Sociology 364 and 497 Statistical Methods and Social Research

Spring 2010

Course Website http://www.csun.edu/~vcsoc00i/classes/s364s497s10/homepage.htm

Professor Jerald Schutte jschutte@csun.edu

You are enrolled in two courses, each consisting of a three-unit class and a one-unit laboratory and each having a separate ticket number (i.e. Sociology 364, 364L, 497 and 497L). However, it is the intent of this course to combine the best of both Sociology 364 and 497 into one palatable format meeting each Saturdays from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm in SH 180. Accordingly, the class will be divided into four separate 75 minute segments, with a 10 minute morning and afternoon break and one -hour lunch break. The learning out comes of this course portend that you will internalize both the procedures for conducting social research, as well as mastery of the statistical tools and SPSS package for analyzing such research. But in a larger sense, this course is intended to be an experience born out of the necessity to step back from our personal prejudices and stereotypes, and as a student of higher learning, to evaluate the myriad of information being generated at all levels of our society, intelligently synthesizing such information, in an effort to become a m ore critical social thinker.

Frequently Asked Questions Concerning This Class

Textbooks: The text is Social Research Methods by H Russell Bernard, Sage Publications. In addition, there is the lab manual Adventures in Social Research by Earl Babbie. Do not purchase this lab manual, however, until after the first day of class, when we have had the opportunity to discuss possible cost cutting measures. This will include the potential alternative to purchase either a disk or online version of SPSS. Grading: T he class por tion of the 364 a nd 497 classes will consist of lecture/discussion (real time a nd vi rtual) a nd r eadings, i nvolving t hree nonc umulative qui zzes ( 50 poi nts e ach) a nd a cumulative final (100 points). There are no make-up exams. However, the lowest quiz score will be dropped. Hence, your score, out of 200 points, will comprise your class grade for both classes. The lab grade will consist of laboratory and statistical exercises submitted and/or discussed each week, as w ell as de monstrated mastery of S PSS ( Statistical P ackage f or t he S ocial S ciences). Plus/minus grading will be used. Cheating will not be tolerated, period! Communication: In addition to real t ime class attendance, a variety of virtual techniques will be impl emented. As part of class communications, you will be utilizing the Internet, email, Hypernews and mIRC ( chat) to facilitate int eraction during the c ourse o f the s emester and to supplement the hours not formally held in the lab. The latter two programs are unique to campus and are best used by installing VPN on your home or laptop computer. As well, you may follow events on bot h t he c lass w ebsite: w ww.csun.edu/~vcsoc00i/classes/s364s497s10/announce.htm and on twitter at twitter.com/s364s497s10 Office h ours: Office ho urs will be he ld i n r eal t ime, Thursday 6:00 pm and each Saturday at 3:30 pm; otherwise by appointment. For those unable to meet in person, we can hold discussions via telephone and Elluminate. If several of you wish to form a study group, we can arrange routine alternative meeting times to review material. Classroom Expectations: You are expected to attend each Saturday session. The dates on t he attached calendar, ontained herein, are immutable. That is, the test dates will not be altered. Therefore, plan your social calendar accordingly. A s well, as many of you are aware, the CSU faculty has been pl aced on “furlough” this semester, meaning we must r efrain from university duties nine days, of our choosing, during this semester. While I will attempt to ensure that no full Saturday will be cancelled, expect that at least two some off time will be included in our schedule. This timing will be articulated well in advance and will not affect any test dates. Study Habits: This cl ass is in fact two classes, with associated labs. That is, a total of eight units. Therefore, you must recognize and relate to those eight units in spite of the integrated nature of the lectures, as two separate courses. This will necessitate planning for study time of at least 15-20 hours per week. A s well, it will require pro-activity in planning these hours. R ead the materials in advance of the lecture, review on a regular basis and establish cohorts you can communicate and study. Come to class well rested and ready to ask questions.

