Consult the Course Syllabus for a general overview of the course.   We will be using the SAKAI course management system.  All grades and most, if not all, assignments and quizzes will be in SAKAI.  To access SAKAI go to https://sakai.rutgers.edu and log on weith your Rutgers user name and password.

Retention and Recruitment Study Results Here

Due December 16 -  optional revision of the final paper, available only to students who turn the paper in on time on December 9.

December 11 -  Online Quiz in Sakai on material covered December 4 and 6.  Can be taken before class time or during class in BSB108.

Due December 9 -  FINAL PAPER including Title, Abstract, Introduction and Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion and References.  -  late papers will lose 5% a day.  No papers will be accepted after December 16.

Due December 2:  a draft of the Methods and Results sections of your final paper.  The Methods for the focus group projects should describe the nature of the groups, how many students were recruited, and the questions asked.  The Methods for the survey research projects should list the items used from the General Social Survey, the exact phrasing of the questions, and the coding of the answers.  The Results section for the focus group projects should include the Findings Section revised from the version submitted on November 18.  Each student should write her own paper.  The Results section for the survey research projects should incude a mutiple bivariate table, a multivariate crosstabulation table, and a time series graph.  It may include a path diagram or additional tables, but only if they add something.  There should be at least one paragraph summarizing each table.  These should be taken from the assignments previously submitted but corrected.

November 29, 1:30 - instead of a regular class, we will have a SAKAI quiz on writing.  See the English Exercises links for some practice in English grammar.

Due November 25.  NOTE:  It is essential that we keep on schedule for the rest of the semester.  Ten percent will be deducted for each day that the November 25 or December 2 assignments are late.  Being sick is not an excuse unless you are in a coma.  Title, Abstract and  Introduction section for term paper due.  The introduction  should be 500 words and should include citations to at least three references.  You should summarize what the cited authors found, then discuss what your research will contribute.  Students doing focus groups should use the article in RecruitmentStudy.pdf (in SAKAI) as their key reference and may cite other references from that study.  For an example, see the  Body Objectification term paper.  This should be written carefully in formal academic style.  Use the third person, not the first person.  Use correct grammar.   Submit it in doc format to SAKAI.

Output Path Diagram -  to be done in class on Nov 15 and submitted to SAKAI. by November 18.  For a sample, see the Path Diagram.doc file in SAKAI.

Input Path Diagram - due in class on November 13 if not done in class on Nov 8.  See instructions and examples here.

Focus Group Projects	Survey Analysis Projects
Due November 18:  Findings section for the Focus Group Report (see description in the reading on The Moderator Report)	Due November 11. Literature Review.  Obtain abstracts for THREE articles from scholarly journals relevant to your topic.  Include a full APA citation for each article.  Google Scholar is recommended as a source.
Due November 11:  Gist Transcription of your Focus Group.  Get the audio file from SAKAI (see yellow box above).  Just summarize the description without necessarily quoting every remark.  Do not use any names.	Multivariate CrossTabulation Due November 4.  Sample Here.  Use the column variable from your Research Proposal as the row variable here.  Use two of your independent variables for the IV and Control Variable.

Due Nov 12  Report on Interviews with Former Students -  You will receive the names and telephone numbers of 10 former Rutgers students in class on October 30.  You are to call at least three of these students and complete the short interview with them.   Write notes of their answers on the questionnaire.  Complete the Survey Interviewing Report Form.   Write a brief report summarizing the findings of your interviews.  Paste it in the Discussion List on SAKAI - no respondent names!.  Print out your report and bring it with the questionnaires and the survey interview form to class on November 8 (or before).  You will get extra credit for completing more than three.  All interviews must be verifiable.

SAKAI quiz on Interviewing and Moderating Focus Groups.  May be taken three times and the highest score will count.  Opened October 24 and will remain open through Wednesday, October 31.  No excuses for computer problems unless it is taken for the first time by Tuesday, October 30.  Reading included on the test:  In SAKAI:  Moderating Focus Groups.  On the open WEB: Interviewing Guidelines.   Survey Interviewing.  Stages of Group Development.

