| Introduction
to Social Research Socy 271.002/003
Course
Description and Objectives:
This course is part of a two course sequence in methods for social
research. In this first course students will accomplish the
following objectives:
Students
will be able to understand the variety of methods used in social
research and what method is best suited for different kinds of research
questions.
Students will be able to discuss ethical considerations that
apply to different research methods and contexts.
Students will understand the relationship between theory and methods.
Students will understand the fundamentals of both quantitative and
qualitative analysis.
Students will begin to learn and use SPSS for quantitative analyses.
Students will formulate a research proposal that includes a research
question, a theoretically grounded hypothesis and explanation of
the relationship between the theory, hypothesis and proposed method,
a description and justification of the research design. The research
design should include the method of data collection or source of
data, the method of sampling, a description of variables and the
justifications for each of the research choices these procedures
entail.
Course
Requirements:
Texts:
Baker, Theresa L. 1999. Doing Social Research. (3rd edition)
McGraw Hill.
Lester, James D. & James D. Lester, Jr.1999.
The Essential Guide to Writing Research
Papers. Longman, Inc.
Munger, David et al. 1999. Researching Online.
Longman, Inc.
SPSS Inc. 1998 SPSS 8.0 for Windows Brief
Guide. Prentice Hall.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. There
are 28 class session schedule for this class. Five percent
of your grade will be determined by the percentage of those session
you attend. If you
are absent on days that we engage in exams, quizzes or other graded
class activities you will be allowed to make up the work only if
you obtain an excused absence from the Office of the Undergraduate
Dean.
Assignments: There will be weekly email and INTERNET
assignments sent to you via campus email. Students are entitled
to free INTERNET access and email. If you do not already have
a
VAX account at the College of Charleston, or you have forgotten
how to sign on to your account take your validated student ID to
the third floor of the J. C. Long building. The administrative
assistant will provide you with an account or assign you a new password.
Research Proposal: Students are required to write
a research proposal for a study of one of the following
topics:
Educational attainment
Status attainment
Social Class values
Racial attitudes
Gender attitudes
Determinants of divorce
Determinants of deviant behavior (eg. Crime, drug abuse, prostitution,
metal illness, etc.)
Determinants of income inequality and/or poverty
Determinants of economic growth
Determinants of population growth
Separate
instructions will provide style and content guideline for the proposal.
All versions of the proposal must be typed, double spaced, proofed
and stapled. Proposals submitted late will be
penalized five points for each day they are late.
Examinations: There will be three examinations
each worth 20% of your grade. They will cover information
from lecture, texts, articles and films.
A
ten point grade scale will be used:
A = 100 - 90
B+ = 89 - 87
B = 86 - 80
C+ = 79 - 77
C = 76 - 70
D = 69 - 60
F = 59 - 0
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