ATLANTA METROPOLITAN COLLEGE
The Division of Social Sciences
Course Outline for
SOCI 2125 Fall 2009
Credit Hours 3
Course Title Introduction
to Social Science Research Methods
Prerequisites Exit
from Learning Support English, Reading, and Math
Instructor Michelle
Geisert, MA
Office S156 Hours M/W
11:00-12:30, T/R 12:30-2:00 and by appointment
*more hours will be
added
Phone 404-756-4711
mail: mgeisert@atlm.edu
Catalog Description
This course
provides a conceptual and practical introduction to social science research methods.
Course Goals
Students read material, apply
research methods and analyze sociological concepts and events. Students investigate current and historical issues
utilizing their own experiences, and integrating these aspects in order to make connections across national, regional, cultural,
and gender lines and develop steps that can be taken to improve communication, anticipate trends, and problem solve.
Required Textbook: The Basics of Social
Research (2008), 4th edition, by Earl Babbie, Thomson Wadsworth Publishing, ISBN - 13: 978-0-495-09468-5
Learning Outcomes
1. Personal/Social
Development
Successful students
will:
a. Familiarize
themselves with current and historical methods
of social inquiry.
b. Be able to
understand and appreciate the diversity and commonalities
among world cultures.
c. Develop an ability toward
being value free in their research and conduct scholarly research according to current ethical guidelines.
2. Oral Proficiency
Successful students
will:
a. Demonstrate confidence
in ability to communicate orally and on paper
b. Contribute constructively
to class discussion.
c. Use terminology
appropriate to the Social Sciences.
3. Reading Proficiency
Successful students will:
a. Use a dictionary
for unfamiliar terminology.
b. Draw inferences
and generalize from material presented in textbook.
d. See similarities
and differences in their views and the views of the author/s.
4. Writing Proficiency
Successful students
will:
a. Conduct scholarly
research utilizing appropriate sources and technology that focuses on historical, current, and global positions.
b. Formulate and express
thesis topic.
c. Provide adequate
support for topic.
d. Develop papers with
a clear focus, logic and order.
e. Understand the difference
between plagiarism and paraphrasing and quoting as well as write and cite sources according to professional guidelines.
f. Use words, sentences
and paragraphs that are complete, clear, correct, and concise.
g. Proofread for grammar
and spelling.
Course Content
The following activities
will take place in the course:
a. Lecture and discussion
of assigned readings.
b. Writing assignments
appropriate to readings and projects.
c. In class group projects.
d. Examinations
Grading System
Exam I 30
Exam II 30
Exam III 30
Exam IV
30
Project
20
Assignments/Participation 10
Total points 150
Percentages and Point Totals
90% and above (135-150 pts) = A
80-89% (120-134 pts)
= B
70-79% (105-119 pts)
= C
60-69% (90-104 pts)
= D
Below 60% (0-89 pts) =
F
Content Outline (Any changes to the course schedule will be announced
in class.)
PART 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO INQUIRY
Chapter 1: Human Inquiry and Science
Chapter 2: Paradigms, Theory, and Research
Chapter 3: The Ethics and Politics of Social Research
PART 2: THE STRUCTURING OF INQUIRY: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
Chapter 4: Research Design
Chapter 5: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement
Chapter 6: Indexes, Scales, and Typologies
Chapter 7: The Logic of Sampling
PART 3: MODES OF OBSERVATION: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
Chapter 8: Experiements
Chapter 9: Survey Research
Chapter 10: Qualitative Field Research
Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Research
Chapter 12: Evaluation Research
PART 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA
Chapter 15: Reading and Writing Social Research
Policies
1. Make-up Exams: DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME YOU WILL BE PERMITTED
A MAKE-UP. Missed examinations are at the discretion of the instructor and are essay unless otherwise noted. Students are
expected to notify the instructor as soon as possible and provide written verification of emergency. Example of an acceptable emergency is
illness serious enough for hospital stay. Take home assignments/exams are due at the beginning of the class period and
may not be handed in late unless you have special permission by the professor. No make up exams are permitted for take home
exams/quizzes.
2. Additional Assignments: Outside assignments are due when assigned
and acceptance of late assignments is at the discretion of the instructor. Students who know in advance they will miss a class
should email the assignment no later than the beginning of class period on the due date. In class group assignments CANNOT
be made up.
3. Attendance: Attendance
is strongly encouraged and affects one's grade. I will excuse one missed class and one minor activity.
Please see me if you have a chronic issue. Group activities occur in class, receive participation points, and may not
be made up.
4. Students are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the courses in which
they enroll are included in the approved degree plan and program map for their program of study. Students must periodically check their enrollment status in
this course during the semester. The student is responsible for determining changes, if any, in enrollment status and taking
necessary steps (e.g. pursing re-instatement in this course) following the procedures outlined in the AMC catalog.
5. Problems related
to the grading policy for this course or other course management concerns should be first brought to the attention of the
professor for the course. However, a resolution of unsettled problems or concerns
may be pursued by following the grievance procedures outlined in the AMC Student Handbook and the Academic Catalog.
6. Cheating and
Plagiarism: Cheating is passing off someone else’s work as your own and includes copying exam answers, using notes
or books during examinations, and handing in someone else’s work. Plagiarism is the copying of materials directly from
a source without quotation marks and the appropriate citations. It is claiming another person’s work, ideas as your
own. If there is a suspicion of plagiarism, the students will be asked to submit notes and copies of research materials (books
and articles). Cheating and plagiarism is grounds for failure in this class and dismissal from AMC!
7. Although every attempt will be made to safeguard your
exam/assignments, the professor is not responsible for any exam/assignment handed in at a time other than with the rest of
the class.
8. Respectful decorum and attire is expected within the classroom.
If you must leave during class, or you come in late, please do so discreetly and sit at the back of the class. DO NOT
come to the front to pick up papers off my desk, or ask what's going on. Please turn cellphones
off /silent during class. Cellphones are not allowed during exams.
9. This is a college course and as such your behavior is
expected to be respectful of the professor and fellow classmates. If your behavior disrupts class it is possible to effect
your grade and you may be asked to leave the class permanently!
10. Procedure regarding long-term emergency closure of the college for inclusion
on syllabi (attendance policy):
In the event of an emergency that forces the college to close for an extended
period, students must contact the instructor of this class within 48 hours
using the contact information (e.g., email address, VISTA 8 Access Code or telephone number) on the syllabus to obtain directions
for continuing the course. The instructor will provide directions for the
transmission and submission of course assignments and course assessments, including due dates.
The student is responsible for submitting
valid, accurate contact information, including an active AMC email address to the instructor by the end of the first week
of the course. Students can obtain an Atlanta Metropolitan College Student email address in the Academic Support Center on the
third floor of the Library Building.
If the instructor for the course cannot be reached within the specified period
of time (within 48 hours), the chair of the division responsible for the course
can be reached at the email address posted on the college’s website.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Week and Topic
Week 1 and 2
Introduction to the course
Chapter 1: Human Inquiry and Science
Week 3
Chapter 2: Paradigms, Theory, and Research
Week 4
Chapter 3: The Ethics and Politics of Social Research
Week 5
Tuesday Sept 22 Test 1 Ch 1-3
Movie: Kinsey
Week 6
Chapter 4: Research Design
Week 7
Chapter 5: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement
Week 8
Chapter 6: Indexes, Scales, and Typologies
Midterm 10/12/09 Last day to drop with a grade of W
Week 9
Tuesday Oct 20 Test 2 ch 4-6
Chapter 7: The Logic of Sampling
Week 10
Chapter 8: Experiements
Week 11
Chapter 9: Survey Research
Week 12
Tuesday Nov 17 Test 3 ch 7-9
Chapter 10: Qualitative Field Research
Week 13
Chapter 11: Unobtrusive Research
Week 14
Chapter 12: Evaluation Research
Week 15
Chapter 15: Reading and Writing Social Research
Week 16
Research Presentations
Last Class Dec 3
Final Exam 12/8 2:00-4:00 pm on Chapters 10-12, 15
Supplemental Material
American Sociological Association.(1984). "Code of Ethics." Washington D. C.
Babbie, Earl. (1995). The Practice of Social Research. 7th
Edition. Bemong CA:
Wadsworth.
Bernard, Jesse. (1972). His and Her Marriage. In John J. Macionis
and Nijole V. Benokraitis (eds.) Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, 2nd edition, pp. 250-256. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Chamblilss, William J. (1973). The Saints and the Roughnecks. In
James M. Henslin (eds.) Down to Earth Sociology, 5th edition, pp. 33-37. NY: The Free Press.
Davis, Kingsley. (n.d.) Extreme Isolation. In James M. Henslin
(eds.) Down to Earth Sociology, 5th edition, pp. 72-80. NY: The Free Press.
Dorkenoo, Efua and Scilla Elworthy. (1992). Female Genital Mutilation.
In John J. Macionis and Nijole V. Benokraitis (eds.) Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, 4th edition, pp. 382-389. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Edgerton, Robert B. (n.d.) Sick Societies. In James M. Henslin
(ed.) Down to Earth Sociology, 8th edition, pp. 347-354. New York:
The Free Press.
Fernea, Elizabeth W. and Robert A. Fernea (nd). A Look behind the
Veil. In Garth Massey (ed.) Readings for Sociology, 3rd edition, pp. 107-113. New York: W.W. Norton.
