. You will conduct minute semi-structured interviews with at least 4 respondents. The topic must be the same you chose to do for your survey project (so try to take this into consideration when you think about choosing your survey topic). This will be turned in and graded in two parts: (1) a short statement of the research topic with an interview question guide (subject to approval); and (2) a final report where you explain the data collection and analysis process, the findings of your project, and a methodological reflection where you evaluate the differences between the qualitative and quantitative components of the projects you produced. Quizzes: There are ten (10) weekly quizzes over lecture and readings. The format and context of these quizzes will vary and will consist of questions regarding the week s readings and lecture (usually they will be mostly True/False and/or multiple choice questions). The quizzes must be completed during the week a chapter is assigned. These are not meant to trick you, but rather to help you keep caught up on the course readings and techniques. NO MAKE-UPS WILL BE ALLOWED FOR MISSED QUIZZES, with the exception of extraordinary circumstances that are cleared with the instructor/mentor PRIOR to the missed quiz. These include major unexpected hospitalizations or jury duty. Being ill, losing your internet connection, or not having access to the Internet do not constitute acceptable reasons for not completing a quiz. Participation: This grade is calculated from the Meet & Greet assignment, the submission of variables for approval prior to beginning your Survey Project, and a component of your third survey project where you are asked to give feedback to your peers on their survey questionnaires. These assignments will involve posting something to your group s discussion board page and then responding to at least TWO of your peer s posts.

5 5 Final Exam: There is no official final exam for the course. Instead a comprehensive article review will be used to evaluate your understanding of course material and your ability to assess and apply various sociological methodologies. More information about this will be made available as the submission date approaches; it is due the last week of class. COURSE GRADE SYSTEM A 93% 100% B- 80% 82.99% D+ 67% 69.99% A- 90% 92.99% C+ 77% 79.99% D 63% 66.99% B+ 87% 89.99% C 73% 76.99% D- 60% 62.99% B 83% 86.99% C- 70% 72.99% F 0% 59.99% NOTE: This percentage distribution is to be used as a general guideline. Grades may be adjusted based on student performance, difficulty of material, and other assessments of the class as a whole. Final grade cutoffs will be posted on Blackboard. Blackboard Gradebook: Please keep up with the My Grades feature on Blackboard to make sure all your grades are accurate and up to date. Any inquires about missing and/or inaccurate grades need to be made within a week following my announcement that your grades for a particular assignment have been posted. Inquires that fall outside of this timeline will most likely not be considered. CLASS POLICIES Attendance: This course has a first day attendance policy. On the first day of class (August 24), students have until 11:59pm to log into the course website and complete an assignment. Students who fail to fulfill the first day attendance policy will be considered absent and subsequently dropped. Instructions will be posted under the course announcements on how to complete the first day attendance assignment. Submitting Assignments: Upload your work by using the link provided on each assignment and the instructions indicated in the assignment. Assignments that are not submitted in the proper location WILL NOT BE GRADED. Late Work: It is your responsibility to get your assignments turned in by the deadline to allow your TAs to both grade and provide feedback to you in a timely manner this is important because most of your assignments build on one another. Most instructions will be available weeks before your assignments are due. If you know you have an event coming up, please plan accordingly. You can always submit your work early. Waiting until the last minute to complete an assignment is not an excuse for requesting an extension. In short, WE WILL NOT ACCEPT LATE WORK, except in extenuating circumstances and/or if an arrangement has been made with the professor of the course PRIOR to the assignment being due. All late submission requests must be sent directly to the professor.

6 6 Blackboard Issues: If you find that you are having issues with Blackboard and are not allowed to upload your assignments, please them directly to your TA and copy your professor on the . This is to be done only in special circumstances, and not for every assignment. Do not wait until after a deadline to your paper; submissions also follow the assignment s deadlines (See Late Work Policy above); if the has a time stamp that is after the assignment deadline, we will not accept it. All assignments are due to blackboard at 11:59pm; this means: 11:59:00 PM. Do not try to go to blackboard and start your submission process AT 11:59pm, because if it is one second past 11:59pm, Blackboard will not accept it. Assignment Assessment: The TAs for this course serve as your primary points of contact as well as are in charge of giving feedback and grading many of your assignments. If for some reason you wish to appeal the grade (to your professor) you receive on one of your assignments, you may do so by following the following procedure: 1. Contact your assigned TA to go over your grade. 2. If, following your correspondence with your TA, you believe your grade was not justified, you may turn it in to your professor for a re-grade. 3. You must turn in the assignment to your professor for a re-grade within ONE WEEK of the grade being posted on your blackboard site. 4. If your professor re-grades the assignment and gives you the same or a higher score, that score will ultimately be recorded. However, if after evaluating your assignment your professor assigns a lower score, you must keep the lower grade. Be sure to use the appeals process wisely. NOTE: Each assignment is evaluated using a detailed rubric that is provided to students. Make sure to use it while preparing your assignment for submission, given that it will be used by your TAs to grade your papers. Incomplete Grades: A grade of incomplete (I) is given only under extenuating circumstances at the instructor s discretion. The guidelines from the College of Social Sciences require that students seeking an I grade must be passing the course. University Attendance Policy: Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness. Academic Honor Policy: The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University s expectations for the integrity of students academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to... be honest and truthful and... [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University. (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at

7 7 Americans With Disabilities Act: Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request. For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the: Student Disability Resource Center 874 Traditions Way 108 Student Services Building Florida State University Tallahassee, FL (850) (voice) (850) (TDD) sdrc@admin.fsu.edu Free Tutoring from FSU: On-campus tutoring and writing assistance is available for many courses at Florida State University. For more information, visit the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) Tutoring Services comprehensive list of on-campus tutoring options - see or contact tutor@fsu.edu. High-quality tutoring is available by appointment and on a walk-in basis. These services are offered by tutors trained to encourage the highest level of individual academic success while upholding personal academic integrity. Syllabus Change Policy: Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice