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.
Teaching Assistant
Kristen Wenke
419A East Hall
(515) 294-1403
kwenke@iastate.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; Thursday, 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Sociology 202 Web Site:
The syllabus, assignments, web pages, and Power Point presentations for Sociology 202 are available at the class web site: http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/soc202.html.
Textbook (Recommended):
Earl Babbie: The Practice of Social Research: 11th or 12th Edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
Course Packet (Recommended):
- Printed copy of the Sociology 202 Course Packet: ISU Bookstore.
- Adobe Acrobat copy of the Sociology 202 Course Packet.
PASW Primer (Required):
- Printed copy of the PASW Primer: ISU Bookstore.
- Adobe Acrobat copy of the PASW Primer.
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 310 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 five exams, each worth 40 points. Exams will contain a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Review sheets for each exam are posted on the course web site. Review sessions will be held on the evening prior to each exam. (Total points = 200)
Quizzes: Students are required to complete five, 10-point quizzes to keep abreast of the course materials and prepare for the exams. The Instructions for the Quizzes describe requirements and grading. (Total points = 50)
Written Assignments: Students are asked to become engaged in the learning experience by completing three written assignments worth 20 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 = 60)
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 the class web site. Your grade will be listed by your ISU ID number.
COURSE SCHEDULE
A listing of all assignments is provided on the Sociology 202: Calendar.
Part One: An Introduction to Inquiry
August 25 to September 10.
Readings:
Key Questions:
What is science? How does it work?
What is an hypothesis and how is one written?
What is the importance of standard error for research methods?
What is the relationship between science and intelligent design?
Quiz One: Thursday, September 3.
Exam One: Thursday, September 10.
Part Two: Measurement of Abstract Concepts
September 15 to October 1.
Readings:
Key Questions:
How do we develop measures of concepts that have no material existence?
How do we know we are measuring what we think we are measuring?
Quiz Two: Thursday, September 24.
Exam Two: Thursday, October 1.
Part Three: Observation, Sampling
October 6 to October 22.
Readings:
Key Questions:
What are experiments?
What are the key principles of conducting survey research?
How does one write a question for a social survey?
Why and how do sociologists draw samples of the population?
What is evaluation research?
Quiz Three: Thursday, October 15.
Exam Three: Thursday, October 22.
Written Assignment One: Theory and Methods, Due: Tuesday, October 27.
Part Four: Quantitative Design and Analysis
October 27 to November 19.
Readings:
Key Questions:
What is causality? How do we determine cause?
What is research design?
What statistics are commonly used in sociology?
What are the key principles of quantitative data analysis?
How do sociologists enter and analyze quantitative data in PASW?
Quiz Four: Thursday, November 12.
Exam Four: Thursday, November 19.
Written Assignment Two: Research Design, Due: Tuesday, December 1.
Part Five: Qualitative Design and Analysis
December 1 to December 10.
Readings:
Key Questions:
What are the main types of qualitative methods?
What are the key principles of qualitative data analysis?
What are the ethics and politics of social research?
What are the key principles of technical report writing?
Quiz Five: Thursday, December 3.
Exam Five: Thursday, Demember 17, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Written Assignment Three: Data Analysis and Report Writing, Due: Tuesday, December 15.