Sociology 651
Randy Hodson
Spring 2002
Bricker 326
T,Th 1:30-3:18
Office Hours:
Mendenhall Lab 125
T,Th 12:00-1:00
or by appointment
This is a course in how to do theoretically informed research.
By the end of this course you should have a better idea of: 1) the
range of methods available to social scientists, and 2) how to select and
craft a research design so that the theory to be tested and the data collected
have a solid match. To these ends we will cover such topics as research
design, reliability and validity, causality, sampling, modeling, and types
of data collection, such as surveys, archival data, and secondary data
analysis.
The readings will be from:
Approaches to Social Research, 3rd ed., 1999, by Singleton, Straits,
Straits and McAllister (the
best current text)
Profiles of Social Research, 1985, by Morton Hunt (case studies of
five major sociological
research projects)
Making it Count: The Improvement of Social Research and Theory,
1985, by Stanley Lieberson
(an illuminating critique
of current practices)
Course requirements are as follows:
Unrestrained enthusiasm for learning sociological research methods.
Two examinations, one at mid-term (25%) and one at the end of the semester (20%) (for a total of 45%).
Three take-home projects, spread throughout the course, each worth 10% (for a total of 30%).
Classroom participation, involving a presentation late in the semester
(20%) and regular classroom participation throughout the semester (5%)
(for a total of 25%).
DAILY SCHEDULE
Apr. 2: Introduction to Research Design
Apr. 4: Data Collection Techniques
Approaches, Chapters 1 and 2: "Introduction" and "The
Nature of Science"
Apr. 9: Reliability
Approaches, Chapter 5: "Measurement"
Profiles, Chapter 1: "The World of Social Research"
Apr. 11: Validity
Approaches, Chapters 7 and 8: "Experimentation"
and "Experimental Designs"
Apr. 16: VALIDITY ASSIGNMENT DUE *****************************
Causality
Approaches, Chapters 3 and 4: "The Logic of Scientific
Reasoning" and "Elements of Research Design"
Apr. 18: Sampling
Approaches, Chapter 6: "Sampling"
Apr. 23: Sampling
Profiles, Chapter 4: "Laboratory Experiments on Antisocial
Tendencies"
Profiles, Chapter 5: "Longitudinal Study of Aging"
Apr. 25: PRESENTATION TOPICS DUE *****************************
Surveys
Approaches, Chapter 9: "Survey Research"
Profiles, Chapter 2: "The Coleman Education Study"
Apr. 30: Questionnaire Construction
Approaches, Chapter 10: "Survey Instrumentation"
May 1: SAMPLING ASSIGNMENT DUE ****************************
Questionnaire Construction
Profiles, Chapter 3: "Survey of Income and Program Participation"
Profiles, Chapter 6: "Seattle/Denver Income Maintenance"
May 7: MID-TERM EXAMINATION (in class) ***********************
May 9: Secondary Data
Approaches, Chapter 12: "Research Using Available Data"
May 14: Archival Data
Approaches, Chapter 13: "Multiple Methods"
May 16: Field Methods
Approaches, Chapters 11 and 17: "Field Research" and "Research
Ethics"
May 21: Advanced Causality
Lieberson, Preface and Chapters 1-4
May 23: MODELING ASSIGNMENT DUE ***************************
Advanced Modeling
Lieberson, Chapters 5-7
May 28: You Need a Theory
Lieberson, Chapters 8-11
Approaches, Chapter 18: "Writing Research Reports"
May 30, June 4 & 6: STUDENT PRESENTATIONS *************************
Example topics include the following (plus many others):
comparative methods
content analysis
cultural sensitivity
international/comparative research
evaluation research
socially involved research
specialized facets of topics already covered
June 6: Pick up take-home final examination
June 13 (Thursday): FINAL DUE (12:00 noon) ******************************