Class links:
go to Sakai (log in from this page)
NOTE: class contract is available on Sakai

Sociology 301: Methods & Techniques of Social Research
Spring 2009

Jon'a Meyer, Ph.D.                                                                                    office: BSB 325, 225-6207
Office Hours: M 4:20-5:50, W 12:10-1:10 & by appointment

Methods is not about what you know, but about how you come to know it. There are many competing ways to solve society's problems, and the methods by which answers are sought and found can help us find better solutions. I want this class to be useful to you in your future careers. If I can assist you in any way, stop by and see me, call me, or e-mail me. This course is an introduction to the science and craft of finding out. We will discuss the methods and techniques of social research as used in criminal justice, sociology and related fields. For CJ majors, this course is a prerequisite for both Ethics & Policy in Criminal Justice (CJ 449) and Theories of Crime & Delinquency (SOC 313). This course also fulfills the "second" math/quantitative skills requirement (not the one that requires a 640 numbered course). The Rutgers catalog recommends that students plan to spend a minimum of two hours of out-of-class coursework for each hour of in-class work, so you should expect to spend six hours a week out of class doing work for this class. If you are not prepared to do this, I recommend that you consider taking the course during another semester so that you can succeed. Let the quest for knowledge begin!

Required text: Stark, Rodney and Roberts, Lynn. (2002). Contemporary Social Research Methods (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. NOTE: This is a bit pricey, but it includes our textbook and the software you'll need in addition to the workbook we'll be using. If you get this set used, you might be missing the software or pages in the workbook so make sure you ask questions before you buy used copies. [ISBN: 0534581897]

Recommended text:  Vogt, W.P. (2005). Dictionary of Statistics and Methodology (3rd ed.). Newbury Park: Sage. NOTE: This book is not required, but past methods students of mine have found it useful in understanding the material, so I have included it as a recommended text. If you are planning to go on to graduate school in the social sciences, you should definitely consider this book. It is a tad pricey, but very comprehensive and is easy to use. [ISBN: 9780761988540, 2nd edition also okay, but has fewer words in it. The 1st edition has far fewer words in it than the later two]

Recommended text #2:  Trochim, W.M. (2006). The Research Methods Knowledge Base (2nd ed.). Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/> (version current as of October 20, 2006 ). Note: This is another nice resource. You may buy a crisp, professionally bound and printed copy that contains an updated version of this work from http://www.atomicdogpublishing.com if you wish.

Sakai: We will use Sakai for the course. The course page contains course assignments, updates/study guides will be distributed there, and assignments will be submitted via the Sakai interface. Students will be auto-enrolled via the roster upload process (all registered students will be enrolled within one business day of enrolling). If you do NOT see the course in your "Sakai Portal ," let me know. To access the course, go to: https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal/ 
You should also ensure that your preferred email address is listed in the online student directory as I will use that directory to email study guides and class announcements/updates. Verify your address early so you don't miss anything important. Directions: go to https://www.acs.rutgers.edu:8892/studentdir.  Log in and verify your email address. List an address that you check regularly.

Reading and "signing" the class contract: Your first assignment is to read this syllabus and the class contract (available on Sakai) then agree to its contents. This should be done by the deadline below.

Participation & reading questions: Reading questions to help you prepare for the class discussions and exams are assigned for each chapter. Your answers should be ready to share at the beginning of class on Mondays and should be typed or neatly handwritten for turnin. There are an average of  2 or 3 questions per week, and they are essay style. You will receive only minimal credit for answers copied from the readings. I will call on students to share their answers to the week's reading questions. I'll also be bringing in a number of in-class exercises for which you will receive participation points. Regular attendance is the best way to get the maximal points under this category.

Exams: There will be two exams. Please arrange for makeup examinations prior to the date of the test. The examinations will cover lecture and discussion materials, reading assignments, any films, and any other class material.

Lab assignments: One of the major benefits of our textbook is that it comes with pre-packaged statistics software and exercises that are designed to help you understand the material covered in the text. We will have the benefit of a MicroCase tutor, who will run lab sessions throughout the semester and provide some one-on-one tutoring for those who need extra attention. It is NOT the MicroCase tutor's job to do your work for you, but the tutor will happily assist you in the mechanics of the assignments and will provide general interpretation guidance (this means that the tutor will guide you in finding the answers on your own so that you will better master the material). If you feel you will require intensive assistance, please do not wait until a few days before an assigment is due to seek the tutor's help.

