Spring 2008

SOC 317M • Intro to Social Research

Course Description

Sociology 317M is a general introduction to social science research methods. It is designed to introduce students to the intent and procedures of contemporary research methods. For instance, we will discuss the factors determining the selection of particular data collection techniques, their strengths and weaknessess, and the ethical and political issues that researchers may encounter during the research process. A large part of the course will focus on the various methods used in research and data analysis

Grading Policy

Assignment #1: Group activity comparing the validity of politicians' statements.

Assignment #2 (Take-Home): The focus of this assignment is the development of a preliminary research question for the design paper.

Assignment #3: (Take-Home): Will build on the research question that was developed in Assignment #2. Paper length is 6 pages double-spaced, and should be written in 12-point font.

Final Research Paper (worth 40 points)
Students will be required to write a 12-page research paper on a topic of their own choosing. For the paper, students will select a topic, review the research literature in the area, devise hypotheses based on the extant literature, and test those hypotheses using secondary data.

Texts

Russell K. Schutt, Investigating the Social World (5th edition, Pine Forge)

back