SO 229 Sociological Research Design
Block 3, 2008
Professor Gail Murphy-Geiss
Paraprof Alice Gallmeyer
Office: Palmer 131A; Phone: 389-6868
[email protected]
Office Hours: by appointment (before class or after lab)
Course Description
Survey of the variety of methods of sociological research, both quantitative and qualitative,
focusing particularly on survey and interview, field research, content analysis, secondary
analysis, experimentation, and historical-comparative methods. Labs will cover the basics of
quantitative analysis and computer training in SPSS and N6. Includes the examination of
exemplars from the sociological literature, as well as practice of hands-on research skills and
sociological writing.
Required Readings
Neuman, W. Lawrence. 2007. Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches, 2nd ed., Boston: Pearson Education.
Holcomb, Zealure C. 2006. SPSS Basics: Techniques for a First Course in Statistics. Glendale,
CA: Pyrczak.
All additional readings are available electronically through the library e-res system.
Course Requirements
1. Read and come to class prepared.
2. Four quizzes and a written final exam.
3. Three data sets based on the following methods:
a. Participant Observation
b. Survey
c. Interview/Focus Group
4. A research proposal in two stages: If possible, use this as a time to brainstorm potential
topics/questions for your senior thesis. If you are not that far along in thinking about your
thesis, you can use any topic/question and/or one of the data sets you will be collecting
for this class. The first section will be a miniature Literature Review. The second
section will be the IRB proposal and the Methods section of a proposal.
5. An example of research conclusions: The Analysis section of a paper developed on the
basis of one of the data sets: specifically, the survey data or the interview/focus group
data. I recommend the survey data for this assignment, as quantitative data is often easier
to analysis in a short amount of time, but if you really want to use the qualitative data,
that will be fine – students have done well with either. The participant observation data is
too difficult to use for this assignment – it is too brief, and the time is too short.
6. Those who have not taken SO 228, Quantitative Sociology, will meet for afternoon labs
to cover basic statistics using SPSS. Each student will attend lab every other day, for a
total of 7 labs. All lab assignments must be completed correctly in order to maintain
one’s grade. Uncorrected labs and/or missing labs will reduce the overall grade by 4
points/assignment. Those who have already taken Quantitative Sociology under the old
system need not attend nor complete these labs, but there will be a section on the final
exam on choosing appropriate statistical tests, so you will want to review that. Feel free
to get a copy of the lab workbook and work through it on your own as review, or come to
lab sessions as needed. I will talk about statistics in class a bit, which will provide some
review, but the labs will be the main place to go over those items.
Grading
Final grades will be based upon all of the requirements above, weighted as follows:
Attendance and participation
Four quizzes
Literature Review
IRB proposal and Methods section
Three data sets
Analysis section
Final exam
9%
20%
10%
10%
21%
10%
20%
Assignments handed in late will receive half a letter grade lower for each day late, or until all
others have been graded. Once graded, no late assignment can earn more points than the lowest
grade for that assignment. This is to keep me on top of the grading, as well as you on top of the
assignments. In addition, all assignments must be completed in order to pass the course.
Attendance
Active attendance is crucial. Do not ask my permission to miss class – I will not give it. Life
happens, and if you decide you have to miss class, that is your choice. You will be responsible
for anything you’ve missed, so make sure you check with other students (not me) to get their
notes and talk about what was covered. Also, please let me know so I can mark your absence as
“excused.” Excessive excused absences and all unexcused absences will result in a lower grade.
Academic Integrity
I expect all students to abide by the Honor Code. Any suspected violations will be reported,
which could lead to a zero on that assignment, or a failing grade in the class.
Course Schedule
Monday, October 27: Introduction
Tuesday, October 28: Foundations and Theory
- Neuman chs. 1-2
- Durkheim, Émile. 1897. “Social Order and Control Via Close Social Ties: The
Example of Suicide”
-
Breault, K.D. and Dustin Brown. 2004. “Suicide in American Revisited: Durkheim’s
Enduring Ecological Correlation”
Mills, C. Wright. 1959. “From The Sociological Imagination”
o Lab 1A: Entering Data and Running Frequencies
Wednesday, October 29: Literature Reviews (class at 9:15am, library at 10am)
- Neuman ch. 4
- Blee, Kathleen M. 1996. “Becoming a Racist: Women in Contemporary Ku Klux
Klan and Neo-Nazi Groups”
- MacLeod, Jay. 1995. Chapters 1-2 from Ain’t No Makin’ It
o Lab 1B: Entering Data and Running Frequencies
Thursday, October 30: Ethics and the IRB (Amanda Udis-Kessler, Dir. of Institutional
Research)
- Neuman ch. 3
- Humphreys, Laud. 1970. “Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places”
- Desroches, Frederick J. 1990. “Tearoom Trade: A Research Update”
- Small, Stephen A. 1995. “Action-Oriented Research: Models and Methods”
o Lab 2A: Histograms and Polygons
Friday, October 31: Research Design (Alice Gallmeyer, Senior Thesis Process)
- IN CLASS: Quiz #1
- Cherlin, Burton, Hurt, and Purvin. 2004. “The Influence of Physical and Sexual
Abuse on Marriage and Cohabitation”
- Miller, Laura L. 1997. “Not Just Weapons of the Weak: Gender Harassment as a
Form of Protest for Army Men”
o Lab 2B: Histograms and Polygons
Monday, November 3: Measurement and Sampling
- DUE: Literature Review
- Neuman chs. 5-6
- Gratton, Brian and Myron P. Gutmann. 2000. “Hispanics in the United States, 18501990: Estimates of Population Size and National Origin”
- Clark, Roger, Rachel Lennon, and Leanna Morris. 1993. “Of Caldecotts and Kings:
Gendered Images in Recent American Children’s Books by Black and Non-Black
Illustrators”
o Lab 3A: Central Tendency, Variability and Z-Scores
Tuesday, November 4: Experiments
- Neuman ch. 8
- Fredrickson, Barbara, Tomi-Ann Roberts, Stephanie M. Noll and Diane M. Quinn.
