Sociology 4002(302): Data Analysis

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Sociology 4002(302): Data Analysis

Fall 2007

Class

M, W, F 10:40-11:30 am in Gladfelter 764

Labs

Section 001 (CRN: 039728) Lab: W 8:40-10:30

Section 002 (CRN: 039732) Lab: TH9:40-11:30

Labs are held in Gladfelter 748.

Kimberly A. Goyette, Assistant Professor

Email: ffice: 737 Gladfelter Hall

Office phone number: 204-0134Office Hours: M 1:30-3:30, W 1-2 & by appt.

Teaching Assistant:

Qing Lai

Email: ffice: 758 Gladfelter Hall

Office Hours: M 12:30-2, Th 2:30-4

Web Site: A site for this course is on Blackboard. Through this site, students have access to class announcements, notes, and other materials. Please check this web site at least once a week for class reminders, links, and supplemental course material. Please see hand-out attached to this syllabus.

Course description:

In this course, you will dooriginal sociological research using secondary data analysis. In Sociology 201 (Statistical Methods in Sociology), the focus of the course was on discovering whether relationships between variables that were observed in a sample were likely to exist in the population. In this course, we go one step further in the research process to examine explanations for why those relationships may exist. To do this, we explore whether and how a relationship between two variables changes when we add a third (or fourth or fifth…) variable.

The research process consists of several steps: (1)construct a research question, (2) formulate one or more theories related to your research question based on a literature review, (3) turn those theories into testable hypotheses, and (4) test those hypotheses using secondary data. Your research will be presented in a final paper organized according to the standards of the discipline and then summarized in an oral presentation.

Course goals:

Students will learn how to construct a research question that can be answered with quantitative data.

Students will review the relevant literature to formulate one or more theories to explain a relationship that has been observed between two variables.

Students will operationalize the concepts in their theories and create testable hypotheses.

Students will apply the appropriate data manipulations and statistics to test their hypotheses.

Students will present their findings in a research paper that conforms to the format of a quantitative research article.

Students will present a summary of their research in an oral presentation.

Readings for the course:

Four books are required and available for purchase by students. The following books are available at the TempleUniversity bookstore.

Becker, Howard S. 1986. Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article.Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Davis, James A. 1985. The Logic of Causal Order.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Lewis-Beck, Michael S. 1995. Data Analysis: An Introduction.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pallant, Julie. 2005. SPSS Survival Manual, Second Edition. New York: Open University Press.

Students with Disabilities:

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.

Course requirements:

All students are expected to do the assigned reading, and attend and participate actively in all classes and labs. Other requirements for the course include ten lab exercises, and one research paper using secondary data provided by the instructor or acquired by the student.

Lab Exercises: These ten assignments are intended to allow you to apply the concepts learned in class and in the reading to your research project. Each exercise will be worth a total of five points. Students are responsible for keeping track of their returned lab exercises. If the graded exercises are not returned within two weeks of their due date, the students should be sure that they were received by the TA and/or instructor by contacting the TA and/or instructor about the assignment. It is the students’ responsibility to make sure the TA or instructor received and graded the exercise.

Research Paper: For this assignment, you will use statistics to describe and investigate a question of your choice. The instructor will provide data sets (GSS or ELS) for you to use or you can use your own.You will use the computer software SPSS for Windows (available in the data lab) to do original research using these data. Your paper will be given to the instructor in three stages. Each stage will be returned with feedback that is to be incorporated into the next draft. One stage will also be peer reviewed, and that feedback is also to be included in the final draft. Detailed guidelines for this report will be provided the first week of the semester. The paper should be typed in 11- to 12-pt. font with 1-inch margins on all sides. The text of the report should be 10-15 pages long. Tables should be appended.

Class and Lab Attendance: Class and lab attendance will be taken. Students are not penalized for missing up to 4 classes. After that, a point will be deducted (out of 38 total points) for each missed class. Students who must miss class are expected to review the notes of that day on Blackboard. Students are expected to attend all labs. Attendance will be taken during labs and a point will be deducted for each missed lab (out of 13 total points). Class and lab attendance percentages will be averaged to determine overall participation. Those who are more than ten minutes late for class or labs will be counted absent for the day.

Grading: Class and lab attendance and participation (10%), homework assignments (50%), and research paper (40%). Letter grades for the entire course will be assigned as follows:

Late assignments will not be accepted unless accompanied by written documentation of reasons for the delay (doctors’ notes, for example). In exceptional circumstances when students cannot hand in assignments by the due date, students will have exactly one week from the due date to hand-in or make up their work. No assignments or exams will be accepted after one week has passed. Incompletes will not be issued for this class.

***Plagiarism or cheating in any form will not be tolerated and will be dealt with swiftly according to university policy.***

To avoid unintentionally plagiarizing, please visit the following website from TempleUniversity’s WritingCenter:

Statement on Academic Freedom: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed through the following link:

Course Schedule and Readings