Friedan, Betty. (1993). My Quest for the Fountain of Age. In John
J. Macionis and Nijole V. Benokraitis (eds.) Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, 4th edition, pp. 251-257. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Gupta, Giri Raj, Love, Arranged Marriage, and the Indian Social
Structure. (1979). In John J. Macionis and Nijole V. Benokraitis (eds.) Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural
Readings in Sociology, 2nd edition, pp. 262-270.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hostetler, John A. (1980). Amish Society. Baltimore,
MD: Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Macionis, John J. (1997). Sociology. 6th Edition.
Upper Sandle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
Inc.
Mead, Margaret (1935). Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies.
In John J. Macionis and Nijole V. Benokraitis (eds.) Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, 3rd edition, pp. 209-214. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Miner, Horace. (1956). Body Ritual Among the Nacirema. In
James M. Henslin (eds.) Down to Earth Sociology, 5th edition, pp. 33-37. NY: The Free Press.
Mitford, Jessica. (1992). Fashions in Childbirth. In Sociology:
Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, 2nd Edition, pp. 74-84. Newman, David M. (ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Rosenhan, David. L. (1973). On Being Sane in Insane Places In James
M. Henslin (ed.) Down to Earth Sociology, 5th edition, pp. 239-250. NY: The Free Press.
Sidel, Ruth. (1996). Keeping Women and Children Last: America’s
War on the Poor. New York: Penguin.
Smith, Jane I. (1987). Women and Islam. In John J. Macionis and
Nijole V. Benokraitis (eds.) Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology, 4th edition, pp. 340-346. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Stack, Carol B. (1990). "Different Voices, Different Visions: Gender,
Culture, and Moral Reasoning." In Faye Ginsburg and Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing (eds.), Uncertain Terms: Negotiating Gender in
American Culture. Boston: Beacon Press, pp. 19-27.
Tannen, Deborah. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand: Women
and Men in Conversation. New York: Ballantine Books.
Thorne, Barrie. (1993). Boys and Girls Together…But Mostly
Apart. In Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, 2nd Edition, pp. 102-113. Newman, David
M. (ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Pine Forge Press.
Wolf, Naomi (1990). The Beauty Myth. In John J. Macionis and Nijole
V. Benokraitis (eds.) Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings
in Sociology, 3rd edition, pp. 215-221. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
Zimbardo, Philip G. (1972). The Pathology of Imprisonment. In James
M. Henslin (eds.) Down to Earth Sociology, 5th edition, pp. 232-238 . NY: The Free Press.
Periodicals: Supplemental Reading
Blackwood, Evelyn. (1984). Sexuality and Gender in Certain Native
American Tribes: The Case of Cross-Gender Females. Signs, 10, 27-42.
Jacobs, J. (1993). Gender, race, class and the trend towards early
motherhood: A feminist analysis of teen mothers in contemporary society. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 22, 4,
442-462.
Riley, Nancy E. (1997). Gender, Power, and Population Change. Population
Bulletin, 52 (May): entire issue.
Simon, Rita J., Angela J. Scanlan, and Pamela Madell. (1993). Rabbis
and Ministers: Women of the Book and Cloth. Sociology of Religion, 54, 1, 115-122.
Sociologist’s for Women in Society. (1986). Facts about
Pay Equity. (April): entire issue.
Weitzmaq, Lenore J., Beborah Eifler, Elizabeth Hokkada, and Catherine
Ross. (1972). Sex-Role Socialization in Picture Books for Preschool Children. American Journal of Sociology, 77, 1125-1150.
West, Candance, and Don Zimmerman. (1987). Doing Gender. Gender
& Society, 1, 125-151.
Wright, Erik O., David Hachen, Cynthia Costello, and Joey Sprague.
(1982). The American Class Structure. (December). American Sociological Review, 47, 709-726.
Online resources
1. African-American Family History Texts Bibliography http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~women/bibs/bibl-aframerfam.html
2. African American-American Women
On-line Archival Collections
Special Collections Library, Duke University http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/collections/african-american-women.html
3. American Women’s Self Defense Association (AWSDA) http://www.awsda.org
4. Angela Shelton-Break the Silence http://www.searchingforangelashelton.com
5. Asian American Concerns and Issues http://janet.org/~ebihara/aacyber_concerns.html
6. Center for Multilingual, Multicultural Research: Native American
Resources http://www-bcf.edu/~cmmr/Native_American.html
7. Colonial Life: Redefining Family http://history.org/life/family/essay.htm
8. Dr. Phil http://drphil.com/
09. The Kinsey Reports http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_Reports http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/resources/ak-hhscale.html
10. Life Innovations, Inc. http://prepare-enrich.com/
11. The National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute http://www.nlffi.org/
12. Sociology web site http://www.sociology.wadsworth.com
13. U. S.
Department of Justice http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov
14. Unusual laws on
record http://www.dumblaws.com
