Research Methods in Sociology - University of Wisconsin ...

Sociology 361, Spring Semester 2016:

Research Methods in Sociology

Prof. Marcus Britton Bolton Hall, Room 728 Office Hours: Wednesdays, 2 ? 3 pm

Tel.: 414-229-5308 E-mail: britton@uwm.edu

Teaching Assistant: Greg Goldman E-mail: ggoldman@uwm.edu

Bolton 741 Office Hours: Monday, 10 am - noon

Course Overview, or What are Research Methods? And Why Should I Care?

This course provides an introduction to the process of social research and to a variety of social scientific methodologies. We will explore how sociologists use scientific methods to research questions and issues important to the discipline and to the public at large. For example, how often does discrimination occur in housing markets, and what are the consequences of such discrimination? Are citizens in the United States happier than residents of other countries? Is income inequality among Americans increasing or decreasing--and why is this happening? For most of you, your experiences with sociology up to this point have mainly involved reading about other people's ideas and research. In contrast, this course is about doing sociology. This is clearly important for those of you who plan to be professional researchers. Knowledge about and experience with developing and implementing research studies is a highly-valued set of skills that is applied in a variety of environments, including universities, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and private-sector firms. In practical terms, this course is designed to prepare you for involvement in a range of independent research projects that you may encounter in your roles as student, employee, or engaged citizen. What's more, familiarity and experience with social scientific research methods is important for everyone, since all of us are consumers of research. After all, you often cannot pick up a newspaper or go online without reading about new research findings. Learning how to develop your own research project will enable you to better understand and evaluate the significance of the research conducted by others.

Learning Objectives Substantively, students completing this course will gain an understanding of: 1) The philosophical perspectives that underlie different approaches to empirical research in

sociology and other social sciences; 2) The range of ethical issues that one might face in designing and implementing a research

project; 3) Key issues in sampling and measurement; 4) The specific techniques that scientists use to gather information about social phenomena; 5) The various ways that sociologists analyze information from social research studies; and 6) How social scientists demonstrate cause-effect relationships in social research.

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Skill Development This course will help you progress in your ability to: 1) Think critically: design/evaluate/analyze existing or proposed research studies; 2) Create knowledge: synthesize and integrate information from a variety of sources pertaining

to a complex social problem, pose questions that follow from existing research, link research questions and their potential answers to course concepts; 3) Solve problems creatively: think about problems and their solutions in multiple ways, seek information from a variety of sources; 4) Develop and apply evidence-based writing skills: distinguish arguments based on scientific evidence from those based on personal experience or morals; apply these arguments in your own writing to "make a case" for a particular interpretation or conclusion; critique conclusions from research through effective written communication with classmates, engage with other learners through careful reading and sharing of ideas; and 5) Evaluate the work of peers: critique the arguments and conclusions of others; offer suggestions for improvement in research design or evidence-based writing; engage with other learners through careful reading and sharing of ideas.

Required Text

Schutt, Russell K. 2015. Investigating the Social World, 8th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

NOTE: Students often ask whether it is OK to use an earlier edition of the textbook. My answer is: The 8th edition is the required text. If you choose to purchase an earlier edition, you do so at your own risk. Although the 6th and 7th editions are similar, I make no guarantee that you won't, for example, answer an exam question incorrectly and fail to get credit if you use an earlier edition.

All other required reading materials are available in Word or PDF format on the course D2L site.

Optional Materials

American Sociological Association. 2014. American Sociological Association Style Guide. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association. (The ASA Style Guide is NOT listed for the course on the UWM Virtual Bookstore site, but there are links to sites where you can purchase it in various electronic formats or in hard copy on the American Sociological Association website. If you are considering graduate study in sociology, I would encourage you to consider purchasing your own copy. Portions of the Style Guide that address in-text citations and reference lists are available on D2L in PDF format.)

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (The Publication Manual is NOT listed for the course on the UWM Virtual Bookstore site, but can be ordered directly from the American Psychological Association. If you are considering

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graduate study in psychology or the health sciences, you may wish to purchase your own copy. Chapters 6 and 7 on citing sources are available on D2L in PDF format.)

Desire2Learn (D2L)

During the Spring 2016 semester, this course is being offered in a fully online format only. As such, you will need to log into the D2L website for the course regularly in order to get instructions, submit assignments, access course materials such as lecture slides and supplementary readings, access your grades, take quizzes and exams and more. To access the course website, please log in to . Most of you will use the same username (username@uwm.edu) and password that you use for your UWM email account. (If you are not officially enrolled as a UWM student, click on "Non ePanther" and follow the instructions.) If you have questions about, or problems using, the D2L website, please email help@uwm.edu or call 414-229-4040, or see the service staff in Bolton 225 during their office hours (I recommend calling first). (Also see the handout on the second to last page of the syllabus, which provides detailed instructions about how to use D2L.)

Communicating with the Professor and the Teaching Assistant

Receiving E-mail from the Instructor: In addition to posting information on the course website, I will routinely use e-mail to alert you to changes in the course schedule, provide reminders and updates, and the like. As such, you should check your UWM e-mail account regularly in order to ensure that you have the most current information about the course and that you are aware of upcoming deadlines and other course requirements.

