Course Syllabus

Welcome to SOC 207: Research Methods in Sociology

Overview

CATEGORY INFORMATION
Credits 3
Prerequisites 3 credits of SOC
Delivery Web (Canvas, https://psu.instructure.com)
Dates See the Calendar.
Instructor See the Orientation module under the Modules tab.

Description

This is a project based course introduces students to Research Methods in Sociology. Sociologists aim to understand the social world through the scientific method. As such, the activity of sociological research consists of specific components and processes that have been standardized as the science has developed. Research is intended to build our understanding of the social world and/or to enhance the effectiveness of social programs and inform policy. This course is designed to provide a hands-on introduction to the rigorous process that sociologists pursue to achieve those goals. 

Throughout this course you will explore social science research, its history, terminology, and steps in the research process. Using a scaffolded process, you will select a research topic, identify research questions relevant to improving social life and become beginning consumers of research by learning steps to critique social research, and apply social research to social problems.

This course is designed as an active learning course, meaning that your efforts will determine your performance. You will participate in a variety of active learning assignments designed to help you master the course content by walking you through the steps of the research process. As this is a research methods course, you will go through the active process of generating a research proposal.

The first part of the course will be dedicated to research knowledge acquisition as you learn about how studies are conducted and the various components of the social science research process. After you have grasped these basic concepts, you will be asked to apply them to a social problem project. Your learning will be assessed by performance on various comprehension assessments, assignments and projects. All written assignments will be evaluated for course related research content, as well as writing style, spelling, grammar and clarity.

The course content builds sequentially, and instructor feedback is important for performance improvement. You must commit to keeping up with readings and assignments and follow the schedule for assignment submission as presented within the course schedule. Do not allow yourself to fall behind as you will have difficulty with subsequent assignments if you do not have the time to reflect on the instructor feedback.

Objectives

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Explain the purposes and goals of sociological research
  • Propose research questions and formulate hypotheses recognize the contributions of sociological theory and prior research to new research
  • Define and critique fundamental scientific research steps such as conceptualization, operationalization, and sampling
  • Distinguish among the four major types of data collection methods and assess for appropriate application to a research problem
  • Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research approaches
  • Critically read and evaluate social research
  • Apply a body of research to a social issue.

Organization

This course is made up of 15 lessons. The first part of the course will be dedicated to the foundations and fundamentals of social research. You will begin to apply these basic concepts to a social problem that you identify in Lesson 3 as your research topic. As the course content develops, so will your research involvement, as you delve into basic and advanced research designs. Your learning will be assessed by performance on various assignments and projects. All assignments will be evaluated for course related research content, as well as writing style, spelling, grammar and clarity.

The weekly work you do will be used in the final project product, including comments and feedback along the way from your instructor and peers. This model presents a visual representation of how your final project will be incrementally built, connecting with the assigned chapter content.

course_model.png

As you can see from the model presented your research process over the duration of the course occurs as a series of assignments that include: selecting your research topic in Lesson 3, generating an annotated bibliography on the topic in lesson 4, stating the research problem in lesson 5, describing your sample in lesson 6, describing your variables in lesson 7, proposing your experiment in lesson 8, developing your survey questions in lesson 9, crafting a quantitative design in lesson 10, crafting a qualitative design in lesson 11, crafting a mixed methods design in lesson 12, reflect and review your work given the feedback you have received along the way, then  submit your re-worked materials as your final project for the course.

Online Learning and Attendance

This course has been developed to promote asynchronous learning. The instructor and students do NOT meet on a designated day and time each week. For each lesson, there is a timeframe to complete all activities and assignments, and you may work at your own pace within that timeframe. However, you must adhere to the due dates outlined on the Calendar. (Due dates can also be viewed under the Syllabus tab.) You should log into the course daily to check for updates, review lessons, and participate in activities.

Materials

Texts and Other Materials

The following texts are required:

  • Schutt, Russell K. (2018). Investigating the Social World. 9th Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [ISBN: 978-1506361192]

Grading

Final letter grades will be assigned based on the scale below.

Scale

LETTER GRADE MINIMUM PERCENT
A 94
A- 90
B+ 87
B 84
B- 80
C+ 77
C 70
D 60
F 0

Due Dates

All assignments are due by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the date indicated on the Calendar. (Due dates can be also be viewed under the Syllabus tab.) As a general rule, you will NOT be able to go back and make up missed assignments. It is your responsibility to keep up with your assignments. Students with an excused absence (hospitalization, jury duty, or family emergency) may be asked to produce proper documentation in order to make up graded work. All make-up work is at the discretion of the instructor.

Note on Late Assignments: Late assignments will lose the point equivalent of 10 percent per calendar day, and they will not be accepted later than 7calendar days after the due date.


Assignments

Basic information about each assignment group is provided below. For detailed directions about an individual assignment, see the assignment information under the Modules tab.

You can expect meaningful feedback on assignments within 5 days of their due date.

