Quantitative
Analysis
SOC
410
Spring 2003 Prof. Stephen Adair
www.sociology.ccsu.edu/adair/quantitativeanalysis adairs@ccsu.edu
Office: Sanford 304 832-2979 or 2-2979
Hours: 11-12 Tues. and Thurs.; 9-12 on Wed.
Course
Themes and Objectives
You have likely been asked, “What are you going to do with a sociology degree?” I expect many of you have not always had a ready answer. Sociology is an academic discipline, and getting a sociology degree may make you more knowledgeable, articulate, insightful, literary, and smarter – all pretty good things – but it is not always clear how what you learn prepares you for particular types of careers. This course is an exception. It develops particular skills that are used in many different occupations.
In this course, you will learn how to do data analysis using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). SPSS is easily the most commonly used statistical software package used by those who work with data on people – not only sociologists and psychologist, but also pollsters, market researchers, program evaluators, public service workers, workers in state agencies, etc.
Many Sociology students dislike math and dread statistics. I suppose some students even become Sociology majors in part because they see it is a way to avoid math. Although we will deal with numbers, this is not a math course. You will not be learning formulas and doing pen-and-paper figuring. Instead, this course is about how to use computers and statistical analysis to produce and evaluate sociological evidence. The objective is to build your critical-thinking skills by learning techniques to analyze data and to explore the logic of quantitative decision-making in the social sciences. I sincerely expect that many of you will find this course fun.
I hope and intend that at the end of this course you will have
learned the most common techniques used in quantitative analysis.
a strong working knowedge of SPSS.
a greater understanding of how to use and manage quantitative data, as well as a greater understanding of the uses and limits of quantitative data.
a greater sense of how the scientific method is used in the social sciences.
a greater appreciation of the practical difficulties in doing good social science.
Required
Texts
Adventures in Social Research: Data Analysis Using SPSS for Windows, by Earl Babbie, Fred Halley, Jeanne Zaino, Pine Forge Press 2000.
Additional photocopied readings may also be required.
Course
Requirements
Students are expected to attend class, participate in classroom discussions, keep up with the assigned readings and complete all of the assignments on time.
Your final grade will be determined as follows:
Exam 20%
Attendance and participation 15%
Research Project 30%
Assignments 30%
Presentation on Project 10%
There will be one exam about 2/3 of the way through the semester. Details on the exam, and reviews of the relevant material will be provided in class.
There will be 8 homework assignments based on handouts provided in class. All homework will be graded, and should be handed in on time. Homework assignments handed-in late will lose a full grade (a B becomes a C), and any assignment that is more than two weeks late will lose two full grades (a B becomes a D). For the homework portion of your grade, I will drop your lowest score. No homework will be accepted after the class period on May 7th.
You will also complete a research paper. Details on the research paper will be provided in class. Many of the homework assignments will build toward the information necessary for your research project. You will present the findings of your research project in a brief 5 to 10 minute presentation at the end of the semester.
I have made attendance and participation 15% of your grade not only because you need to be in class to learn the material, but also because I would like you to take some responsibility for teaching others. This grade is based not only on your attendance and verbal participation in class, but also on completing your work on time, staying up to date with the readings, and my overall evaluation of your effort to create a learning context for yourself and others in the classroom. If requested, I will tell you the grade you received for attendance and participation at the end of the semester.
Do not fall behind. The degree of complexity of the work builds throughout the course, so you need to get the early stuff to stay on top of things that come later. I will provide lots of opportunities for you to ask questions. Take advantage of it.
Students who need course adaptations or accommodations because of a documented disability, or who have emergency medical needs, or who need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated should see me as soon as possible.
Course Schedule
This is a tentative schedule. If there are to be any revisions I will let you know in class. The dates on the left refer to the time when we will begin new chapters and topics. The readings ought to be completed by the time we begin new topics.
Date
Topic
Readings and Due Dates
1/22 Introduction to the course
1/27 On quantitative analysis Chapter 1 and 2
The research project
1/29 Measurement Chapter 3
Variables and Values
2/3-2/5 Using SPSS Chapters 4 and 5
Understanding Data
2/10 Levels of measurement Chapter 6
Univariate analysis
2/12 Recodes, computes, compsite measures Chapters 7 and 9 and 10
2/19 Hypotheses
2/24 Cross-tabulation tables Chapter 8
2/26 Theory, research and causality Chapter 11, 12 and 13
3/3-3/10 Statistical significance Chapter 15
3/12-3/19 Measures of association Chapter 14
3/31-4/2 Multivariate analysis Chapter 17
Three-variable tables
4/7-4/9 Multiple regression Chapter 18-19
4/14 Exam
4/16- Additional questions and problems Readings: tba
4/30 with multivariate analysis
5/5-5/7 Presentations