Contacting the Instructor by E-mail: For matters of a personal or otherwise sensitive nature ONLY, you may contact me and/or the teaching assistant via e-mail as necessary--see our contact information at the top of the first page of the syllabus. (As noted below, you should always use e-mail if you have a question or concern about the grade you have received on an exam or assignment.) You are welcome to address me as either Professor Britton or by my first name (Marcus), whatever you prefer. "Hey, you" and similar modes of address are less appreciated. (A word to the wise: Do NOT assume that all UWM faculty, to say nothing of potential employers, are comfortable being addressed by their first names.)

Using the Discussion Forums on D2L: If you have a general question or concern about the course requirements or content, please err on the side of posting your question to one of the discussion forums provided for this purpose in the Discussion section of D2L. I will check the discussion forums regularly and will usually respond within 24 hours. That way, other students who have the same questions or concerns can refer to my answer in the discussion forum, and I can avoid answering the same question from each student individually.

Office Appointments and Telephone Calls: I will be happy to meet with students in-person in my office in Bolton Hall. If you would like to meet with me in person, please send me an e-mail to that effect, and we will schedule a mutually convenient appointment; you are also welcome to drop by during my office hours. You may also contact me by phone. However, you should be

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aware that I do NOT check my voicemail regularly. Therefore, if you have a concern that is of a personal, sensitive or urgent nature, you may have more success reaching me via e-mail.

Summary of Requirements and Grading

The grading system used in this class is an absolute system--in other words, it is possible for every student to earn an "A" grade. Your performance will not be compared with those of your fellow classmates; rather, each student can earn points based on demonstrated learning and satisfactory completion of class assignments.

Assignment/Exam Basic requirements: Complete all assigned readings by date specified Exams (mid-term=100; final=200) 7 Discussion Assignments (15 pts. each; lowest grade dropped) 6 Exercises (10 pts. each; lowest grade dropped) Research proposal development:

Research Question Memo Research Question Memo Peer Review Draft Reference List for Literature Review Peer-Reviewed Sources Chart Literature Review Draft Peer Review of the Literature Review Draft Methods Draft Final Proposal Research Proposal Subtotal TOTAL

Points for Assignment

-300 90 50

20 10 10 20 50 25 75 100 310 750

Percent of Grade

-40% 12% 8%

3% 1% 1% 3% 7% 3% 10% 13% 41% 100%

Grading Scale: Points 698-750+ 675-697 653-674 623-652 600-622 578-599

Grade A AB+ B BC+

Points 548-577 525-547 503-524 473-502 450-472 449 or less

Grade C CD+ D DF

IMPORTANT: You must turn in a final proposal in order to pass the course. Any student who does not turn in a final proposal by the due date listed below on the course schedule will receive an F for the course.

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Brief Overview of Exams and Assignments

As indicated in the Course Schedule below, each week of the 15-week semester will, for the purposes of this course, commence on Monday and extend until 11:59 pm on the following Sunday. For example, Week 1 begins on Monday, January 25th, and extends through 11:59 pm on Sunday, January 31st. In addition to the overview provided in the Course Schedule below, detailed information about the exact due dates and times for exams and assignments will provided in the checklist for each week of the semester in the Weekly Schedule area in the Content section of D2L.

Exams: There will be two exams in this course, a midterm (100 points) and a final (200 points). Each exam will consist of 50 questions (i.e., some combination of true and false, multiple choice, and matching questions). You will access each exam in the "Quizzes" section of the course website. The midterm exam will be available beginning at 8:00 am on Monday, March 21st; you will have until 11:59 pm on Sunday, March 27th, to begin taking the exam. Once you begin the midterm exam, you will have one hour to answer all 50 questions. The final exam will be comprehensive, meaning that it will cover all the concepts and other information conveyed in the assigned readings, lecture slides, and other course materials throughout the semester. That said, the final exam will emphasize material from the second half of the semester (i.e., materials covered after the midterm). The final exam will be available no later than 8:00 am on May 9th; you will have until 11:59 pm on Friday, May 20th (i.e., the last day of the semester), to begin taking the exam. Once you begin the final exam, you will have one hour and 30 minutes to answer all 50 questions. Detailed study guides will be provided for each exam.

Discussion Assignments: During some weeks of the semester (see "Course Schedule" below), you will be required to complete one or more discussion assignments, typically after completing the assigned reading for the week. You will complete discussion assignments by going to the Discussions section of the course website and following the directions provided. Unless otherwise noted, discussion assignments include the following requirements:

1) An initial post (150 words minimum) that fulfills any requirements explained in the instructions for the discussion forum must be submitted by 10:00 pm on Saturday of the week for which it was assigned.

2) You must respond to any comments on your post that have been submitted by 11:59 pm on Saturday before the discussion forum closes at 11:59 pm the following day.

Exercises: During some weeks of the semester, you will be required to complete exercises that will give you the opportunity to apply course concepts to hypothetical research situations. Instructions for these exercises will be available in the Weekly Schedule area of the Content section of the course website (D2L). Unless otherwise noted, exercises will be due by 11:59 pm on Sunday of the week for which they were assigned.

Research Proposal Project: Detailed instructions for each component of the research proposal project will be posted in the Instructions for Proposal Project area in the Content section of the course website (D2L). To begin learning more, please read the document entitled "Proposal Project Overview" after you have finished reading the syllabus.

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