Class Schedule:  Methods and Techniques of Social Research  -  Spring 2007

Links: Class Notes -  statistics formulas -  Course Syllabus  -  WEBCT   - Microcase 2005 Update - Video Tutorials - DATA SOURCES
  Instructor's email:  goertzel@camden.rutgers.edu 
Teaching Assistant:  Robyn DuFrain  byn@camden.rutgers.edu

 The software that accompanies our text can also be downloaded online from: http://www.microcase.com/files/CSRM3_Online.exe

January 17 -   First day of class.  Discussion of the Course Syllabus and the use of the Microcase software.   Signing up for WEBCT and other departmental systems.  This is done by opening the Enrolling assignment and followA ing the instructions.  The Enrolling assignment is due in WEBCT by 5 p.m. on January 26., but will be accepted for reduced credit after that time.  This does NOT enroll you with theA registrar's office, just with WEBCT and other systems that we use.  You should make sure you are also registered for the course (which does not usually close).  Introduction to the Microcase Software   Discussion of the IntroMicrocase Quiz Assignment.
   A reminder from Jane Siegel, our new department chair:    please remind the students that if they are soc or CJ majors, they will be assigned an advisor the week of 1/29. If they wish to request a specific professor as an advisor, they must let Sherry know that by 1/26 and we will try to accommodate their request.  We will be using the new "Degree Navigator" system, see the Department Home Page for information and links.  Email from Jon'a Meyer. 
Enrolling  - Due in WEBCT by 5 p.m.  January 26
 Open the assignment file (click on the link at the left) and follow the instructions.  This assignment must be submitted to the Assignment Dropbox on WEBCT.  You may not submit it by email file attachment or on paper.  This is because part of the assignment is to learn to use WEBCT.
January 19 -   Exploring Microcase.
Quiz One "Microcase Intro" (in WEBCT) closes 5 p.m. January 27.
 This quiz is drawn from the Introductory Exercise in the Microcase Workbook.  You should do the exercise first on paper, then open the Quiz and answer the 20 questions..  The Quiz is in WEBCT and  you'll get your grade right away.  The quiz may be taken as many times as you like up until 5 p.m. January 27 and your highest score will count.  If you don't take it before it closes you will get a zero.  There will be no exceptions for computer problems unless you take it the first time by 5 p.m. January 24.
January 22 -  Discussion of Chapter 6 on Research design.  Percents, chi square and  expected frequencies. 
January 24 - Expected Frequencies and Chi Square.  .Patel's Chi Square Lesson. 
Quiz Two:  Percents. Chi Square and Expected Frequencies.  Opens January 19 and closes 5 p.m.Feb 2.  Open the quiz from the hyperlink and do the items on paper.  You also need WEB access to use the chisquare calculator.  Then enter the answers into WEBCT.
January 26 -  The research process with Aggregate Data.  Bring your workbooks
  January 26:  12:15 - 1:00.  Lab Session:  anyone needing help with the Enrolling Assignment or the First or Second Quiz should come to BSB 117 for help.
Quiz Three:  Closes 5 p.m. Feb 9.  Opens January 26.  Workbook Exercise 2a plus Textbook Chapters 1 and 6. 
January 29 -  Textbook Chapter One. 
Jan 31 -  Textbook, Chapter Two and Chapter Three on Levels of Measurement.
February 2 -  Descriptive Statistics for continuous distributions.  There will be an in-class exercise.  Anyone missing class should download the exercise, complete it on their own, and bring it to class on Monday, February 5.     
escriptive Statistics Assignment  to be completed in class on February 2.  If you miss class, you may print it out, complete it on your own, and bring it to class on February 5.  The instructions are in the reading on descriptive statistics distributed in class, also available online (ignore Figure 1 in the online version).
February 5 -  Chapter Three on Reliability and Validity
February 7 -  Scale construction. 
February 9-   Exercise 2b -  Analysis of Survey data.  Bring your workbooks.
Quiz Four:  Closes February 16. Covers Exercise 2b in the workbook.  Also some percentage and expected frequency questions.  Opens February 9.
February 12 - Chapter Four on Sampling
February 14- Exercise Three:  Evaluating Indicators
February 16 - Exercise Four:  Selecting Cases

