SOC 280: Introduction to Research Methods

University of New Mexico, Fall 2006, Section 003

Syllabus

Instructor: Betsy Erbaugh Office hours: MW 2:15-3:30pm & by appt. Social Sciences 1071 Office phone: 277-8991 Email (the best way to contact me): erbaugh@unm.edu	Class website: www.unm.edu/~erbaugh Class meets: MWF 1-1:50pm Dane Smith Hall Rm. 228
Teaching Assistant: Stacy Keogh Office hours: W 11am-12pm Social Sciences 1063 Office phone: 277-8992 Email: skeogh@unm.edu

Course Objectives and Expectations: This course introduces students to social science research methods and the fundamentals of research design.

As an instructor, I aim to create a learning atmosphere that fosters critical and sociological thinking, writing, and discussion. I encourage my students to go beyond merely digesting other people’s ideas to actively engage with the material and to critique both commonly held assumptions and sociological interpretations of social life. I will do everything I reasonably can to help you meet your goals in this course and to maintain a respectful classroom atmosphere. I expect you to do the same. Please see me or Stacy or contact us by email to talk about any questions or problems you have with the material, our presentation of it, or classroom dynamics.

Required Texts:

1. Schutt, Russell K. 2006. Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Social Research. 5^th edition. Pine Forge Press.
2. Articles and other materials available on E-Reserves.

Website & Email Listserv: You are required to use the web and email for this class! There is a website for the class which you should check regularly: http://www.unm.edu/~erbaugh/Methods06/home.html – note the website is not on WebCT. The syllabus, assignments and other information will be on the website. Please go to https://list.unm.edu and add yourself to the class listserv, named 280FALL06-L (there are instructions on how to do this at the class website). We will email you with important announcements, changes to readings, additional assignments, etc. Questions about the course? Please check the website first, then email us.

Accessibility Accommodations: Any student who, because of disability, may require accommodations in order to meet course requirements should contact me as soon as possible to make necessary arrangements. It is the responsibility of the student to request accommodations for individual learning needs. UNM and I will make every attempt to accommodate all students with disabilities. For further information, contact Student Support Services at (505) 277-3506.

Policy on Academic Dishonesty: "Each student is expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity in academic and professional matters. The University reserves the right to take disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, against any student who is found guilty of academic dishonesty or who otherwise fails to meet the expected standards. Any student judged to have engaged in academic dishonesty in course work may receive a reduced or failing grade for the work in question and/or for the course. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, dishonesty in quizzes, tests or assignments; claiming credit for work not done or done by others; hindering the academic work of other students; misrepresenting academic or professional qualifications within or without the University; nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications or other University records." (UNM Pathfinder)

A Note on Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of passing off someone else’s ideas or words as your own, or using another’s written material in your own work without crediting the source (Merriam-Webster Online). If you use someone else’s words, or even their ideas, you must cite your source. This is true whether you quote the source directly or paraphrase from it. It has become quite easy to find out whether a student has copied sections of a text from written sources or from the internet – do not be tempted. If you plagiarize work in this class you will get zero credit for the assignment, potentially fail the course and/or be expelled from UNM. If you are not sure how to correctly cite sources, make sure you find out! It’s not worth risking a failing grade or expulsion from the University. Here’s a couple starting places:

http://elibrary.unm.edu/tutorials/General/Writing/cite.htm

http://elibrary.unm.edu/tutorials/General/Writing/legal.htm

Coursework and Grading: There will be two exams, ongoing group projects and regular homework. More specific information on each of these components of the course will be provided as needed. Grading of each of these components will be weighted as follows:

Exams (2 @ 20% each): 40%

Group projects & presentations: 35%

Participation & other assignments: 25%

Makeup exams: WARNING! Makeup exams will be given only if all of the following criteria are met: 1. It is absolutely impossible for you to be present for the exam. 2. If you know ahead of time you will not be in class the day of the exam due to an athletic event, religious observance or other obligation, you must notify the instructor as soon as you become aware of it. In case of illness or emergency, you must notify the instructor (preferably by email) by 2pm on the day of the exam. 3. You must bring original written proof of your incapacity to take the exam (from a doctor or the dean). 4. Makeup exams must be arranged with Stacy and completed within one week following the in-class exam.

Requests for makeups that fall outside these parameters will not be favorably looked upon.

Attendance and Participation: Given that the class will revolve around discussion of the readings, lectures, small group work, in-class assignments and other activities, your attendance, preparedness, and active participation are essential. Especially in a methods class like this one, learning is cumulative, so to fall behind would be to your disadvantage. You are allowed two unexcused absences so there is no need to contact me if you miss class once or twice. Please note that you are responsible for any and all material missed because of absences. Get the emails and phone numbers of a few other students in the class (your project group?) and if you miss a class, ask them to review what was covered and/or lend you their notes. (Do not ask me what was covered, or if we did, or will be doing, anything important. Do not tell me you are skipping my class to study for another class.)

