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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PL 460-2"
COURSE NAME: "Social Science Research Methods"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Fall Semester 2012
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Clough Marinaro Isabella
EMAIL: [email protected] or [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 15:00-16:15
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisite: Junior Standing
OFFICE HOURS:
1 hour before each class or by appointment
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is a practical course in how to begin, carry out and complete a research study in social science and related humanities fields. It is intended for Senior Thesis students though other students may be encouraged to take it where appropriate. It will be taught in an interdisciplinary way, appropriate to fields such as sociology, political science, social psychology, history, anthropology, international relations, economics and humanities. Students will learn how to develop a research project, how to develop a research question that allows for concrete research, how to identify the kinds of sources – quantitative or qualitative, historical or journalistic, field research or archival – appropriate to answering his or her question. Students will learn how to think about truth claims of research methods, how to judge “facts”, how to operationalize concepts so that they may be studied in a meaningful way, how to identify independent and dependent variables, and how to determine causality. In addition, students will have practice in how to conduct interviews, how to develop survey and life history questionnaires, how to engage in observation, how to judge primary and secondary sources, and how to think about paradigms, epistemologies and theories as basic tools of research projects. Ethical issues involved with research will also be explored. The class will also study how to do research systematically and efficiently on the internet. Students will, by the end of the course, carry through an original research project of their choosing, meeting specific time deadlines for each stage of the project and will present the project to the class at the end of the semester using powerpoint technology and other appropriate methods of presentation.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course will be a step-by-step approach to research design. Beginning with a general approach to how we know what we know and to the role of paradigms and theories in constructing research questions, the course will then turn to ethical issues involved in human and social research. We will then look in-depth at research design as a holistic approach and to conceptualization and operationalization as indispensable phases of research, allowing us to concretely study virtually any question related to society and to human affairs imaginable, so long as our question and our categories are constructed precisely enough. We will then discuss how to collect data of various types, how to “interrogate” data, choosing the best method for doing so with different kinds of data.
The course will be primarily focused on qualitative approaches, particularly of use to students of Political Science, International Affairs, History, Sociology and related fields, but will also include some introduction to the use of and ability to understand quantitative approaches, as well as mixed approaches to research. Students will be considered primarily as consumers of statistics, rather than producers of them, but we will also explore how quantitative data are generated. Questions of how to study cultural questions, community and ethnographic studies, and participant observation will be covered. We will also look at journalistic and historical approaches to research. We will spend the last part of the course learning about how to write properly, how to cite and how to present one’s work.
Students will follow a firm schedule for developing their research project for the course, will meet firm deadlines for topics, preferred method of study, literature review, identification of appropriate data sources and their availability, operationalization of concepts, commencement of research activity and data collection, and presentation of the project to the class.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students, upon completing the course, will be able to construct a research project and present it in writing and orally using power point and other tools. Students will be able to develop relevant questions on issues of social and historical interest, to determine the best method for going about answering their questions, to identify key variables, to identify data sources and analyze such data using appropriate methods.
Students will learn how to:
do a literature review of a social or historical question using published academic sources
- find appropriate data sources in libraries, on the internet, in archives and in newspapers and journals
- think in an informed way about paradigms, epistemologies and theories as research tools
- consider in a professional manner the ethical considerations involved in a research project
- identify the truth claims of an analysis whether official, academic, advertising or journalistic
- identify independent and dependent variables and determine their relation to one another using a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods
- judge how statistics are used to make truth claims
- identify theoretical and methodological underpinnings of arguments made in research studies
- determine how polls and surveys are constructed and carried out
- construct an argument
- develop a research design of one’s own and carry it through from start to finish – that is from initial formulation of a question and a hypothesis and literature review to written publication and public presentation
- write in a manner that conveys the argument students want to make
- present such projects coherently using appropriate tools.