1998. “That Swimsuit Becomes You: Sex Differences in Self-Objectification,
Restrained Eating, and Math Performance”
o Lab 3B: Central Tendency, Variability and Z-Scores
Wednesday, November 5: Surveys
- IN CLASS: Quiz #2
- Neuman ch. 7
- Järvinen, Margaretha. 2001. “Accounting for Trouble: Identity Negotiations in
Qualitative Interviews with Alcoholics”
- Hermanowicz, Joseph C. 2002. “The Great Interview: 25 Strategies for Studying
People in Bed”
o Lab 4A: Scattergrams and Correlation Coefficients
Thursday, November 6: Nonreactive Research
- Neuman ch. 9
- Doob, Anthony N. and Alan E. Gross. 1968. “Status of Frustrator as an Inhibitor of
Horn-Honking Reponses”
- Loe, Meika. 1996. “Working for Men – at the Intersection of Power, Gender, and
Sexuality”
o Lab 4B: Scattergrams and Correlation Coefficients
Friday, November 7: Field Research
- DUE: IRB proposal and Methods section
- Neuman, ch. 11
- Montemurro, Beth, Colleen Bloom and Kelly Madell. 2002. “Ladies Night Out: A
Typology of Women Patrons of a Male Strip Club”
- Trautner, Mary Nell. 2005. now titled: “Doing Gender, Doing Class: The
Performance of Seuxliaty in Exotic Dance Clubs”
- Lareau, Annette. 2003. “Appendix A” from Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and
Family Life.
o Lab 5A: T-Tests
Monday, November 10: Historical-Comparative Research
- IN CLASS: Quiz #3
- Neuman ch. 12
- Smith, Christian and Robert Faris. 2005. “Socioeconomic Inequality in the American
Religious System: An Update and Assessment”
- Useem, Bert and Jack A. Goldstone. 2002. “Forging Social Order and Its Breakdown:
Riot and Reform in U.S. Prisons”
o Lab 5B: T-Tests
Tuesday, November 11: Kitchen Stories
- Duneier, Mitchell. 1999. “Introduction” and “Appendix” from Sidewalk
- Rosenfeld, Dana. 1999. “Identity Work Among Lesbian and Gay Elderly”
- Rosenfeld, Dana. 2003. “Conclusion” from The Changing of the Guard: Lesbian and
Gay Elders, Identity, and Social Change
o Lab 6A: T-Tests cont. and ANOVA
Wednesday, November 12: Analysis of Quantitative Data (meet in Palmer lab)
- DUE: Participant Observation Data
-
Neuman ch. 10
Iannocone, Laurence R. and Sean F. Everton. 2004. “Never on Sunny Days: Lessons
from Weekly Attendance Counts”
Kerley, Kent R., Todd L. Matthews, and Troy C. Blanchard. 2005. “Religiosity,
Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors”
o Lab 6B: T-Tests cont. and ANOVA
Thursday, November 13: Analysis of Qualitative Data (meet in Barnes lab)
- DUE: Interview/Focus Group Data
- Neuman ch. 13
- Migliaccio, Todd A. 2002. “Abused Husbands: A Narrative Analysis”
- Walzer, Susan and Thomas P. Oles. 2003. “Accounting for Divorce: Gender and
Uncoupling Narratives”
o Lab 7A: Chi-Square
Friday, November 14: The Research Report
- IN CLASS: Quiz #4
- Neuman ch. 14
- Selections from Sociological Inquiry Aug. 2008. “Special Section: Writing
Sociology”
o Lab 7B: Chi-Square
Monday, November 17: No Class
- DUE by 5pm: Survey Data and Analysis Section
Tuesday, November 18: Final Exam
Wednesday, November 19: No Class
I will be out of town, but please turn in any late work via e-mail to me or by hand to
Alice by noon. Work received after noon will receive no credit.