Research
Methods
SYA 3300 – U02
Spring Semester 2008
PC 419
W 6:25 – 9:45 PM
Professor: Dr. Alex Stepick
Office: DM 320C
Phone: 348-2247
Office Hours: Wednesdays before class and by appointment
Email address: Stepick@fiu.edu
Teaching Assistant: Alejandro Angee
Office: DM 323
Office Hours: Wednesdays 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Email address: alejandro.angee@fiu.edu
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
This is a Web-assisted course. All materials for this
course are available on the Web at: http://webct.fiu.edu. At
the bottom of the page, you will see under the heading PowerLinks a hyperlink
with the text Click
here for additional course section(s) on CE 6.
Click on the link to go to your CE 6 courses. At this website you will
find the complete class syllabus, readings, and assignments. You will also use
this website to submit all your work, both homework and tests. This website
also contains supplementary information on sociology and anthropology, including
help with the reading and course material along with information on careers in
anthropology and sociology. You need to check this WebCT
site during the week between classes. Do not wait until Monday or Tuesday
before class to check it!
Research Methods is designed to introduce you to the
philosophy and methods of Sociology and Anthropology research. In other words,
we hope to give you some idea of the how's and why's of Sociology and
Anthropology research. No knowledge of statistics or mathematics is required
before beginning the course.
The purpose of this course is to give you the tools
for judging critically other people's research and
to be able to conduct basic research yourself. At the end of the course, you should also be able to construct
and critique a research design. A good research design is important so that
data is collected in a usable and scientifically "valid" form. Sound
research design will help insure that inferences about hypotheses made from the
data collected (that is, the conclusions drawn from the information collected)
are as accurate as possible. Our aim is to teach you to choose the best method
for a given situation and to be able to make judgments about the choices of a
research design made by others. In short, we will teach you to recognize the
difference between science and opinion.
The course begins with a discussion of the philosophy of
science—what it means to be scientific and why it is important. We will then
introduce the notion of theory, the idea of building models of social reality.
We will focus particularly on the roles of assumptions, hypothesis, and
variables. We then will implement these ideas with some particular
methodologies: the use of secondary sources and interviewing.
FORMAT OF THE COURSE
One best learns methods not by reading but by actually
trying them out and implementing them. This course requires the students'
active involvement. Your participation in both classroom discussions and
assignments outside of the class is essential to passing this course. Reading
assignments must be done before the first class period of the week they are
assigned (with the obvious exception of the very first class period of the
semester). We will have a quiz on the readings in class each week that readings
are assigned. The quizzes generally will be open book and take ten
minutes. Please pay attention to the quiz schedule in the syllabus; you
have a limited ‘window’ of time on WebCT to complete
each quiz. You will be able to take the quiz on WebCT
if you miss class, but the deadline will not be extended for the quiz-taking
period.
One cannot pass this course by simply memorizing the
reading. In fact, there will be no memorization of facts in this course. The
readings provide only a minimal framework. Most of the conceptual material will
be provided in the lectures.
The readings will be complemented by a semester long group
assignment. Groups will be formed the first day of class. This assignment
will be constructed as if you are a professional social scientist who has been
asked to prepare a professional report on some particular subject. Your team
will make weekly progress reports on particular aspects of your report.
Each week the group will assign one member to be the lead spokesperson to give
a 3-5 minute oral summary of that week’s work. At the end of the semester, your
team will make an oral presentation after which you will hand in the
compilation of the semester group project.
While the assignments will require significant time, they
will be flexible. Most of them will be done in groups with other students. The
groups, not individuals, will be responsible for completing assignments. Each
group will decide who will do what. The group will make one report. More
details are provided on group dynamics and evaluation in the next section.
GROUP DYNAMICS & EVALUATION
Within
groups it is always the case that some people work harder than others and
deserve more credit. We know that throughout the semester, those who do
more work will be resentful towards those who do less. They will feel that the
freeloaders are benefiting at the hard workers' expense and perhaps even
bringing down the grade of the hard workers. We, therefore, have ways to get
back at the freeloaders.