Course Schedule: Given that dynamics and issues raised in class will likely affect the pace of the course, the following is a tentative outline of the material we will cover. You should complete the readings indicated by class time on the dates specified.

Date	Key Concepts	Readings & Assignments
Week 1: Basics of Social Science Research
8/21	Course overview What is social science?
8/23	Types & goals of social research Errors in reasoning	Schutt Preface and Chapter 1 video: Junk Science
8/25	Considerations in research design: theories, relationships, hypotheses, concepts and variables	Mills, "The Promise"
Week 2: Theoretical and Philosophical Approaches to Social Research
8/28	Positivism & constructivism	Neuman Ch. 4, "The Meanings of Methodology" (E-reserves)
8/30	Critical approaches	Hesse-Biber et al (E-reserves)
9/1	The craft of social science; components of a research article	Mills, "On Intellectual Craftsmanship" Homework #1 Due
Week 3: Research Problems and Research Questions
9/4	LABOR DAY - NO CLASS
9/6	Formulating research questions; dependent & independent variables; inductive vs deductive approaches Class discussion of Sherman & Berk	Schutt pp. 53-57, 69-79 Sherman & Berk, "The Specific Deterrent Effects of Arrest for Domestic Assault" (E-Reserves) Schutt Appendix B Homework #2 Due
9/8	Reviewing a research article	Schutt 64-68 Arrange group meetings
Week 4: Reviewing the Literature
9/11	Scholarly journals, discussion of South & Spitze	Schutt Appendix C, C-1 to C-7 South and Spitze, "Housework in Marital & Non-marital Households," up to "Data and Methods" (Schutt C-8 to C-14), plus "Discussion and Conclusion" (C-24 to C-26)
9/13	Literature Searches - Field trip to Zimmerman Library - Rm. 254	Schutt pp. 57-64 and Appendix D UNM Library Research Tutorial
9/15	Team Meetings: Lit Review & Presentation Prep	Neuman, "The Literature Review" (E-Reserves)
Week 5: Research Ethics
9/18	Ethics in research with human subjects Informed consent Institutional Review Boards (IRB's)	Schutt 79-84 Reading on research ethics: UNM IRB Forms (E-Reserves)
9/20	Challenges to research ethics	Humphreys, excerpts from Tearoom Trade (E-Reserves)
9/22	Research plans and ethics statements	Presentations
Week 6: Ethics Continued
9/25	Research Ethics continued	in-class exercise
9/27	Research Ethics continued	Discussion of Humphreys and ethics
9/29		Presentations
Week 7: Conceptualization and Measurement
10/2	Defining and operationalizing research concepts, indicators, constructing measures, making observations	Schutt 91-109
10/4	Levels of measurement, measurement validity and reliability	Schutt 110-127
10/6		Presentations
Week 8: Causation & Research Design
10/9	Criteria for causation: association, time order, nonspuriousness. Mechanisms and context	Schutt Chapter 6
10/11		Presentations
10/13	FALL BREAK - NO CLASS
Week 9: Review
10/16	Catch-up & review
10/18	Catch-up & review
10/20	EXAM 1
Week 10: Sampling
10/23	Samples, populations, generalizability, probability sampling	Schutt 132-152
10/25	Nonprobability sampling	Schutt 152-167
10/27	Sampling & the U.S. Census	3 NYT articles
Week 11: Survey Research
10/30	Survey research, writing questions, indexes, designing questionnaires	Schutt 233-256
11/1	Organizing surveys, combining methods, ethical issues	Schutt 256-280
11/3	Team mtgs to work on surveys	Survey chart
Week 12: Qualitative Methods
11/6	Field research, ethnography, participant observation, theoretical sampling, field notes	Schutt 286-308, 330-334, 340-341
11/8	Systematic observation, interviewing, focus groups, combining methods, ethical issues	Schutt 308-320
11/10	Qualitative data collection	Exercise
Week 13: Secondary Data & Content Analysis
11/13	Secondary data analysis	Schutt 411-428
11/15	Content analysis	Schutt 428-439
11/17	Juvies, Team Stratification	Presentations
Week 14:
11/20	Team Cheee, Downers	Presentations
11/22	No class; work on projects
11/24	THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 15: Quantitative Analysis
11/27	Statistics, preparation of data, univariate distributions	Schutt 441-466
11/29	Crosstabs, regression, ethical issues	Schutt 466-483
12/1	Social Deevs, Team Fred	Presentations
Week 16: Review
12/4	Catch-up & Review
12/6	Catch-up & Review
12/8	The Convicted, Slackers	Presentations
Finals Week
12/13	EXAM 2 12:30-2:30pm