Quiz Five Closes February 23.  Covers material from Exercises 3 and 4 in the Workbook and some sampling computations.
February 19 -  Causation and Causal Models:  Chapter Five in the Text through page 97.
February 21 -  Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Testing of Causal Hypotheses  Chapter 10
February 23 -  Junk Science Video
February 23 12:15 - 1:00.  Optional Lab Session:  anyone needing help should come to BSB 117.
February 26 -  Review of Research Design and the Logic of Research.  We will also begin the statistics review with Robyn DuFrain.  She has prepared some Statistics Practice items and some Standard Deviation Practice Items.   She will be going over the answers to these items in later classes and in the March 2 review session after class.
February 28 -  Review of Measurement, Sampling, Inferential Statistics
Quiz Six:  Comprehensive Review for the Midterm Exam.  Closes March 2 - after that you can use the answers for review.
March 2 -  General Review.  We will view a  video on causal analysis.    The Answers to Robyn's Exercises are now posted here. 
  Review session with Robyn DuFrain after class.
March 5 -  Midterm Examination.  Bring a calculator and a pencil with an eraser  Covers chapters 1, 2, 3, 4,5 and 6, except for the material after page 97 in Chapter Five,j plus a little bit of Chapter 10 on Experimental Design.
March 7 -  Statistics review:  required for all students who scored less than 75% on the statistics items on the midterm.  Other students are welcome but will receive attendance credit whether they come or not.
March 9 -  Ethics in Research.  This special class will go over a required WEBCT class on the Ethics of Research with Human Subjects, offered by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.  If you are unable to attend today, you should study this material yourself online.  Everyone needs to pass the ORSP certification course.   Critical article from NY Times on ethics panels.               
Ethics of Research with Human Subjects.  Certification Letter due by April 20.  Click here for Instructions on how to sign up for this course.   Once you pass the course with a grade of at least 80 you can obtain a certification letter from the ORSP home page. The certification WEB site is updated only once a week, on Fridays.  Print the certification letter and hand it to me at any class I will give you 100% credit for this assignment.  Do not worry about getting your score above 80.

