SOCY 600 – RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
FALL 2006
Professor: Marina Adler, Ph.D. T.A.: James Kimani, MA
Office: 232
Public Policy Bldg Office: 255 Public Policy Bldg
Phone: 455-3155 Phone: 455-2089
Office Hours: We, Thu 3-4 and by
appointment Hours: TBA and e-mail
E-mail: adler@umbc.edu E-mail: jaki1@umbc.edu
Home page:
COURSE CONTENT AND
OBJECTIVES
This
course is intended to give you an overview of the social research process, to
introduce you to the various methodological strategies used by sociologists,
and to familiarize you with actually 'doing' research. You should also develop an appreciation for
the impact of various theoretical orientations, assumptions, and values on the
researcher's decisions. The course will
cover the components of the social science research process, including
hypothesis testing, conceptualization and measurement, sampling, data
collection, elaboration analysis, and the writing up of research results. Furthermore, the practical emphasis of the course will
focus attention on the various stages of the research process, sensitize you to
the problems encountered at every stage, and suggest solutions for the
decision-making process. Finally, this
course should enable you to evaluate research published in academic journals as
well as to design your own research project.
Thus, this course should not only teach you how research is done,
but also how to do research.
Specifically, students should:
·
become
familiar with the various stages of the research process.
·
learn
about various data collection methodologies in the social sciences.
·
learn
how to conceptualize research questions, hypotheses, and develop appropriate
methods to test them.
·
learn
to design (and know how to execute) manageable research projects.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Required Texts: Singleton,
Royce A. and
Lomand, Turner
C. 2005.
Social Science Research. A
cross-section of journal articles for discussion and evaluation. Pyrczak Publishers. [L]
Assignments
Exercises, Assignments, and Exam. There will be
several in-class and homework exercises. These consist primarily of research problems
and students are required to complete and discuss the exercises based on their
reading assignments. Students are required to do article analyses
consisting of the typed answers to the factual questions and quality ratings at
the end of the articles in the Lomand
book. There is also one computer assignment. Late work is strongly discouraged and results
in point reduction. Details on each
assignment are on Blackboard (BB). There
also will be an in-class exam designed to test your knowledge of terminology,
concepts, and methodological procedures.
Research Proposal
On the date indicated on the schedule,
you are required to turn in a one-page outline of your proposal topic. The proposal will basically follow the format
in S&S p.550-552 up to the findings (no abstract) and there is a guide on
BB detailing content. The outline should
contain a few sentences for each:
Introduction (the main research question and why it is important),
Literature Review (What literature will you review – list at least 5 recent
scholarly research articles), Theory (which concepts will you use?), and
Methods (suggested design, sampling strategy, variables and measures, data
analysis procedures). After getting your
research idea approved, you turn in parts 1 and 2 of the proposal for peer
review on the due dates. Using your
peers’ suggestions for revision, you will turn in the complete final proposal
(be sure you have a copy for yourself) at the end of the semester. You are required to present your proposal in
class (power point and handouts) (25 points).
I expect the papers to be of professional quality, i.e. to be original
papers with sole authorship of the course participants. They should be non-published, grammatically
correct, contain American Sociological Review citation format, employ
non-sexist language, and address the issues clearly and succinctly. We will use turnitin.com in this class. You will turn in your work electronically via
turmnitin.com on BB to check for problems before turning in a hard copy. If you are unsure what constitutes
plagiarism, check the UMBC resources on academic integrity. I will assume you know the rules.
EVALUATION:
Final grades are determined by the total
number of points earned in the course based on (2) research proposal parts, one
(1) computer assignment, one (1) research proposal and presentation, 10 article
analyses, one (1) in-class exam, and regular attendance/participation in class
meetings. The latter is used for the determination
of "borderline cases" in the calculation of final grades.
The
points for the final grade are calculated as follows:
2
Proposal peer parts @ 10 points = 20
1 Computer assign. @
75 points =
75
10
Article analyses @ 10 points = 100
1
Presentation @ 25 points = 25
1
Final Proposal @ 100 points = 100
1
Exam @ 100 points = 100
-----
Total = 420
Success in
this class is measured by the degree to which students can demonstrate effort,
understanding, and critical analysis of the subject matter in assignments,
exercises and in-class discussions. Regular attendance, some class
participation, timely completion of acceptable assignments, and a good research
proposal and exam will result in a B.
Sloppy or late work, irregular attendance, and/or a mediocre proposal and
exam will reduce the grade. Especially
insightful in-class contributions, extra effort on assignments, and an
outstanding research proposal/exam will increase the grade. Final grades are determined on a regular %
scale.
