SOC
462: METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH
Fall 2009
Dr. Ann Marie Kinnell
Office: 432 Liberal Arts Bldg
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00a-noon,
Wednesday, 1:00p-2:00p, and by appointment
Phone/voice mail: 266-5339 or 266-4306
E-mail: Ann.Kinnell@usm.edu
Department Web page: http://www.usm.edu/antsoc/
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The social sciences are in the business of trying
to figure out how the social world works. To this end, we formulate
research questions, devise hypotheses and theories, design studies, collect and
analyze data, and produce reports (not necessarily in this order). The
purpose of this course is to acquaint you with this process through reading
textual descriptions of the research process, analyzing the research of others,
and designing and implementing an original research project.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of the semester you should be able to 1) articulate the
relationship between theory and research, 2) move from a general question to
the formulation of a well-constructed, researchable problem, 3) assess the
strengths and weaknesses of various methods of data collection, 4) design,
implement and report your findings from a preliminary research project, 5)
evaluate reported findings in terms of the research methods employed in the
studies, and 6) discuss the ethical issues involved in social research.
Text: Babbie. 2008. The
Basics of Social Research, 4e. Thompson/Wadsworth.
Guide: Pyrczak and Bruce. 2007. Writing Empirical
Research Reports, 6e. Pyrczak Publishing.
WEB RESOURCES
The following Web resources may be helpful to
you during the course. More resources are listed below in the schedule for
specific chapters. I will update these resources from time to time.
http://www.usm.edu/antsoc/socio/links.html
Links to sociological resources and writing tools.
http://www.lib.usm.edu/help/help_guides.html
USM Libraries Help Guides
Online Research Tutorials,
Guidelines, and Videos - Rutgers University
Methods, Statistics, and the Research Paper
From a sociological tour through cyberspace
http://gsociology.icaap.org/methods/
Resources for Methods in Evaluation and Social
Research
Social
Research Update - essays on doing research
Sociological
Research Online
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Research Project:
Over the course of the semester, you will be designing and carrying out a
research project. The details of this project will be provided on a
separate hand out. Please note when each part of the project is
due.
2. Exams: There will be two exams, a midterm and a
final. The exams will consist of short answer and short essay questions
and will cover all material from the lectures and required readings.
3. Tutorials: Complete and email results of two library tutorials: Finding
Articles using a database and plagiarism. Tutorials may be
found at http://www.lib.usm.edu/help/tutorials.html.
(25 points each).
Please see schedule below for due dates.
GRADING
|
Exam - midterm |
200 |
|
|
A |
900-1000 |
Excellent Work |
|
Exam - final |
250 |
|
|
B |
800-899 |
Good Work |
|
Tutorials (2) |
50 |
|
|
C |
700-799 |
Average Work |
|
Research Project |
500 |
|
|
D |
600-699 |
Inferior Work |
|
|
1000 |
|
|
F |
≤599 |
Failing Work |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Academic dishonesty is not tolerated. In this class this means plagiarism
(i.e. turning in someone else’s work, whether a student or author, as your own)
or cheating on an exam. Penalties may range from a grade of F on an assignment
or exam to a grade of F for the course. More information on plagiarism will be
given in class. For more information on the university’s policy on academic
honesty, see the Student
Handbook.
Final grades:
All grades are final when I turn them into the registrar. I do not allow
students to do extra work to bring up their grades after the semester is over.
Do not ask.
DISABILITY If a student has a disability that qualifies under the
American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should
contact the Office for Disability
Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and
procedures. Disabilities covered by
COURSE ETIQUETTE
While in class, I expect you to be considerate of your instructor and fellow students. Please do not chat with your neighbors, read newspapers (online or hard copy) or other materials, do work for other classes, watch movies, cruise the web (unless you are finding information pertinent to the current topic which you would like to share with the class), check your social networking sites, text your friends (or enemies), play games, or (the very low tech) pass notes to friends or write on each other’s notebooks. If you do, I will ask you to leave. Please turn off or mute your cell phone before class begins. Also, do not pack up before I dismiss the class. I usually give you a few minutes to get your things together at the end of class. Packing up early is disruptive to those students who are trying to pay attention.
SCHEDULE Note: Schedule is subject to change if the need arises.
Any changes in the schedule will be announced in class and posted on the course
Web page.
