Home > Teaching > SYG 3300

Course Description and Objectives

This course is a general introduction to social research methods and will cover four broad topics:  the foundations of social science, research design, data collection, and data analysis. In discussing each topic, we will also consider the ethical implications of social research. Social research is a craft, and like any other craft, it takes practice to do it well. Therefore, our approach will be hands-on right from the start. You will have opportunities to learn by doing in all aspects of the course—in class meetings, the computer lab, and out-of-class assignments. By the end of the course, you should be able to:

1. Formulate good research questions and design appropriate research.
2. Collect your own data using a variety of methods.
3. Analyze both qualitative and quantitative data using computer-based skills.
4. Critically evaluate your own research and that of other social scientists.

Course Structure

We will meet for roughly eight hours a week, including two hours each Monday in the computer lab.  Our time in class will be split between lectures, small group exercises, and discussions.  The purpose of the lectures will be to review the major conceptual points of each new topic and to integrate the material.  You are expected to have completed any reading assignments prior to class, so that our class time can be more interactive.  I hope we can use our meetings to discuss points of particular interest or difficulty, and to move beyond the information presented in the text.

In the lab, we will focus on learning computer-based data analysis with SPSS, a widely used statistical software package.  We will also spend a short amount of time on the analysis of texts.  The lab sessions offer an opportunity to reinforce class lessons and to acquire a set of very useful, marketable skills.  We will divide our time between instruction and practice, giving you a chance to work on weekly assignments during lab.

A lot of your learning in this course will take place outside of class.  In addition to weekly lab assignments, you will complete three small projects and a take-home final exam.  Keep in mind that the course is worth four credit hours, and with the extra hour comes an expectation of extra effort.  Be prepared to spend at least as much time each week working on your own as we spend in class.

Course Materials

1. Schutt, Russell K. (1999) Investigating the Social World:  The Process and Practice of Research.  Second Edition.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
2. Schutt, Russell K. and Matthew Archibald (1999) Study Guide and Activities to Accompany Investigating the Social World.  Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
3. Readings on reserve at UNF library.
4. SPSS Studentware, Statistical Software Package
5. Two 3.5" floppy disks.
6. Supplementary (not required): Shaffer, Richard, et al. (2000) SPSS for Windows, Version 9: A Brief Tutorial.

All materials should be available at the UNF Bookstore.  The Schutt text, study guide, and SPSS Studentware are bundled together for $84.95 (new).  If you already have SPSS or would prefer to use the computer lab for homework assignments, you do not have to purchase the software.  But consider that SPSS Studentware costs roughly $75 if you buy it alone, making the bundle a good value.

Course Requirements

Class Participation.  We will be covering a lot of information in a short amount of time, so your participation in class is essential to your success in the course.  I expect you to attend regularly and to take an active part in class meetings.

Course Web Site.  You are responsible for checking the course web site frequently for important announcements, details on assignments, and supplementary material.  Some course information will be available only on the web site.

Quizzes.  There will be unannounced quizzes in class to evaluate your comprehension of the assigned reading material.  These quizzes will be reproduced from the multiple choice questions in the Schutt study guide, so that, if you do the practice exercises, you will know in advance the material covered on the quizzes.  The aim here is to encourage you to use the study guide to help you master new material.

Lab Exercises.  There will be five lab assignments designed to let you practice the basic steps of data analysis with SPSS.  You will receive the assignment in each lab session and will have until 9:00 a.m. the following Monday to complete the exercises.  The exception is the final set of exercises, which will be due by 9:00 a.m. on June 16, the final day of the term.

Projects.  There will be three out-of-class projects designed to give you experience in some aspect of conducting social research.  The first project focuses on the formulation of research problems; the second requires you to evaluate the research design of a published research report; and the third gives you the opportunity to collect your own data through structured and unstructured interviews.  You will have at least one week to work on each project.  More details on each of these projects will be posted here.

Grading

If you participate regularly in class discussions and exercises, I will boost your final course grade if you end up on the border between two grades.  You are expected to complete all requirements by the stated due dates, and any late assignment will lose one letter grade for each day past the deadline.  There are no make-up opportunities for any assignment, as you will have ample time to complete each requirement outside of class.  I will give a grade of "incomplete" only in the most unusual, extreme circumstances.

Course Schedule

Note: (S) = Schutt text.

May 8	Welcome to Social Research Course introduction Why social research methods? What is social science? Reading: (S) Chapter 1, Appendix E	Lab 1:  SPSS navigation, creating datasets
May 10	The Process of Social Research Social problems v. research problems Theory and methods Basic research strategies The literature search Ethics in social research Reading: (S) Chapter 2, Appendix B
May 15	Conceptualization and Measurement Variables Concepts and measurement Levels of measurement Units of analysis Validity and reliability Reading: (S) Chapter 3; pp. 400-15	Lab 1 Due Lab 2: Frequency distributions, graphic displays; transforming data
May 17	Sampling Why sample? Types of sampling Sampling distributions Reading: (S) Chapter 4	Project 1 Due
May 22	Causation and Research Design Kinds of explanation Establishing causation Types of research design Reading: (S) Chapter 5; pp. 416-26	Lab 2 Due Lab 3: Measures of central tendency and variation
May 24	Experiments and Experimental Thinking Kinds of experiments Internal and external validity Threats to validity Controlling for threats to validity Reading: (S) Chapter 6
May 29	NO CLASS - Memorial Day Holiday	Lab 3 Due  (by email)
May 31	Interviewing I About the qualitative/quantitative split Unstructured/semistructured interviewing Focus groups Reading: (S) pp. 303-9; Bernard 2000 (reserve)	Project 2 Due
June 5	Interviewing II Structured interviewing Survey research Questionnaire development Reading: (S) Chapter 7; pp. 426-40	Lab 4: Measuring association; crosstabulation; significance tests
June 7	Observation of Behavior Participant observation Direct and indirect observation Reading: (S) pp. 285-303, 319-22
June 12	Text Analysis Interpretive analysis Discourse analysis Grounded theory Content analysis Reading: (S) pp. 310-19; 356-60; Bernard 1996	Lab 4 Due Lab 5: Comparing groups; graphing; significance tests
June 14	Integration and Review Evaluting research designs Using multiple methods Reading: (S) Chapter 10; Appendix C	Project 3 Due
June 16	Last Day of Term	Lab 5 Due (9:00 a.m.)