COURSE ORGANIZATION
Instructor
Dr. Steve Sapp
320 East Hall
(515) 294-1403
ssapp@iastate.edu
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Textbook:
Earl Babbie: The Practice of Social Research: 11th Edition. 2007. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
Guiding Principles of this Course
The course has been designed with the following principles in mind:
- Learning is iterative. It occurs in steps and is facilitated by mistakes, i.e. corrected mistakes.
- Learning is an active process. Some class material will be presented in lecture format. But class participation, group projects, discussions, exercises, and writing will accompany the lectures to encourage your active involvement in the material.
- The skill central to all advanced learning is critical thinking. Understanding and using sociological research methods is certainly no exception. The course exercises, papers, and exams are designed to challenge you to think critically. Critical thinking consists of four levels of mental engagement with reality.
- The ability to describe phenomena.
- The ability to compare, contrast, and link.
- The ability to critique presentations of science.
- The ability to innovate, suggest new combinations, pose new questions, and construct new explanations, conceptual frameworks, or theories.
Course Format
- Frequent use of class discussion and review of materials presented to date.
- Lectures interspersed with class exercises, small group discussions, and other forms of class participation.
- Accompanying the textbook is a diskette containing an excellent set of review questions and exercises covering each chapter. These are very useful to help you with the first two steps in critical thinking (define, describe, compare, and link). This diskette is not required for the course; so, if you bought a used copy of the textbook then you do not need to purchase the diskette.
- Ask questions. Ask questions. Ask questions. There are no dumb questions!
- Any student who needs an accommodation based on a disability should contact Dr. Sapp privately to discuss your specific needs. Also, please contact the Disability Resources Office (Room 1076, Student Services Building, 515-294-6624, awaoniyib@iastate.edu) to coordinate disability certification and accommodation.
- This course is conducted in accordance with the Department of Sociology Code of Ethics.
Assignments and Evaluation
Exams, assignments, and class participation will facilitate your understanding of the course material and provide a mechanism to evaluate your understanding of it. The course includes 360 points assigned to these evaluations. Final grades will be based upon a standard grading scale of 90% or higher = A; 80% - 89% = B; and so forth, with consideration of + and - grades at the extremes of each grade level.
Exams: The course includes four exams, worth 60 points each. Exams will contain a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Review sheets for each exam will be posted on the course web site one week prior to the exam. Review sessions will be held on the evening prior to the exam.(Total points = 240)
Quizzes: Students are asked to complete four quizzes to keep abreast of the course materials and prepare for the exams. The Instructions for the Quizzes describe requirements and grading. (Total points = 40)
Written Assignments: Students are asked to become engaged in the learning experience by completing two written assignments worth 40 points each. You will be asked to conduct the same types of activities required of professional sociologists involved in the research process. The Instructions for the Written Assignments describe requirements and grading. (Total points = 80)
Class Participation: Attendance will be taken daily. Five points will be deducted for each unexcused absence.
Posting of Grades: Throughout the semester grades will be posted on WebCt. Click on the link provided below, logon to WebCt by using your ISU ID and password, click on "Sociology 202," and then click on the link to the grade book.
COURSE SCHEDULE
A listing of all assignments is provided on the Sociology 202: Calendar.
Part One: An Introduction to Inquiry
August 21 to September 18.
Readings:
Key Questions:
What is science? How does it work?
Why is sociology conducted as a science?
What are the principal paradigms of sociology?
What are the ethics and politics of social research?
Quiz One: September 4.
Exam One: Tuesday, September 18.
Part Two: The Structure of Inquiry
September 20 to October 11.
Readings:
Key Questions:
What is research design?
How do scientists define and assess causality?
How do sociologists measure manifest and latent concepts?
Why and how do sociologists draw samples of the population?
Quiz Two: October 2.
Exam Two: Thursday, October 11.
Written Assignment One: Theory and Research Design, Due: October 16.
Part Three: Modes of Observation
October 16 to November 8.
Readings:
Key Questions:
What are experiments?
What are the key principles of conducting survey research?
What are the main types of qualitative methods?
What is unobtrusive research?
What is evaluation research?
Quiz Three: October 30.
Exam Three: Thursday, November 8.
Part Four: Analysis of Data
November 13 to December 6.
Readings:
Babbie Textbook: Chapters 13-17.
Key Questions:
What are the key principles of quantitative data analysis?
What are the key principles of qualitative data analysis?
How does one use social statistics to analyze data?
What are the key principles of technical report writing?
Quiz Four: November 29.
Exam Four: Tuesday, December 11, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Written Assignment Two: Methods and Data Analysis, Due: Monday, December 10.