Upon forming groups, group members are asked to select a
group leader who will provide leadership and some role delegation amongst the
members. This person does not carry more responsibility for the
completion of assignments. The responsibility still rests with the entire
group. The group leader will help to identify any problems in group
functioning and to potentially resolve them.
Students evaluate each other member of their group after 3
weeks. This will give students enough time to get to know each other, but is
still soon enough to address group issues. Issues are addressed based on work
performance and NOT personality. Students will be emailed a link to a
confidential online evaluation of each group member. You will have
several days to complete this, to allow each student the time and the privacy
to complete them honestly. These are initial evaluations and do not
factor into the final grade. Each group member will be given a
compilation of all the evaluations but they will
be anonymous so that students do not know who made the comments. The same
process will be completed at the end of the semester, but this time, the grades
will be compiled. Final evaluations are factored into the final grade.
Issues are addressed first within the group where all group
members can voice concerns. The group leader should help to ensure this
occurs. If this does not resolve the problem, the group can meet with
Alejandro Angee, the Teaching Assistant.
If after these steps, the team or individual feels that
things are still not working, the team can vote the individual out, or the
individual can request to leave. However, this is with the knowledge that
the team will be short one person and roles will have to be fulfilled by other
team members. The individual will also know that it is his/her responsibility
to secure a position with another team in the class. If position is not
secured with another team, no grade can be given and the individual will have
to retake the class. After 3 weeks and at the end of the semester, we will ask
everyone in each group to evaluate everyone else in their group. Those who have
contributed more will be given more credit than those who have not fulfilled
their responsibili ties to the group. Those who have
worked less will receive less credit. Thus, if the group averages B work on the group assignments, at the end of the semester if
the group evaluations indicate that two people did all the work and two others
did nothing. Then the two who did the work will get A's on the group
assignments and those who did nothing will get C's or worse. Also, for those of
you worried about grades, remember that most of your grade depends upon the
midterm and final, each of which will be done entirely by individuals, not by
groups.
While some people prefer to work alone and not in groups,
everyone in this class must work with a group. It will mean less work for each
individual, since work will be shared within the group and you will learn from
other members in the group as you help each other out.
EVALUATION AND TESTING
Your
grade will consist of four parts: written examinations, quizzes, attendance and
group assignments. There will be two written examinations, composed of a
midterm and a final. The midterm will be worth 20% of the grade and the final
25%. The group assignments will count for 35% of the total grade. Individual
assignments and quizzes will be 10%. The final 10% of your grade will be
based on attendance.
READING
There
are two required books:
The Basics of Social Research by Earl Babbie
Readings in Social Research Methods by Wysocki
There is one recommended book. It is highly recommended for
anyone who intends to have a career in anthropology.
Research Methods in Anthropology by H. Russell Bernard
Other readings will be placed on WebCT,
as indicated in the course outline. You will find all of the readings
critical to doing well on the assignments and individual exams. However,
you will be quizzed each week on only some portions of the reading, as
indicated in the course outline below.
COURSE OUTLINE
|
January 9 Week #1: Introduction to the Course & the Philosophy of Science
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapters 1 & 2 |
|
|
Wysocki |
Chapter 1 (p. 5 – 18) |
||
|
Other |
· Social Research in Cyberspace (posted on WebCT) · Explore Course Content/Chapter 1 (including links posted there). |
||
|
Recommended |
Bernard, chapters 1 & 2. |
||
|
Assignments |
|||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
1.1 |
Selective Perception and Unfocused Observation (individual) |
01/15, 10 am |
|
|
1.2 |
Social Pressure (individual) |
01/15, 10 am |
|
|
1.3 |
False Conclusions (individual) |
01/15, 10 am |
|
|
1.4 |
Research Reports (group) The list of group topics is on WebCT under Group Assignment for Fall 2007. The final choice of one of them will be in class. Your group then does the rest of the assignment. The second part of exercise 1.4 will be turned in September 12th. |
Part 1 01/15, Part 2 01/22, both at 10 am |
|
|
|
|||
|
Other Notes:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
January 16 Week #2: Literature Review
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapters 3, 4, 5 & 6 |
||
|
Wysocki |
Chapter 2: introduction (p. 19 – 23) and Wong article (p. 24 – 32) Chapter 12 Introduction (p. 283-291) |
|||
|
Other |
||||
|
Recommended |
Bernard, chapters 3, 5 & 6 |
|||
|
Quiz |
||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
||
|
1 |
Wysocki |
Chapter 1 |
||
|
Chapter 2 (only the Introduction) |
||||
|
Assignments |
||||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
1.4 |
Completion of Research Report Critiques' Annotated Bibliography. You must have a minimum of 30 Research Report Critiques (including the minimum of 10 for the previous week's assignment.) |
01/22, 10 am |
||
|
2.1 |
Summary of Research Themes |
01/22, 10 am |
||
|
2.2 |
Research Problem and Operationalization |
01/22, 10 am |
||
|
2.3 |
Literature Review. Each student will write a literature review using 5 of the 30 sources.