POLICIES
General
Late work is strongly discouraged and
will only be accepted without point deduction in cases of verifiably legitimate
reasons (proof of illness or other severe circumstances) for the delay. It is the responsibility of the student to
prepare assigned materials on time and to discuss problems with deadlines with
the professor. Deadlines missed without promptly (contact
the professor on the same day as the missed deadline) presenting a valid excuse
to the professor, will be counted as "0" points for the scheduled
assignments (no exceptions). Excessive
absences or tardiness will affect your final grade negatively. You are responsible for being informed about
any scheduling changes or announcements about assignments made in class, via
e-mail, or on BB. It is your
responsibility to communicate with the professor in person or via e-mail (the
telephone is not a good way to get a timely response). Plan ahead in completing assignments. For your own protection, photocopy all
assignments before turning them in.
The nature of the seminar places everyone
in a somewhat unfamiliar environment, which does not have to be stressful. I expect students to create a comfortable
class environment by sharing ideas, observations, and questions in a respectful
manner. Nevertheless, please also
refrain from monopolizing the discussion or carrying on disruptive private
conversation in class. I encourage you
to stop by during my office hours or to make an appointment to discuss your
progress or that of the class. If, at
any time during the semester you encounter difficulties or special
circumstances, contact the professor immediately in order to work out solutions
as soon as possible.
Academic Misconduct
By enrolling in
this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant
in UMBC’s scholarly community in which everyone’s academic work and behavior
are held to the highest standards of honesty.
Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these
acts are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct can result in disciplinary
action that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct
Policy, consult the UMBC Student Handbook, the Faculty Handbook or the UMBC
Policies section of the UMBC Directory. Violations
of these rules will result in ZERO for the assignment, may result in course
failure, as well as sanctioning by the university.
Academic misconduct may include but is not limited to the following
(adapted from UMBC’s policy):
· Cheating: Using or attempting to use
unauthorized material, information, or study aids in any academic exercise,
such as exams, quizzes, papers, homework, etc. That includes copying
information from classmates’ papers, homework, exams, quizzes, etc.
· Fabrication: Intentional and unauthorized
falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic
exercise, such as exams, quizzes, papers, homework, etc.
· Facilitating academic dishonesty:
Intentionally helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic
dishonesty.
· Plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas
of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. That means that ANYTIME you
use the exact words from a published source (including the internet), you have
to put them into quotation marks and attach in parentheses the page number and
all biographical source information. If
you use the contents of any published source (including the internet) by
PARAPHRASING it, you still have to acknowledge it in parentheses.
· Buying papers on the internet or elsewhere
and turning them, or any parts of them, in as one’s own original work
constitutes cheating. Turning in a paper that was authored by another person in
total or part also constitutes cheating.
COURSE SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Note: The readings and assignments are to be
completed for the date under which they are listed
Week 1: August 31
Introductions, goals of course, entry questionnaire
Start reading the assignments for next
time and prepare notes!
Homework: Complete IRB training for next class
Week 2: September 7
The social
research process and ethics
S&S Chapters
1, 2, and 16
Week 3:
September 14
Research
design and conceptualization
S&S
Chapters 3 and 17; L Appendix (p.169-172)
Week 4: September 21
Measurement
issues
Levels of
measurement
S&S Chapter 4; L Article 20 (turn in
typed factual questions and quality rating)
ü
Proposal topic outline due
Week 5: September 28
Sampling issues
Probability vs. non-probability sampling
S&S Chapter
5; L Article 10 (turn in typed factual questions and quality rating)
Week 6:
October 5
Experimental
and quasi-experimental designs
The
classical experiment compared to other designs
S&S
Chapters 6 and 7; L Article 12 (turn in typed factual questions and quality
rating)
Week 7:
October 12
Survey
research
Questionnaires
and interviews
S&S
Chapters 8 and 9; L Article 1 (turn in typed factual questions and quality
rating)
ü
Peer review: Proposal Part 1 (Intro,
research questions, and lit review)
Week 8:
October 19
Data
analysis 1 (univariate and bivariate statistics)
Introduction
to SPSS
S&S Chapter
14; L Article 18 (turn in typed factual questions and quality rating)
Week 9: October
26
Data analysis 2 (multivariate analysis
and elaboration model)
Hypothesis testing
S&S Chapter
15; L Article 31 (turn in typed factual questions and quality rating)
Week 10:
November 2
Presenting,
writing, and interpreting results
Revisit S&S
Chapter 17; L Article 9 (turn in typed factual questions and quality rating)
ü
Peer review: Proposal Part 2 (Theoretical
model, hypotheses, and methods)
Week 11:
November 9
Multiple methods and evaluation research
S&S
Chapters 12 and 13; L Article 27 (turn in typed factual questions and quality
rating)
Week 12:
November 16
Qualitative
methods 1
S&S
Chapters 10 and 11; L Articles 6 and 22 (turn in typed factual questions and
quality rating)
ü
Peer review: Computer project
Week 13: November 23
Week 14: November
30
Student
presentations
ü
Computer project due
Week 15:
December 7
Student
presentations
Week 16:
December 12
LAST CLASS –
please be prepared to stay until all students have presented
Student
presentations
ü Research proposal due
Final exam: December 14,