ASSIGNMENT GROUP PERCENT
Quizzes 25%
Discussions 50%
Project 25%
Total 100

Quizzes

Value: 11 for 25% of total grade
Weeks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12

There are 11 quizzes in the course. The weekly quizzes will assess your comprehension of the assigned chapters. Quizzes will be comprised of 10 multiple choice questions each week.

Discussions

Value: 11  for 50% of total grade
Weeks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12

The weekly discussions provide the basis for your final project. Throughout the semester, you will post weekly contributions [Part 1] to share with your peers about a social issue that you find compelling. Some weeks are building blocks that support your final project, while other weeks’ work will be added to your final project directly. Additionally, for each week’s discussion, you will provide a quality response [Part 2] to at least two of your peer’s postings. As the course content develops, so will your research involvement, as you delve into basic and advanced research designs. Your learning will be assessed by performance on various assignments and projects. All assignments will be evaluated for course related research content, as well as writing style, spelling, grammar and clarity.
Note:While each PART is listed as an individual assignment (to remind you when Part 1 is due, only ONE grade is awarded for each Discussion Forum

Final Project

Value: 1 Project for 25% of total grade
Due Monday of Exam Week 

The final project will be the culmination of your work throughout the semester. Using feedback from each step in the process, you will provide different aspects of research design based on a social issue of your choosing.


University Policies

Academic Integrity

Penn State defines academic integrity as “the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner.” (Senate Policy 49-20 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without permission from the instructor or tampering with the academic work of other students. Students facing allegations of academic misconduct who drop the course will be returned and will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines until the allegations are dismissed and the drop is permitted. Students responsible for academic misconduct often receive academic sanctions, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for disciplinary sanctions assigned by the University's Office of Student Conduct (see Senate Policy G-9 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.).

Unless your instructor tells you otherwise:

  • Always include an in-text citation that includes the author(s) last name(s) and the year the source was published at the end of any sentence or below any image that includes words, images, or ideas you found in a source, always included quoted text within quotation marks, and always include a reference for any source at the end of your paper (ask your instructor about the format you should use).
  • All of your graded coursework must be created by you without help from anyone in the course or otherwise. If you have questions about this, you should ask your instructor before submitting work for evaluation.
  • All course materials you receive or access are protected by copyright laws. You may use course materials and make copies for your own use, but unauthorized distribution and/or uploading of materials without the instructor’s express permission is strictly prohibited. Students who engage in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials may be held in violation of the University’s Code of Conduct and/or liable under Federal and State laws.

Disability Access

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources website provides contact information for every Penn State campus (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. at http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/disability-coordinator. For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources website (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. at http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources.

In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. described at http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/applying-for-services. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.

Nondiscrimination

Penn State is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University's educational mission, and will not be tolerated. For further information, please visit the Affirmative Action Office Website at http://www.psu.edu/dept/aaoffice/.

TEACH Act

The materials on the course website are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course and may not be retained or further disseminated.


University Emergency Procedure

In the event of a University-wide emergency, the course may be subject to changes. Exigent circumstances may require alternative delivery methods, class materials, and interactions with the instructor and/or classmates. In addition, there may be revisions to grading policies and the Calendar, including assignments and their due dates.

In the event of a University-wide emergency, please refer to the Canvas website at https://psu.instructure.com for specific information related to the course. For more general information about the emergency situation, please refer to the Penn State website at http://www.psu.edu or Penn State News at http://news.psu.edu.

To register with PSUAlert, a service designed to alert the Penn State community when situations arise that affect the ability of a campus to function normally, please go to https://psualert.psu.edu/. Subscribers can receive alerts by text message to cell phones, and also can elect to have alerts sent to an email address.

Counseling and Psychological Services

Penn State's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) office offers residential and distance-based Penn State students non-emergency mental health services in the form of case management, community resource referrals, supportive listening, care giver support, and much more.

Students may request assistance from CAPS regarding a variety of common mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, and stress. CAPS services are designed to enhance students' ability to fully benefit from the University environment and academic experience. Call CAPS at 814-863-0395 (8 am-5 pm, Monday-Friday EST) or submit an inquiry online (Links to an external site.) at http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/counseling/contact_form.shtml to schedule an appointment with a mental health advocate, who can help you address mental health concerns that may interfere with your academic progress or social development. This appointment will include a one-on-one session that can be conducted via telephone, teleconference (Skype, FaceTime, etc.), or locally at Penn State University Park. For more information on services provided through CAPS, please visit the Penn State CAPS website (Links to an external site.) at http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/counseling/.

Reminder: These services are for non-emergencies only. If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis situation, please call your local crisis center or 911.


Syllabus Subject to Change

The class will likely adhere to the information outlined in this Syllabus and the Calendar, but adjustments may be made based on what actually transpires during the semester. Remaining in the course after reading this Syllabus will signal that you accept the possibility of changes and responsibility for being aware of them.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due