|
01/29, 10 am |
||
|
|
||||
|
Other Notes:
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 23 Week #3: Samples & Populations
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapters 7 & 8 |
||
|
Wysocki |
Chapters 4, 5 & 7 |
|||
|
Other |
http://www.wadsworth.com/sociology_d/special_features/ext/census/index.html (Link is also posted on WebCT.) |
|||
|
Recommended |
Bernard, chapters 4 |
|||
|
Quiz |
||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
||
|
2 |
Wysocki (2nd edition) |
Chapter 5: Intro (101-103), Gibbs (104-110) |
||
|
Chapter 7: Intro (155-159), Michael et al. (159-166) |
||||
|
Wysocki (3rd edition) |
Chapter 5: Intro (82-86), Gibbs (91-97) |
|||
|
Chapter 7: Intro (117-121), Michael et al. (123-129) |
||||
|
Assignments |
||||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
2.3 |
Literature Review. Each student will write a literature review using 5 of the 30 sources.
|
01/29, 10 am |
||
|
3.1 |
|
01/29, 10 am |
||
|
3.2 |
Drawing Samples – a hypothetical situation analysis using drawing samples methods you have learned in class |
01/29, 10 am |
||
|
|
||||
|
Other Notes: All individual assignments are to be submitted to the Assignment Dropbox in WebCT. All group assignments are emailed by one group member to Tricia in WebCT. |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 30 Week #4: Indirect, Unobtrusive Observation
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapter 10, 11 |
|
||
|
Wysocki |
Chapter 9 introduction, Cannon et al article. |
|
|||
|
Recommended |
Bernard, chapter 17 |
|
|||
|
Quiz |
|||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
|||
|
3 |
Wysocki (2nd edition) |
Chapter 9: Intro (201-205), Cannon et al article (p. 206 – 215) |
|||
|
Wysocki (3rd edition) |
Chapter 9: Intro (163-169), Cannon et al article (p. 176 - 184) |
||||
|
Assignments |
|
||||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
|
4.0 |
Content Analysis |
02/05, 10 am |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 6 Week #5: Midterm Exam Review
|
||
|
|
||
|
Assignments |
||
|
|
Description |
Due Date |
|
Mid-term Exam will be available after class on Blackboard. (Go to Assessment Tools à Quizzes & Exams.) The exam must be completed by Tuesday, February 12 at 10 am. |
02/12, 10 am |
|
|
February 13 Week #6: Participant & non-participant observation
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapter 13 |
|
||
|
Wysocki |
Chapter 9: Goetting article |
|
|||
|
Recommended |
Bernard, chapter 7-9, 14 |
|
|||
|
Quiz |
|||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
|||
|
4 |
Wysocki (2nd edition) |
Chapter 9: Goetting (p. 228 - 234) |
|||
|
Wysocki (3rd edition) |
Chapter 9: Goetting (p. 185 - 190) |
||||
|
Assignments |
|
||||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
|
6.0 |
Participant Observation |
02/19, 10 am |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 20 Week #7: Interviewing: open-ended & Semi-structured
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
Material |
|
||
|
Required |
Berg, “A Dramaturgical Look at Interviewing” (Posted on WebCT) |
|
|||
|
Recommended |
Bernard, chapters 10 & 16 |
|
|||
|
Quiz |
|||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
|||
|
5 |
Berg |
“A Dramaturgical Look at Interviewing” (Posted on WebCT) |
|||
|
|
|
||||
|
Assignments |
|
||||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
|
7.0 |
Open-ended and Semi-structured Interview Assignment |
03/05, 10 am |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 27 Week #8: focus groups
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
Required |
Berg, “Focus Group Interviewing” (Posted on WebCT) |
|
||
|
Quiz |
|||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
|||
|
6 |
Berg |
“Focus Group Interviewing” (Posted on WebCT) |
|||
|
Assignments |
|
||||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
|
8.1 |
Focus Group Moderator’s Guide |
