Sociology 3301-001
Survey
Methods
Fall, 2006
JT Young MD JD PhD-
Instructor
Joseph.T.Young@colorado.edu
Office hours Noon
Tuesdays, Ketchum 11A
Purposes:
∙ To solidify your knowledge of social
statistics and apply that knowledge to social research using surveys.
∙ To improve your skills at writing
technically, critical thinking and scientific reasoning.
∙ To present social research methods and
techniques from a survey research perspective.
Prerequisites: You must have a working
knowledge of statistical inference, descriptive analysis and regression
techniques. This is not negotiable. These statistical methods will not be
taught in full here. In other words, if you have not taken statistics, do not
take this class.
Texts: Babbie, E. (1998) Survey
Research Methods-2nd Edition.
Sweet, Stephen and K. Grace-Martin
(2003) Data Analysis with SPSS—2nd Edition.
If you qualify
for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me an letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so
that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations
based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard Hall 322, and
www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices.
Campus policy
regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to
reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious
obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required
attendance. In this class, please inform me before the event or holiday
and I will accommodate you. If you inform me after the event or holiday, I will
not accommodate you. Students can see full details of this policy at
www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html.
Students and
faculty each have a responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning
environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject
to discipline. Faculty have the responsibility to
treat students with understanding, respect and dignity, to guide classroom
discussion, and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students
express opinions.
There are topics
in my classes that are controversial, medically oriented and occasionally
personal and graphic. Please understand that my intent is to provide
information, not to influence your opinions, or make outrageous statements or
assertions.
Every opinion is
treated with respect and your right to hold that opinion is protected.
I treat you as
adults. You will be held to that standard regardless of circumstances. If you
are going to be late with an assignment, absent for a test, or absent from a
required presentation or class you MUST inform me prior to the event in
question. This rule INCLUDES illness, deaths in the family and any
other event. I will hold you to this standard, so do not test me. The only
exceptions are your death or your unconsciousness/coma.
All students of
the
a] cheating
b] plagiarism (document sources very carefully and rigorously)
c] aiding others in academic dishonesty,
d] fabrication and lying,
e] bribery and
f] threatening behavior.
All incidents of
academic misconduct will be reported to the Honor Code Council. If you are
found to be in violation of University policy, you will be subject to sanctions
from the instructor and the University including but not limited to probation,
expulsion, and suspension. The Honor code can be found at www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html.
The
Class and Laboratory
Meetings:
The class will meet in a classroom for lectures and Ketchum 117 for lab sessions. The labs
will be supervised and are for your own edification. Assignments will be made
and descriptive/regression products will have to be presented for your project
but the purpose of the lab is to familiarize you with SPSS and these techniques
so that you may do well on your project for the class. Lab sessions usually
will meet on Thursdays. Lectures are on Tuesdays. Class attendance is
advisable—this is too difficult a class for you to miss instruction and lab
time. There is not enough room in the lab for everyone so please share.
Attempts have been made, without success, to find a bigger lab. You may use the
lab in the basement of Ketchum if you desire during the daytime.
Survey used: General Social Survey
Statistical Package: SPSS
Course Requirements: Tests at midterm covers
the first half of the course didactics. Final will cover second half didactics.
The tests will count 50% of your grade. No late tests unless PRIOR permission
is given. Final paper is minimum 15 pages in length, double-spaced, 12 font
size, with references (10 minimum; ASA format). Standard juried paper format
will be followed. No newspapers,
magazines or web sites will be cited. Library research and drafts/proposals
will be periodically required, as well as the final paper. The timing of these
assignments is listed in this syllabus. The paper will be due on at the time of
the final. Late papers/proposals/drafts will not be accepted without PRIOR permission.
The paper and associated documents will count 40% of your grade Research
question=5%; Analysis=5%; Literature Review=5%; Proposal=5%; and Paper=30%).
Grading will be on the standard CU grading scale.
Class Schedule
Wk 1-- Syllabus, lab procedures,
class format and expectations
Social
Science Inquiry and science
Theory
and Practice
Paradigms
and paradigm shifts
Survey
Methods Chapter 1 and 3
Wk 2-- What is a dataset? Using and perusing data. Starting SPSS
What
is the GSS? How do you use it?
Objectivity
and Reality
The
Nature of Causation
Looking at the GSS. Recoding variables.
Survey
Methods Chapter 2
Data
Analysis Chapters 1 and 2
Wk3 --What is a research
question?
Conceptualization
Operationalization
Frequency tables. Choice of variables.
Descriptives.
Survey
Methods Chapter 7
Data
Analysis Chapters 3 and 4
Wk 4-- Research Designs I
and II
More Looking at GSS. Cross tabs. Operationalization
Survey
Methods Chapter 4
Data
Analysis Chapter 5
One page summary of
paper topic due including a list of hypotheses.
Wk 5 -- Literature Searches
and Literature reviews Survey Methods Chapter 5-6
In
lab we will use Chinook and library resources
Must
be able to recode variables, do crosstabs and frequencies by this period of the
course.
Wk 6 -- Composite measures and
Indexes
Survey
Methods Chapter 8
Descriptives (Analysis) due
Wk 7 -- Review for midterm
Tuesday, Midterm on Thursday
Wk 8 Choosing dependent variables and
independent variables of interest
Bivariate
and univariate analysis-descriptive and regression
Data
Analysis Chapters 3 and 5
Wk 9 – Tuesday--Correlation
and association Significance
Data
Analysis Chapter 6
Thursday
-- The logic of Sampling
Statistical
versus actual significance
Survey
Methods 16-17; 5-6
Vacation
Wk 10 Refining hypotheses
What
is a research proposal? Discuss research proposal expectations
How
to present results, tables and graphs
Control
Variables
Multivariate
analysis Linear regression
Survey
Methods Chapter 16
Turn in Proposals on Friday by 5pm
Wk 11 Research question
review, Critique, Writing results and format
Multivariate analysis Logistic Regression
Survey
Methods Chapter 18
Data
Analysis Chapter 8 and 9
Wk 12 Questionnaire Design
Data
collection
Lab:
-help with research
Survey
Methods Chapters 9-12
Vacation Week 13
Thanksgiving
Wk 14 Advanced survey
design-longitudinal, panel, experimental and multi-level designs
Generalizability
Survey
Methods Chapter 19
Ethics
and politics
Causation or correlation?
Draft of results due if
you wish me to review them
Weeks 15-16 (Thursday
off) in lab completing analysis and writing
Paper due at 5pm day of
the final
Finals December 16-21