Research Poster Assignment: I have found that creating research posters is a great way to learn about the design, completion and analysis of research. Your poster will be based on the findings from a study you design using the MicroCase or SDA archive data (there are hundreds of datasets included in the two archives and I'll talk about some of them in class). We will discuss the elements of and how to make a good research poster. In short, you will present a hypothesis, test it with real data and write up your findings and conclusions. This assignment may be submitted for presentation at the Annual Undergraduate Research Poster Session in the Spring (click here for photos from a previous year's session; some of those posters were from my Methods section).

Certification test in human subjects protocol test: All researchers at Rutgers, including undergraduate students, must pass a certification test in human subjects protocols before engaging in actual research, including drafting proposals that are ethically sound. Directions for taking this class are on Sakai.

Grades: There are a total of 100 points available in this class. Grades will be based on the total points for the semester, using the standard 90% = A, 80% = B, etc. scale.
 40 pts: exams (20 points each)
 25 pts: MicroCase lab assignments (3+ points each)
 20 pts: paper/poster
 10 pts: participation
  5 pts: certification in Human Subjects research
100 pts  TOTAL

Extra Credit: Each week you may email me (at my email address listed at the top of this syllabus) two or more multiple choice questions for possible inclusion on the exam. The questions should be from the readings assigned for that week and must be emailed by Friday afternoon (make sure to mark the correct answers with an asterisk). They should be multiple choice and each week of questions is worth 1/2 point of extra credit. Every exam will include a few questions submitted by students, marked with an asterisk on the exam to denote their source. Other extra credit options may be announced during the semester.

Other: Students are responsible for knowing the regulations of the department, college, and university with regards to topics such as withdrawals, academic misconduct (those who engage in any form of academic dishonesty will fail this course), incomplete grades, and so on. This is discussed in more detail in the class contract on Sakai.

READING SCHEDULE

wk 1: Ch 1: Concepts and Theories
    1/26: read/sign class contract; also update contact information at: https://www.acs.rutgers.edu/studentdir
wk 2: Ch 2: Steps in the Social Scientific Process
    2/2: deadline for Introductory MicroCase exercise (bring your book pages to class as we'll cover this in class as
             part of your participation grade; if you miss class, you must enter your answers into Sakai, "MicroCase intro") 
wk 3: Ch 3: Measurement
   2/9 : MicroCase exercise 1 (on Sakai, "Workbook 1")
    NOTE: we'll begin the Human Subjects certification test and end class early to give you some time to work on that
    requirement. If you have already passed the test or seen the film, contact me before the deadline
wk 4: Ch 5: Causation and Causal Models
   2/13: Human Subjects certification test must be passed (that's Friday to give you extra time)
wk 5: Ch 6: Basic Research Designs
    2/18: deadline for MicroCase exercise 2a (on Sakai, "Workbook 2a")
wk 6: Ch 7: Survey Research
    2/25: deadline for MicroCase exercise 2b (on Sakai, "Workbook 2b")
wk 7:  MIDTERM (3/9/09)
wk 8: Ch 4: Censuses and Samples
   3/13: deadline for MicroCase exercise 3 (on Sakai, "Workbook 3") -Friday for some extra time
wk 9: Ch 8: Comparative Research: Using Aggregage Units
    3/25: deadline for MicroCase exercise 5a/b (on Sakai, "Workbook 5")
wk 10: Ch 9: Field Research
   4/1: deadline for MicroCase exercise 8 (on Sakai, "Workbook 8")
   4/6: "Research Design quiz (chapters 6 & 8)" on Sakai
wk 11: Ch 10: Experimental Research
    4/8 deadline for MicroCase exercise 4 (on Sakai, "Workbook 4 & Sampling Questions")
wk 12: Ch 11: Content Analysis and Other Unobtrusive Techniques
wk 13 & 14: catchup and poster finalizing
    4/27: deadline for research poster
wk 15: FINAL (5/13/09) 9-noon (click here for all your final exams)
 
 

READING QUESTIONS for Week 1
(get the remaining weeks' questions off Sakai)
(asterisks indicate questions that are in the lecture rather than book)

----week 1, Chapter 1:
1.   Differentiate the inductive and deductive  theoretical approaches.
2.   How would a researcher's choice of approach guide how he or she conducts a study?
3.   What is the difference between questions asked by journalists and those asked by social scientists?
4.   What is the difference between concepts and indicators, and what is a hypothesis?
*5.  How do scientific research methods guard against errors in everyday understanding?