Methods and Statistics
Spring 2004
TTh 1:30-3:10
Instructor: Julian M. Murchison
Room: OH 100
Office: SH 346
Office Hours: TTh 3:15-4:15 and W 10:00-12:00, or by appointment
Email: murchjm@millsaps.edu
Phone: Ext. 1437
Contents:
Course Description
Required Texts
Course Requirements
Class Policies
Class Schedule
We encounter statistics and the results of social science research everywhere we go. Politicians cite statistics. So do advertisers. In many cases, it seems possible to find research and statistics that support any claim (no matter how outlandish). How do we evaluate research and statistics in particular? In other words, what constitutes good research and good results? This course will help you to master key concepts that will not only allow you to evaluate others’ research but also to plan and carry out your own original research plans using a variety of methods and analytical techniques. We will discuss the appropriateness of different research approaches (qualitative, quantitative, or both) in different circumstances as well as the utility of statistics in addressing and answering specific types of questions.
Some of you may be apprehensive about studying statistics. We will not spend our time memorizing complex mathematical formulas. We have an easy-to-use statistical package that will perform high-powered statistical exercises for us. We will devote our time and attention to learning when those high-powered tools are appropriate and useful. Throughout the semester, we will consider the issue of research design and how specific tools and techniques serve as building blocks for research projects. As such, the course is designed to walk you through the research process in a relatively straightforward chronological order.
Crane, Julia G. and Michael V. Angrosino
1992 Field Projects in Anthropology: a student handbook. 3rd edition. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland.
Stark, Rodney and Lynne Roberts
2002 Contemporary Social Research Methods: A Text Using Microcase. 3rd edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
Corbett, Michael and Lynne Roberts
2002 A Microcase Workbook for Social Research (with Wadsworth Microcase Student Version software). 3rd edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
1) Attendance and Participation (10%) You are required to attend class and to participate in class discussions and activities. Each of you is allowed two absences before your attendance and participation grade begins to suffer. Please note that this policy does not discriminate between excused and unexcused absences; you are allowed two absences total. I will make exceptions for college-sanctioned events, such as Model-UN or intercollegiate athletics. However, you are responsible for talking to me about any such absences ahead of time. A significant component of your grade will depend on your regular, productive participation in class discussion and other activities. It is not enough simply to attend class in the sense of filling a chair. In order to earn a good attendance and participation grade, you must regularly come to class prepared to participate in an engaged and thoughtful manner (i.e., having done the reading and other assignments). Tardiness is disruptive for the entire class and will negatively affect your attendance and participation grade.
2) Homework Assignments (30%) The homework assignments come directly from the workbook. These assignments require you to learn and to apply key concepts that we will be covering. Therefore, they are crucial. In order to get the most out of this course, you need to complete each of these assignments, when assigned, to the best of your ability. You should work on these assignments individually. Please “pledge” each homework assignment
3) Field Project (5%) You will choose to complete one of the field projects detailed in Crane and Angrosino’s book. You may choose between Projects 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10. If one of the other projects from the book appeals to you, you may consult with me about substituting it for this assignment.
4) Exams (30%) There will be two exams during the course of the semester, a midterm and a final. These exams will be comprehensive and will be designed to test for mastery of the key concepts and skills covered in the course.
5) Quizzes (5%) There will be several quizzes during the course of the semester. The quizzes may or may not be announced and will cover specific topics from material being covered.
6) Final Research Paper (20%) For the final research paper, you will choose your own topic and research question and then proceed to design and carry out a detailed research plan to answer your research question. This project will be carried out in logical steps, and you will be required to turn in particular parts of your project (e.g., proposal, literature review, etc.) at various points in the semester. In the end, you will integrate these component parts into a final research paper to be presented as a coherent whole. You will receive a grade based on the final product.
The dates provided on this syllabus for the submission of assignments are deadlines. You should submit all assignments by the beginning of the class meeting on the date due. You should also keep a hard copy of all assignments and save them on disk for your own records. Computer problems are not an acceptable excuse for late papers or assignments. Late homework assignments will not be accepted. Late submissions will only be accepted at the discretion of the instructor and, if accepted, will be penalized half of a letter grade (5%) for each day (i.e., 24-hour period) late. If legitimate, unavoidable circumstances require you to seek an extension, make sure you consult with me about an extension as early as possible before the deadline. No work will be accepted after the final exam date.
