Sociology 3155: Advanced Quantitative Research Methods and Analysis -- 4 credits
University of Minnesota, Duluth
Spring 2008

Class meets MWF, 7.45-8.50, in Humanities 458

INSTRUCTOR: Bruce Mork	Office Hours: MWF, 9.30-10.30
Office: Cina 203
Phone: 726-6369	E-mail: bmork@d.umn.edu

Texts: Healey: Statistics: a Tool for Social Research, 7th edition
Research Reports from Teaching Sociology available on library electronic reserve

Software: SPSS for Windows, Version 15, available free via download to all students enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts

Course Description:Sociology 3155 is a follow-up course to Sociology 2155, which you are expected to have completed before taking this course. We will review and extend your knowledge of descriptive statistics to include multivariate measures of association and statistical control. . You will also learn inferential statistics focusing on probability and hypothesis testing, including T-tests, chi-square tests, and analysis of variance. You will become familiar with some of the more advanced capabilities of SPSS as we use it to analyze statistical data. The culmination of the course will be a research project/paper/presentation, typically involving secondary research (using a data set generated by someone else), though it could also involve a survey of your own if you let me know early in the semester.

Course Objectives/Outcome: These are the objectives for the two-course sequence, Soc 2155-3155.

1. To understand the logic of sociological explanation, including the relationship between theory and research, and an understanding of variables, theoretical models, and hypotheses.
2. To understand Issues related to appropriate measurement of sociological variables, including levels of measurement, and the distinction between nominal definitions and operational definitions, between concepts and their indicators.
3. To understand basic sampling procedures and be able to critically evaluate sampling designs of others.
4. To be able to use the library's resources for research.
5. To become familiar with methods of organizing quantitative data--e.g., tables and graphs.
6. To be able to use methods of summarizing data with respect to central tendency, dispersion, and association.
7. To be able to make appropriate use of standard inferential procedures--how to make valid generalizations from sample data to some large group (population).
8. To be able to use bivariate analysis procedures to understand the relationship betwen two variables
9. To have an understanding of the concept of mutivariate statistical analysis and be able to use statistical control procedures
10. To be able to use computer software, SPSS in particular, to do data analysis
Academic Honesty: A violation of UMD's Academic Honesty Policy (behavior which is also referred to as Scholastic Misconduct) such as cheating, plagiarizing or any other "act which violates the rights of another student in academic work or that involves misrepresentation of your own work will result in penalties up to and including an F for the course.

My Expectations: I expect you to arrive on-time, to treat your fellow class members and me with respect, to have done the reading that is assigned for the day, to bring your questions and ideas about the material we are covering, to make me aware of any problems you are having with course materials. In return, I pledge to be prepared and organized, to communicate clearly my expectations of you, to evaluate your work promptly, to listen to your concerns, to respect your point of view, and to treat you as a person of value. PLEASE USE THE CLASSROOM COMPUTERS ONLY FOR THE WORK OF OUR CLASS, AND NOT FOR EMAIL, INSTANT MESSAGING, COMPUTER GAMES, AND THE LIKE. Try to remember to turn off your cell phones before coming to class, unless you are expecting an emergency communication of some sort (let me know). Our class meets very early--I know--but do try to be on time and if you are unavoidably late, come quietly in the back door of the classrrom.

In order to do well in this course, I suggest the following (borrowed from Rob Weidner):

1. READ THE MATERIAL in the text BEFORE it is discussed in class.
2. ASK QUESTIONS IN CLASS ABOUT ANYTHING YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, WHETHER FROM THE READING, THE EXERCISES, OR THE LECTURE. Typically if you don't understand something, the same will be true of other class members, so you'lre also doing them a favor by raising your questions.
3. DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND DO IT ON TIME. The only way to get full credit for the homework is to turn it in on time (or early). You don't have to get everything right; you just have to give it a try and bring your questions to class.
4. COME SEE ME for help if you have made an honest attempt to understand on your own and are still having problems. I will meet with your doing office hours (see above) or if that doesn't work for you, we can make an appointment at another time.
5. AFTER YOU GET HELP WITH SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND, TRY ANOTHER PROBLEM OUT OF THE HEALEY TEXT. Notice that there are answers in back of the book for all the odd-n umbered problems, so you can see if you are right.

Grading: Grades will be based on three exams and on group and individual assignments, as follows:

Exams: Exams will be a combination of multiple choice and essay questions, along with problems to solve, and each exam will cover about 1/3 of the course. The research paper will take the place of a final exam.

Grading standards: A, 93-100; A-, 90-92; B+, 87-89; B, 83-87; B-, 80-82; C+, 77-79; C, 73-77; C-, 70-72; D+, 67-69; D, 63-67; D-, 60-62; F, below 60.

Incompletes: To receive an incomplete at the end of the semester, you must have completed at least 2/3 of the coursework and have given me good reason why you cannot complete the course in a timely way.

Extra Credit: Option 1: A maximum of 15 points extra credit will be available, with up to 5 points for each short paper submitted via e-mail based on sociologically relevant campus presentations (check with me if you're not sure). This will include Soc/Crim Club meetings where a speaker makes a presentation. 1).

Research Paper: The culmination of this class is a research paper that utilizes techniques of quantitative analysis, including multivariate analysis, to explore a research question that is sociologicallly or criminologically mearningful. In most cases, this will mean a secondary analysis of data originally generated by someone else. We will be learning in this course how to access the many survey data sets maintained by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). If you are proposing to carry out original research (not a secondary analysis, in other words) you will have to choose a topic and get to work early in the semester in order to have time to go through the Human Subjects process, as well as the survey itself and its analysis.

Presentation: The last 2-3 weeks of the semester will be devoted to the presentation of your research papers to the class as a whole. Each member of class will be asked to provide written feedback to each presenter (guidelines for this feedback will be provided later in the course), and you will receive this feedback along with my evaluation and grade.

Special Arrangements/Facilities. If you have a physical or cultural condition, either permanent or temporary, which you believe makes it difficult for you to participate in and/or complete the requirements of this course in the time and manner prescribed, please let me know by the end of the first week of instruction. Adaptation of methods, materials, or testing may be made as required. It is your responsibility to contact the Disability Center for advice regarding adaptations.