March 12 - 16  Spring Break
March 19 -   Causal Modeling - Interpreting Regression Models - pages 97-106 in the textbook.
March 21 -  Exercises 5a and 5b
March 23 - Preparation of Multiple Bivariate Tables
    Lab Session with Robyn DuFrain  -  Room 108 has been reserved in the BSB (not 117) starting at 12:20.
Quiz Seven - Causal  Analysis.  Closes March 23 - Based on Exercises 5a and 5b in the Workbook.
March 26 -  Reading on The Crime Drop in America.  Quiz Eight is on this article.
March 28 -  Trend analysis.  Use of regression to make predictions.   We will go over the Excel Trends assignment.
    March 28 12:15 to 1 -  help session with Robyn Dufrain in BSB117
Multiple Bivariate Crosstabulation Table -  Due March 28.  Follow the online instructions and submit the results to the Assignment Dropbox.
March 30 -  More on the crime drop including Wallman and Blumstein, "After the Crime Drop," and Zimring, "The Crime Decline in America."  Both are available in the readings folder on WEBCT.
  March 30  12:15 to 1  -  help session with Robyn DuFrain in BSB117.
Quiz Eight -  The Crime Drop  - closes March 30 -  based on an article available here.
April 2 -  Constructing and interpreting regression models. 
April 4 - Content Analysis and Unobtrustive Techniques.  Reading, Chapter 11 in the textbook plus "The Gulf War as a Mental Disorder?"
Excel Trends Assignment -  Due April 6.  Follow the online instructions and submit the results to the Assignment Dropbox in Excel format.
April 6 -  Good Friday.  There will be no lecture and attendance will not be taken.  Robyn DuFrain will be available in BSB117 at class time, 11:15, for individual help.
Quiz Nine due April 9 - Includes Wallman and Blumstein, "After the Crime Drop," and Zimring, "The Crime Decline in America."  Both are available in the readings folder on WEBCT.  Also some regression questions that require doing calculations.
April 9-  Field Research
            April 9  12:30   Hunger and Homelessness in Camden Panel Discussion   Campus Center:  Multipurpose Room.
            April 10:  Human Subjects Certification Film.  Campus Center West AB Conference Rooms.  To be certified you must register in advance by email to  kboyle@camden.rutgers.edu    and view Part One from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and Part Two from 12:30 to 2:30.  If you arrive more than ten minutes late from either showing you will not be certified.
April 11-  Field research.  Taking notes.  We will view "Turning an Event into Field Notes:  A Ghanian Example" by Cati Coe.  Available on the department's Online Research Tutorials, Guidelines and Videos site.  Cati Coe's book:  Dilemmas of Culture in African Schools.
Field Notes Exercise.  To be completed in class on April 11.  If you miss class you may print a copy of the exercise and complete it on your own and bring it to the next class.  It requires watching an online video.
Paragraph Writing Assignment -  Due April 11 -  Open the Assignment from the WEB site in Word Format.  Write a one paragraph description of the second table in the assignment similar to the paragraph describing the first table.  Save your file in Word format and upload it to the assignment dropbox.
April 13 -  Preparing Research Reports.  Reading:  Michael Corbett, "Writing the Research Report," an Appendix to our textbook.  Today, research reports are often presented in Powerpoint instead of as traditional documents.  In either case, the tables and graphs are central.  A extra-credit sample Research Report in Word is Linda Anderson's Happiness and the American Dream (in our WEBCT readings folder).   Robyn will present an example she has prepared.   A Powerpoint Template for Presentations is available.  You may adapt all or part of this for your own presentation.
Extra Credit Proposals - must be completed in class on April 13.
April 16 -  class cancelled due to weather.     
Quiz Ten will open April 10 and close April 16.
April 18 -  Extra Credit Presentation and Discussion of the LIbrary Assignment.
April 20 -  Statistics Overview and Discussion of Quiz Eleven.
April 23 -  Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics.
Tuesday April 24 - Extra Credit Assignment:  Prepare a Powerpoint or Microsoft Word presentation with findings from the General Social Survey.  Your presentation could include:  1.  a multiple bivariate crosstabulation   2.  a multivariate crosstabulation  3.  a trend graph  4. a path diagram  5.  a slide with bullet points summarizing the findings in each graph or table  6.  illustrations gathered from the WEB.- Projects will be discussed in class on April 13  -  Upload the ppt or Word file to the Assignment Dropbox.  NO LATE EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
April 25 -  Review from Final and possibly Extra Credit Reports
    - BSB 117 reserved for help session -
Library Research Assignments due April 25.  Open the file from the web site, complete it and submit it to the Assignment Dropbox.
Thursday April 26 - Undergraduate Research Poster Session - Psych, Soc and Criminal Justice Depts.  Extra credit for presenting your poster.  You must be officially registered with the department to do so.  Link to past poster sessions.  You may get two extra attendance points by attending the poster session, interviewing one of the presenters, and posting a one paragraph summary of your findings on our WEBCT discussion list.
April 27 -  Review for Final and possibly additional Extra Credit Reports
Quiz Eleven:  Statistics Review Quiz:  Due April 27
April 30 -  Last Class - Review for Final
Three Required Review Quizzes for the Final.  These will open April 16 and Close May 2.  After May 2, the answers will be available if you have tried the quiz at least once.  One of these was previously listed as optional, but will now be required.  If you took it before, your score still counts.
These are:  Multiple Choice Review for the  Final and Review Items on Reliability and Validity and Review Items on Measurement
Tuesday, May 8, 9 a.m.  Final Examination