I. Statistical Research – The What and Who of Science. This section is a general discussion of the nature aad history of science and how it differs from our everyday lives. Moreover, it will address how we measure such a world and how we describe these measurements so as to create a testable assertion (i.e. hypothesis). Topics Date / Readings Week One – Introduction to Perspective, Logistics & Overview January 23rd Week Two – Science and the Everyday World January 30th

• Methodological Thinking - Defining characteristics of science Chapters 1, 3 • Statistical Thinking - Library and Internet Procedures Assignment

Week Three – Measurement, Variables and Hypotheses February 6th

• Methodological Thinking - Creating operational concepts Chapters 2, 8, 14 • Statistical Thinking - Measurement and descriptive statistics Assignment

Week Four – Testing, Feedback and Lab Work Presentation February 13th

• Collaboration and the First of Four Tests (noncumulative) • Lab Assignments presented and problem sets submitted

II. Statistical R esearch - The H ow o f Science. This section discusses how we attempt to control measurement to be assured that we are assessing the proper population and that we are correctly measuring the relationship between our independent and dependent variable. Topics Date / Readings Week Five – Sampling Design February 20th

• Methodological Thinking - Getting to the "right" people Chapter 5 • Statistical Thinking - Probability Distributions and z-tests Handout

Week Six – Experimental Design February 27th

• Methodological Thinking - Isolating Independent Variables Chapters 4 • Statistical Thinking - t-tests and Analysis of Variance Chapter 15, Part I

Week Seven – Testing, Feedback and Lab Work Presentations March 6th

• Collaboration and the Second of Four Tests (non-cumulative) • Lab Assignments presented and problem sets submitted.

Sociology 364 and 497 Course Outline

III. Statistical R esearch - The Where of Science. This section focuses on data collection sources and s tatistical m ethods f or a nalysing t hem. S urveys, obs ervation t echniques a nd non -reactive methods, and their respective statistical analysis techniques, will be discussed. Topics Date / Readings Week Eight – Data Collection – Surveys March 13th

• Methodological Thinking - Creating and Giving Questionnaires Chapters 6, 7, 15 (PII) • Statistical Thinking - Crosstabular and Correlational Analysis Assignment

Week Nine – Data Collection – Observation March 20th

• Methodological Thinking - Relying on Third Party Information Chapter 9, 10, 12 • Statistical Thinking - Coding and Inter-rater Reliability, Assignment

Week Ten – Data Collection – Simulation and Existing Data March 27th

• Methodological Thinking - Using Non-reactive measures Handout, Chapter 12 • Statistical Thinking - Themes and Modeling Information Assignment

Week Eleven – Testing, Feedback and Lab Work Presentations April 3rd

• Collaboration and the Third of Four Tests (non-cumulative) • Lab Assignments presented and problem sets submitted

IV. Statistical R esearch - The When of Science. This section extends the discussion of measurement and correlation to causal inference among variables. It begins with a discussion of the statistical elaboration model and ends with an analysis of how we present findings. Topics Date / Readings Week Twelve – Finding Cause - Multivariate Analysis - Part I April 17th

• Methodological Thinking - The Nature of Causation Chapter 16 (Part I) • Statistical Thinking - The Statistical Elaboration model Assignment

Week Thirteen - Finding Cause - Multivariate Analysis - Part II April 24th

• Methodological Thinking - Complex Causal Systems Chapter 16 (Part II) • Statistical Thinking - Multiple Regression / Path Analysis Assignment

Week Fourteen – Presenting Findings in Written Form May 1st

• Methodological Thinking - Formatting Journal Articles Handout • Statistical Thinking - Presenting Tables, Graphs and References Assignment

Week Fifteen - Review - Extra Credit - Mock (Practice) Final May 8th Week Sixteen - Fourth and Final Examination (Cumulative) May 15th

Class Schedule for the Blended Sociology 364 and 497 Class Saturdays - Spring 2010

Professor Schutte

9:00 - 10:10 am First Class Segment - Lecture format

10:10 - 10: 20 am Morning Break

10:20 - 11:30 am Second Class Segment - Lecture / Discussion format

11:30 - 12:30 pm Lunch Break

12:30 - 1:40 pm Third Class Segment - Lecture format

1:40 - 1:50 pm Afternoon Break

1:50 - 3:00 pm Fourth Class Segment - Laboratory / Discussion format

Ten Steps to a Successful Class

Tuesday - Wednesday

1. Check weekly the homepage for lecture highlights, assignments and text notes.

2. Review the text chapter outlines and summaries

Thursday - Friday

3. Read the chapters

4. Compile questions - preferably the last thing the night before class.

Saturday

5. Come to class with a full night's sleep.

6. Compare text to lecture notes - track differences and ask others for resolution.

Sunday - Monday

7. Take the practice quiz and refer to notes and lectures for those items missed.

8. Reread the chapters for specific answers.

9. Check the web and library for new resources and convey findings via hypernews.

10. Go online or otherwise complete the assignment