SAKAI quiz on McLuhan and Gore.    Opened October 23 and will remain open through Monday, October 29.  No excuses for computer problems unless it is taken for the first time by Sunday October 28.

Due October 21 -  Research Proposal.

Midterm Exam October 18.

Due October 14.   Multiple Bivariate Crosstabulation with the 1972 to 2006 data set.

Due October 11 -  SAKAI quiz to be taken in class.

Due October 7.  Choose a dependent variable from the GSS 1972 to 2006 data set.  This should be a variable that is measured in at least five or six of the survey years.  Copy the data into an Excel file and do a linear regression so as to compute a projected value for the year 2020.  Graph the trends using the scatterplot graphing function.  Copy the graph into a Word file with a title, the graph, and a descriptive paragraph.  Submit both the Excel and World Files.  Sample files are in SAKAI.  One is Employment Status of Partners 1972 to 2006.doc; the other is PartnerWorks.xls.  This assignment was illustrated in class on September 27 and information on the files is in the class notes.  This is something we learned to do in Methods.  Some notes on how to do it are here.

Due September 30 -  A powerpoint presentation of your findings from the chat room, discussion list, creativity exercise, and from your review of the Rutgers Survey and the study by Elliott and Healty.  You should organize a coherent argument making three main points.  Each of the main points can have up to three sub-points.  Use the presentation template available in SAKAI as a guideline.  Click on "Sociology of Communications" then "Resources" then "TemplateForRutgersStudy.ppt".  Submit your ppt file to SAKAI by 5 a.m. Monday October 1.

Due September 19 -  100 word essay on "My Most Creative Idea for Improving Rutgers Camden"  -  Post to the Discussion List on SAKAI.  You can write it in a word processor, then open the Discussion list in SAKAI, click on "My Most Creative Idea" then click on newtopic and past it into the "Message body" box.  Also add a descriptive title in the "subject" box.  The ideas we put on the whiteboard in class are available in the class notes.

Due Sept 16.  Log onto the Discussion List in SAKAI and give a one or two sentence answer to EACH of the questions posed by other students.

Due Sept 12 or 13:  Post your question in the Discussion List on SAKAI as discussed in class.

Due September 9:  Report on September 6 Online Chat.  Details in SAKAI.  To be submitted to SAKAI.

Week One - .  - September 4 & 6  -  On September 4 we will have an overview of the class and discuss a class research project - a marketing study of the Rutgers Camden student body. We will go to BSB 118 to try out the SAKAI software.
On Thursday, Sept 6 we will not meet in our classroom.  Class will be an online chat about Rutgers Camden using SAKAI.  You may come to BSB108 or 117 to use one of the computers there, or you may do this from anywhere on the Internet.  You should log on at our regular class hour, 1:30, and go to the "chat room" on our SAKAI page.  Each of you will have questions to address to the group.   The first assignment, due September 9, will be a summary of some key points learned in the discussion.  Details are in SAKAI

Week Two:  - September 11 & 13  We will discuss the papers and powerpoints prepared from the September 6 discussion and discuss plans for focus group research.  We will also discuss the Effective Writing paper which will be handed out in class and is available in SAKAI.

Week Three:   - September 18 & 20 -   We will discuss brainstorming and synectics and try to use these techniques to generate some creative ideas for Rutgers Camden.  We will submit one creative idea to the discussion list on SAKAI, then share our ideas on Thursday.  A powerpoint template for your next assignment is in SAKAI.  Some videos on public speaking are linked from the class notes.  We will discuss organizing a research report and review a sample (see the class notes) and review the materials available for our powerpoints.

Week Four   September 25 & 27 -  Public speaking and powerpoint preparation.  Introduction to time series analysis with the general social survey 1972-2006 file.