03/05, 10 am |
|
||
|
8.2 |
Focus Group Feedback |
03/11, 10 am |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MArch 5 Week #9: Survey research design
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapter 9, 12 |
|
||
|
Wysocki |
Chapter 8 |
|
|||
|
Recommended |
Read Bernard, chapters 11-13 |
|
|||
|
Quiz |
|||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
|||
|
7 |
Wysocki (2nd edition) |
Chapter 8: Intro (173-178), Michael et al.(187-193) |
|||
|
Wysocki (3rd edition) |
Chapter 8: Intro (138-143), Michael et al.(151-157) |
||||
|
Assignments |
|
||||
|
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
|
9.0 |
Survey Questionnaire Design Assignment |
03/18, 10 am |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 12 Week #10: coding survey research
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapter 14 |
||
|
Wysocki |
Chapter 10 |
|||
|
Recommended |
- Appendix D, Babbie - Schutt, Chapter 11 (on reserve) - True, Chapters 11 & 12 (on reserve) |
|||
|
Quiz |
||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
||
|
8 |
Wysocki (2nd edition) |
Chapter 10: Seiler & Seiler article (p. 248 – 256) |
||
|
Wysocki (3rd edition) |
Chapter 10: Seiler & Seiler article (p. 202 - 212) |
|||
|
Assignments |
||||
|
|
Description |
Due Date |
||
|
Number |
Description |
Due Date |
||
|
|
9.0 |
Surveys: Each person will administer 10 surveys. They will be handed in at the beginning of class on November 7th. |
03/26, in class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 17 -22 Spring Break
|
|
March 26 Week #11: Analyzing Survey Data
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Babbie |
Chapter 15 |
|
|
|
Required |
Bryman, Alan 2007. “Barriers to Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Research.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research. 1:1, p 8-22. Posted on WebCT. |
|
||
|
Quiz |
||||
|
|
Number |
Material |
||
|
9 |
Bryman, Alan 2007. “Barriers to Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Research.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research. 1:1, p 8-22. Posted on WebCT. |
|||
|
Assignments |
|
|||
|
|
Description |
Due Date |
|
|
|
10.1 |
Survey Codebook |
04/01, 10 am |
|
|
|
10.2 |
Excel Spreadsheet with survey data |
04/01, 10 am |
|
|
|
|
10.3 |
Survey Questionnaire Analysis: including frequencies, crosstabs and difference of means for your group survey. |
04/01, 10 am |
|
|
April 2 Week #12: Preparation of Group presentations and final report |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|||
|
|
Required |
Parmelee, Perkins & Sayre. 2007. “’What About People Our Age?” Applying Qualitative and Quantitative Methods to Uncover How Political Ads Alienate College Students.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research. 1:2, p 199. Posted on WebCT. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Quiz |
|||
|
|
Number |
Material |
|
|
10 |
Parmelee, Perkins & Sayre. 2007. “’What About People Our Age?” Applying Qualitative and Quantitative Methods to Uncover How Political Ads Alienate College Students.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research. 1:2, p 199. Posted on WebCT. |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 9 Week #13: Presentation of Results |
|
· Group presentations will be conducted in a location that will be announced in class. · Each group will submit a compilation of their assignments from the entire semester (see Blackboard for details). |
|
April 16 Week #14: final exam review |
|
|
|
· Study session reviewing major aspects of course · Q&A regarding the final exam |
|
April 23 Week #15: Final Exam
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
Description |
Due Date |
|
Final Exam will be available on Blackboard April 16. (Go to Assessment Tools à Quizzes & Exams.) The exam must be completed by Wednesd April 23h at 10 am. |
04/23, 10 am |
|