Please note that for four classes we will be
meeting at Family Network Partnership. http://www.usm.edu/socialwork/fnp.php
Directions to the Family Network Partnership
office can be found here (1st location): http://www.usm.edu/socialwork/fnpprogrammingsites.php
|
Date |
Chapter/Topic |
Web Sites |
|
8/20 |
Introduction |
|
|
8/25 |
Babbie, Chapter 1: Human Inquiry and Science Online reading (1) The Effects of a Parenting Program on Urban African-American Adolescent Fathers |
Stephen's Guide
to the Logical Fallacies |
|
8/27 |
Speaker: Laurie
Risher, Family Network Partnership (FNP) |
|
|
9/1 |
Babbie, Chapter 1: Human Inquiry and Science Online reading (1) The Effects of a Parenting Program on Urban African-American Adolescent Fathers |
|
|
9/3 |
Meet at FNP,
4:00p
|
|
|
9/8 |
Babbie, Chapter 1: Human Inquiry and Science Online reading (1) The Effects of a
Parenting Program on Urban African-American Adolescent Fathers Plagiarism Tutorial Due |
|
|
9/10 |
Babbie, Chapter 3: The Ethics
and Politics of Social Research |
|
|
9/15 |
Babbie,
Chapter 3: The Ethics and Politics of Social Research |
The Belmont Report Report
of syphilis study legacy committee |
|
9/17 |
Focus Group preparation -- handouts from Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research |
|
|
9/22 |
Meet at FNP, 4:00p |
|
|
9/24 |
FNP Focus Groups |
|
|
9/29 |
FNP Focus Groups |
|
|
10/1 |
Babbie, Chapter 4: Research Design Online reading (3) Cigarette Smoking
and the Disenfranchisement of Adolescent Girls: a Discourse of Resistance? |
Sociology
links page - writing tools, plagiarism info |
|
10/6 |
Babbie, Chapter 4: Research Design Online reading (4) (In)Visibility Blues: The Paradox Of Institutional Racism |
|
|
10/8 |
Fall Break |
|
|
10/13 |
Babbie, Chapter 4: Research Design Babbie,
Chapter 15: Reading and Writing Social Research Finding Articles using a database Tutorial Due Babbie,
Chapter 5: Conceptualization, Operationalization,
and Measurement |
|
|
10/15 |
Exam 1 (bring loose leaf notebook paper) |
|
|
10/20 |
Babbie,
Chapter 5: Conceptualization, Operationalization,
and Measurement |
Survey sites: |
|
10/22 |
Babbie, Chapter 5: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement |
|
|
10/27 |
Babbie, Chapter 9: Survey
Research |
|
|
10/29 |
Babbie, Chapter 9: Survey Research |
|
|
11/3 |
Babbie,
Chapter 10: Qualitative Research |
|
|
11/5 |
Research Day |
|
|
11/10 |
Babbie, Chapter 10: Qualitative
Research |
|
|
11/12 |
Babbie, Chapter 7: The Logic of
Sampling Online readings (7) Getting Drunk And
Hooking Up: An Exploratory Study Of The Relationship Between Alcohol
Intoxication And Casual Coupling In A University Sample |
|
|
11/17 |
Babbie,
Chapter 7: The Logic of Sampling |
|
|
11/19 |
Babbie, Chapter 13: Qualitative Data Analysis |
|
|
11/24 |
Babbie, Chapter 14: Quantitative Data Analysis |
|
|
11/26 |
Thanksgiving Break |
|
|
12/1 |
Work day |
|
|
12/3 |
Research Presentations |
|
|
12/10 |
Final Exam (bring
loose leaf notebook paper) 10:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. |
|
ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON-LINE
(1) Mazza, Carl, Young Dads: the Effects of a
Parenting Program on Urban African-American Adolescent Fathers.
Adolescence; Winter2002, Vol. 37 Issue 148, p681, 13p
http://lynx.lib.usm.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=8982009&site=ehost-live
(2) O'Connor, Thomas P., Hoge, Dean R., Alexander, Estrelda,
The Relative Influence of Youth and Adult Experiences
on Personal Spirituality and Church Involvement.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Dec2002,
Vol. 41 Issue 4, p723-732.
http://lynx.lib.usm.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7693016&site=ehost-live
(3) MacDonald, Marjorie and Wright, Nancy E, Cigarette Smoking and the
Disenfranchisement of Adolescent Girls: a Discourse of Resistance?
Health Care for Women International; Apr2002, Vol. 23
Issue 3, p281-305.
http://lynx.lib.usm.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6476184&site=ehost-live
(4) Katrina Bell McDonald, Adia Harvey Wingfield. (In)Visibility Blues: The Paradox Of Institutional Racism. Sociological Spectrum, Volume 29, Number 1 (January 2009), pp. 28-50, http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=436C97E6A7E32A78AE84
(5)May, David C.and Dunaway, R.
Gregory, Predictors of Fear of Criminal Victimization
at School among Adolescents.
Sociological Spectrum; Apr-Jun2000, Vol. 20 Issue 2,
p149-168.
http://lynx.lib.usm.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=2934342&site=ehost-live
(6) Walsh, Wendy, Spankers and Nonspankers: Where
They Get Information on Spanking.
Family Relations; Jan2002, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p81-88.
http://lynx.lib.usm.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=5864787&site=ehost-live
(7) Thomas Vander Ven, Jeffrey Beck. Getting Drunk
And Hooking Up: An Exploratory Study Of The Relationship Between Alcohol
Intoxication And Casual Coupling In A University Sample. Sociological
Spectrum, Volume 29, Number 5 (September 2009), pp. 626-648, http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4B088181B9D0B1705638
(8) Hodgson, Ian, Empathy, inclusion and enclaves: the culture
of care of people with HIV/AIDS and nursing implications.
Journal of Advanced Nursing; Aug2006, Vol. 55 Issue 3, p283-290
http://lynx.lib.usm.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=21447741&site=ehost-live
Last Modified: September
30, 2009
URL: http://www.usm.edu/antsoc/socio/syllabus/SOC462syllabusfall09.html
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