Week Five  October 2 & 4  -  Presentations of Rutgers Recruitment and Retention Powerpoints on Tuesday.  We will finish these on Thursday and talk about the next assignments.

Week Six   October 9 & 11  Presentation of Time Series reports on Tuesday.  We will meet in BSB 108 on Thursday, October 11.

Week Seven   October 16 & 18  Review for Midterm, focusing on Effective Writing (see the reading distributed in class or in SAKAI) on Tuesday.  Midterm Exam Thursday October 18.  We will meet in BSB 108 on Thursday, October 18, for the midterm.

Week Eight  - Presentations by James and Scott and perhaps Antoine.  October 23   The Media is the Message"  Theories of Marshall McLuhan.  Other readings:  Understanding McLuhan and  Notes on McLuhan.   Chapter Nine from Al Gore, The Assault on Reason.  In Sakai, file GoreWellConnectedCitizenry.
October 25:  Interviewing and Moderating.  Readings:  In SAKAI:  Moderating Focus Groups.  On the open WEB: Interviewing Guidelines.   Survey Interviewing.  Stages of Group Development.

Week Nine October 30 & November 1  - Meet in the Basement Conference Room of the Sociology Building. We will do focus group training.  Those not leading groups will serve as participants or observers.

Week Ten  - November 6 & 8  Meet in the Basement Conference Room of the Sociology Building. 
  A number of readings are assigned for this week and next week.  They are all in Sakai: 

1. ScanThisBook.doc  This and the next reading give some information on recent trends in electronic scanning and retrieval of published literature, including books, although we will focus on academic journal articles - see the Library Resources Guide. 
   
2. UniversalLibrary.doc. 
   
3. NewspaperReadersLindaAnderson.doc  This one, by a student from last semester, is a model for your final reports (although it is not perfect).  I have added some comments in red. 
   
4. The final reports from the students doing focus groups will be different, follow the model described in Focus Group Report Writing.pdf. 
   
5. ExperimentalMacroSociology.pdf  -  you can also view ExperimentalMacroSociology.ppt which summarizes the article in powerpoint format.  I want you to look at the pdf as an example of the format of a research report.  This uses a different reference report than the one we will use.
   

Week Eleven  - November 13  -  Meet in 124 for a demonstration of how to fit path models with regression coefficients.
                       November 15 - Meet in BSB 108  to do the Multiple Regression Path Diagram assignment.  This will be completed in class and the results put up on the board.  If you miss class, please do this on your own and submit it to the assignment box on SAKAI.

Week Twelve   - November 20  Meet in the Basement Conference Room of the Sociology Building  -  be prepared to discuss the ideas for the introduction section to your term paper (due November 25).
(November 22 is Thanksgiving)

Week Thirteen  - November 27 - class in 124 Armitage, focus on writing issues from your papers. 
        On November 29 I must be away for a professional meeting.  We will have a SAKAI quiz on writing issues and on the readings from Week Ten to be taken during class time.  See the English Exercises links for some practice in English grammar. 

Week Fourteen  December 4 & 6 - Class in 124 Armitage - The Global Brain Video, The Global Brain  by Peter Russell.  Reading Assignment: Transcript of Towards a Global Brain

Week Fifteen   - December 11  - Class in BSB 108 -  Quiz covering the  The Global Brain, ScanThisBook.doc, and UniversalLibrary.doc,(in SAKAI) Theories of Marshall McLuhan. and Chapter Nine from Al Gore, The Assault on Reason.(in SAKAI), plus time to complete any remaining work on term papers.

Final Gathering:  Monday, December 17, 2 p.m.  This will be a presentation to the ad hoc working group on recruitment and retention.  I will choreograph it.  Everyone is required to attend and be available to answer questions.   Once the presentation is over, I may have individual questions for students concerning their survey research projects.  The members of the working group will have the opportunity to read your reports and powerpoints before this session.