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TEXTBOOK:
Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
Excellent Dissertations | Peter Levin | Open University Press | 0335218229 | | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
Preliminary Bibliography | At least 10 sources for your chosen topic, organized and formatted according to the most appropraite citation system for the discipline of the proposed thesis. | 5% |
Annotated Bibliography | Summary of the argument and scope of at least 5 relevant sources (see detailed assignment handout) | 10% |
Literature Review | Discussion of at least 5 academic sources representing different schools of thought or positions relevant to your thesis topic. Minimum 5 pages. See detailed assignment guidelines handout. The draft must be screened by the English for Success Program; the final grade will be raised or lowered by up to 3% depending on student's response to feedback. | 25% |
Social Science Research Project | In pairs, submit a realistic research project based in guidelines given in class. Must include research question, possible hypothesis, explanation of data collection and analysis methods. See detailed assignment handout. | 10% |
Thesis Outline (including research question and hypothesis) | Chapter-by-chapter outline of your thesis. Must include research question, hypothesis and weekly work schedule for next semester.See detailed assignment handout. | 15% |
Final Research Paper | 10-15 page paper based on a chapter of your thesis (or an overview of the whole project). See detailed assignment handout. The draft must be screened by the English for Success Program; the final
grade will be raised or lowered by up to 3% depending on student's
response to feedback. | 25% |
Oral Presentation | During the last 2 weeks of the semester, students give a 10 minute presentation on the main points of their chapter or thesis overview to the class, justifying the theoretcial framework and methodology used as well as outlining the findings and analysis. | 10% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.
A: Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
B: This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.
There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
C: This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
D: This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.
Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
This is a seminar-style course, where regular attendance and active participation in class discussions are essential. Your overall grade will be raised or lowered by up to 5% based on your participation. If you are absent for more than 2 classes, your grade will be lowered automatically.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Session
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Session Focus
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Reading Assignment
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Other Assignment
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WK1A
3 Sept
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Introduction to course. Embarking on a senior thesis
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Levin Chap 1
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WK 1B
5 Sept
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What is Social Research? Why do it? How to do it?
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Levin Chap 2 p23-33
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Prepare research topics
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WK2A
10 Sept
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Library Session 1: Finding and Citing Sources
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WK 2B
12 Sept
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Library Session 2:
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Levin p56-62
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Prepare bibliography
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WK3A
17 Sept
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Bibliographies Due to Livia Piotto
Critical Reading
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Levin p34-42
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WK 3B
19 Sept
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Research Topics Due
From Topic to Question(s)
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Levin p43-55
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WK4A
24 Sept
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From Topic to Question(s)
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WK 4B
26 Sept
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From Topic to Question(s)
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Levin p62-73
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WK5A
1 Oct
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Annotated Bibliographies Due
Doing a Literature Review
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Levin p74-82
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WK5B
3 Oct
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Analysis, Questions and Evidence
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WK 6A
8 Oct
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Operationalizing
Concepts: How to Define Something so you can Study It
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Work on literature review
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WK 6B
10 Oct
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Testing and Arguing About Concepts
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Work on literature review
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WK7A
15 Oct
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Literature Review Due to Prof Cox
Values and Ethics in Research
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WK 7B
17 Oct
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Using official statistics
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WK 8A
22 Oct
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Survey design and analysis
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WK8B
24 Oct
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Literature Review Due to Prof Clough
Interviewing
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WK9A
29 Oct
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Using primary documents
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Work on Final Research Project
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WK9B
31 Oct
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Narratives and Event Analysis
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Work on Final Research Project
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WK10A
5 Nov
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Formulating Good Cases
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Work on Final Research Project
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WK 10B
7 Nov
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Constructing Arguments: logic, truth claims and determining causality
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Work on Final Research Project
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WK11A
12 Nov
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Writing, editing and who to write for
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Levin p83-89
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WK11B
14 Nov
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Time-management
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Levin p93-121
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Work on Final Research Project
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WK 12A
19 Nov
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Thesis Outlines Due
Individual meetings with students on research projects
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WK 12 B
21 Nov
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Individual meetings with students on research projects
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Work on Final Research Project
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WK 13A
26 Nov
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Final Research Projects Due to Prof Cox
Individual meetings with students on research projects
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WK 13B
28 Nov
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Presentations of Final Research Project
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WK 14A
3 Dec
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Presentations of Final Research Project
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WK 14B
5 Dec
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Presentations of Final Research Project
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Exam Week
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Final Research Projects Due to Prof Clough
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