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Sociology 275, Section 01 – Social Research Methods
Summer II, M-F 11-12:45, Modern Languages 314
Instructor: Jeremiah Coldsmith
Office: Social Science Room 426
Office Hours: 2-3 Monday – Friday
Office Phone: (520)621-1089
Email Address:
Webpage URL:
Course Description and Goals:
The primary objective of this course is to introduce you to the purpose and techniques of social research. The basic goal of all social research is to gather evidence in order to answer questions about the nature of relationships between individuals, groups, institutions, and societies. This course is designed to give you a broad overview of the logic of social research, of the process of research design, and of the major types of data collection techniques and methods of data analysis. After completion of the course you should have a basic understanding of social research methods and have mastered a number of research skills that will be applicable for a wide range of undertakings.
Prerequisite: Soc 274 Social Statistics; if you have not completed Soc 274 with a passing grade, you will be dropped from this course.
Required Materials:
There is one required book for this course. The bibliographical citation for the required book is as follows:
Babbie, Earl. (2005) The Basics of Social Research (4th Ed.) Belmont, Ca: Wadsworth.
The two readings not from the book will be made available on my website (listed above).
Readings listed on the syllabus should be completed before coming to class on the day for which they are listed. The lectures and readings are organized to work together, so you need to stay caught up at all times. Additionally, the value of class discussions and your ability to be successful on the exams will depend on your having done the readings.
Attendance:
Along with the readings, class discussions and lectures are a vital source of information about the course material. Attending classis your primary opportunity to get clarification and elaboration on topics covered in the book and in previous classes. Participating in class will also reinforce the material contained in the readings. Class time is also set aside for discussion of each written assignment, so class attendance will help you with your research proposal (discussed later) as well. Finally, your full participation in class through asking and answering questions and expressing your own understandings is very helpful for everyone in the class and is strongly encouraged.
Written Assignments:
You are required to write a 10-15 page research proposal on a topic of your choice (Due 8-8-08; worth 50 points).
A research proposal has several important components, including a statement of the research question, a review of previous studies regarding the topic, and a fully formed plan for data collection. To help make sure that you are moving forward on the right track with your research proposals, there are three written assignments during the semester related to specific aspects of the research proposal: a statement of your researchquestion and rationale (Due 7-16-08; worth 5 points), a literature review (Due 7-25-08; worth 10 points), and a research protocol (Due 8-1-08; worth 10 points). Taken together these three assignments are worth 25 points. I’ll be giving you more detailed descriptions of each assignment as their due dates approach.
Your final paper is the completed research proposal. This is simply a combination of your three previous papers. While the final paper is worth the most (50 points), it will require the least amount of work. This is because all you need to do is combine the three previous papers, making them flow together, and correcting any problems with your previous papers (which may require a good amount of work).
Tests:
There are three tests in the class. They consist of 10 matching questions, 10 multiple choicequestions, and 5 short answer questions. The three testsare not cumulative but will cover both lecture and reading materials from the sections in which they are given. Each test is worth 25 points. Therefore, each of the questions, including the short answer questions, is worth 1 point.
Final Exam:
Unlike the earlier tests, the final exam is cumulative. It will consist of 20 matching questions, 20 multiple choice questions, and 1 long essay. Each of the matching and multiple choice questions is worth 1 point. The long essay is worth 10 points. The final is thus worth 50 points.
Course Grade:
Your grade in this course is determined by your performance on the exams and the written assignments. There are a total of 200 points available during the semester and break down as follows:
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Writing Assignment1 5 pts.
Writing Assignment 2 10 pts.
Writing Assignment 3 10 pts.
Final Paper 50 pts.
Test 1 25 pts.
Test 2 25 pts.
Test 3 25 pts.
Final Exam 50 pts.
200 total
The grade distribution breaks down as follows:
180-200 A
160-179 B
140-159 C
120-139 D
119 and below E
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While no portion of your final grade is reserved for participation and attendance, let me assure you that attendance and participation will be accounted for in your final grade, as attending and participating will help you better understand the material and thus help you perform better on exams and papers.
University and Department Policies Page
Schedule of Topics and Assignments:
Week 1: Part I: Philosophy of Science
Monday, July 14th: Forms of Knowledge
Reading: Babbie Chapter 1
Note: Details of Writing Assignment 1 Handed Out
Tuesday, July 15th: Theory in the Social Sciences
Reading: Babbie Chapter 2
Wednesday, July 16th: Causality
Reading: Babbie Chapter 4, Pages 94-103 ONLY
Writing Assignment 1 Due at the Start of Class
Thursday, July 17th: Ethics in the Social Sciences
Reading: Babbie Chapter 3
Note: Details of Writing Assignment 2 Handed Out
Friday, July 18th: Test 1
Week 2: Part II: Designing a Research Project
Monday, July 21st: The Literature Review
Reading: Babbie Chapter 15, Pages 470-474 and 478-490 ONLY
Tuesday, July 22nd: Research Design
Reading: Babbie Chapter 4, Pages 104-129 ONLY
Wednesday, July 23rd: Research Design Continued
Thursday, July 24th: From Concepts to Variables
Reading: Babbie Chapter 5
Friday, July 25th: From Concepts to Variables Continued
Writing Assignment 2 Due at the Start of Class
Week 3
Monday, July 28th: Test 2
Part III: Data Collection
Tuesday, July 29th: The Experimental Method
Reading: Babbie Chapter 8
Note: Details of Writing Assignment 3 Handed Out
Wednesday, July 30th: Sampling
Reading: Babbie Chapter 7
Thursday, July 31st: Survey Research
Reading: Babbie Chapter 9
Friday, August 1st: Field Research
Reading: Babbie Chapter 10
Writing Assignment 3 Due at the Start of Class
Week 4
Monday, August 4th: Test 3
Part IV: Connecting Methods to Analysis
Tuesday, August 5th: Quantitative Data Analysis
Reading: Babbie Chapter 14
Wednesday, August 6th: Qualitative Data Analysis
Reading: Babbie Chapter 13
Thursday, August 7th: Going Back to Ethics: An example of Bad Ethical Choices
Movie: Either, Obedience or Quiet Rage. We’ll watch the one the most people have not seen.
Friday, August 8th: Final Paper is Due at the Start of Class
Week 5
Monday, August 11th: Discussion of an Experiment
Reading: Drachman, Davidand Stephen Worchel.
(1976). “Misattribution of Arousal as a Means of Dissonance Reduction.” Sociometry, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 53-59
Tuesday, August 12th: Discussion of Field Research
Reading: Snow, David A. and Leon Anderson.
(1987). “Identity Work Among the Homeless: The Verbal Construction and Avowal of Personal Identities.” The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 92, No. 6, pp. 1336-1371
Wednesday, August 13th: Final Exam