If you miss class, for whatever reason (i.e., excused or unexcused, including due to late registration), you are responsible for making up any work. Talk to me and fellow students to find out what was covered, get notes, etc. You will not be allowed to make up an exam unless you provide proper documentation indicating that your absence was excused.
You are responsible for doing all of the reading on time. Read ahead if you can. If a reading assignment is listed for a particular day, that reading assignment should be completed prior to the class meeting on that day. In order for reading to be useful, you must comprehend and engage with the material. Therefore, reading involves more than simply passing your eyes over the text; it involves taking notes and thinking critically about the words on the page. The reading load for this course is not voluminous, but this is a different type of reading from what many of you are used to in this department. You may need to reread several times (before and after class discussions) to ensure that you are completely comfortable with the material. You will need to make sure that you are comfortable with each topic in order to make sure that you can fully engage and understand subsequent topics.
If you have a question about a topic covered in the readings, class, or elsewhere, please do not hesitate to ask me about it. You are welcome to contact me over email or to come to see me during office hours, but I also encourage you to ask questions in class, where your classmates can benefit from your questions.
As students at Millsaps, you have all pledged to abide by the Millsaps Honor Code. I expect you to meet the high standards of academic honesty embodied in the Honor Code. Academic honesty is vital for our intellectual endeavors. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are acts of dishonesty. If I find that a student has been academically dishonest, college policies require that I report the case to the academic dean for consideration by the Honor Council. Please take your responsibilities under the Honor Code very seriously. Homework assignments should be your own work. Copying all or part of another student’s worksheet constitutes an act of academic dishonesty. You should always submit your own original work for this class and cite all sources upon which you have drawn in developing papers and other projects. I will be unable to grade your work if you fail to provide proper citations. If you have questions about these issues, please see me.
If you are challenged with a learning disability, it is your responsibility to register with Student Services and to inform me of any allowances granted by the college. I will be happy to work with you to make sure that we arrange for the appropriate allowances.
Class Schedule:
Week 1 (1/12/04-1/16/04): Introductions and Microcase
Tuesday: Syllabus
Thursday: “Getting Started” from Corbett and Roberts
Week 2 (1/19/04-1/23/04): The Basics of Social Science Research
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 1; Crane and Angrosino, 1-12
*Introductory Exercise*
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 1*
Week 3 (1/26/04-1/30/04): Steps in the Research Process
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 2; Crane and Angrosino 13-22
*Workbook Exercise 2a*
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 2b*
Week 4 (2/2/04-2/6/04): Measurement
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 3
*Research Proposal Due*
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 3*
Week 5 (2/9/04-2/13/04): Sampling
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 4
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 4*
Quiz #1
Week 6 (2/16/04-2/20/04): Causation
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 5
*Literature Review Due*
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 5a*
Week 7 (2/23/04-2/27/04): Causation (cont.)
Tuesday:
*Workbook Exercise 5b*
Thursday:
*MIDTERM EXAM*
Week 8 (3/1/04-3/5/04): Research Design
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 6
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 6*
Week 9 (3/8/04-3/12/04): Survey
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 7; Crane and Angrosino, 136-149
*Description of Proposed Methods Due*
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 7*
SPRING BREAK!
Week 10 (3/22/04-3/26/04): Comparative Methods
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 8
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 8*
Week 11 (3/29/04-4/2/04): Field Research
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 9; Crane and Angrosino, 30-52
Thursday: Crane and Angrosino, 53-87
*Workbook Exercise 9*
Week 12 (4/5/04-4/9/04): Experimental Research
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 10
*Results and Conclusion Section Due*
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 10*
Week 13 (4/12/04-4/16/04): Content Analysis
Tuesday: Starks and Robert, Chapter 11; Crane and Angrosino, 108-135
*Field Project Due*
Thursday:
*Workbook Exercise 11*
Week 14 (4/19/04-4/23/04):Conclusions and Summations
Tuesday:
Thursday:
*Final Research Paper Due*
*FINAL EXAM*