SOC 310 RESEARCH METHODS
Professor: John R. Mitrano, Ph.D.
Class Meetings: TTH 8:00-9:15 a.m.
Office Hours: TTH 9:30-11:30 a.m. and W 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Office Phone: (860) 832-3145
Office Location: Sanford Hall 304
E-Mail Address: mitranoj@ccsu.edu
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
1) Adler & Clark "How It's Done: An Invitation to Social Research." Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1999.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
When you enter this class the first week, I imagine you do so primarily because this is a required course for sociology majors. My goal is to transform your outlook on Research Methods. I want you to come to view it not as a “requirement”, but rather as one of the more useful courses you will complete at CCSU. By the end of the session, I want you to have:
1) Discussed the essential relationship between theory and research.
2) Understood the nature, principles, and methods of conducting social research.
3) Experienced social research firsthand.
4) Developed the ability to critically evaluate other social research.
5) Acquired skills to explore and understand the world around you.
6) Grappled with some of the ethical implications of studying human beings.
7) Acquired a greater knowledge and understanding of the discipline of sociology.
8) Come to a greater understanding of who you are as a person.
9) Successfully fulfilled a degree requirement.
In attempting to accomplish such feats, you will read the best-selling classic text in the field of research methods and engage in many different exercises that, taken together, will comprise a final research project.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & METHODS OF EVALUATION:
In this course, you will have several assignments that will be used to evaluate your performance and determine an overall final grade. Each will be explained in greater detail as the semester progresses; however, they will include the following:
1) Midterm Exam [30% of your final grade]
For the midterm, you will be responsible for all material covered in class and in your readings up until the day of the exam. The exam will consist of a series of multiple choice questions and 2-3 essay questions chosen by the student from a list of several possibilities.
2) Research Project [60% of your final grade]
The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to experience 1) the actual formulation of a research problem; 2) the design and implementation of several methods to gather data on the problem; 3) the analysis and interpretation of the data once it has been collected; and 4) the reporting of one’s research findings. There will be several small components to the overall research project that will be prepared and graded individually. Each of these will have a percentage value and, taken together as a whole, will account for 60% of your grade. They include 1) a literature review (15%); 2) the creation, administration, collection, and analysis of a survey (15%); 3) the creation, administration, and analysis of three (3) in-depth interviews (15%); and 4) participant observation.
3) Class Participation [10% of your final grade]
Your attendance and participation in class will also be taken into account for your final grade in the course. I encourage students to ask questions, contribute ideas, and participate in the learning experience. Each of you has unique insights that we all can learn from. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand and speak up!
A NOTE ON ATTENDANCE
Attendance on a regular basis and participation in class discussions is expected. In terms of attendance, it is to your benefit to show up to class regularly and resist any urge you may have to “blow off” a class or two. Often, I will be introducing material that is not covered in any of your assigned readings, yet such material will be instrumental in your ability to successfully fulfill the other course requirements. Please be aware that the readings and lectures for this course are complementary. Thus, it is imperative that you keep up to date on assigned readings.
With that said, however, I do not have a formal policy on attendance in my classes. I assume that because students are paying several hundred dollars per course, they want to attend and get their money’s worth. I also reason that at this stage in life, we are all adults and know best how to manage our time. Some of you work several jobs to pay for college and there are demands on your time on that front. Others have familial obligations and need to put in time there. Still others commute from great distances and getting to New Britain periodically becomes problematic. Finally, there are those students who take course overloads and feel that their time is best spent preparing for other courses.
Some students find this freedom rather liberating; others are discouraged by such an “open” policy. Like most things in life, there are those who abuse the system. But guess what? In my time here at CCSU, I have noticed a rather interesting trend when I calculate final grades. Those who miss class frequently tend to be the students who earn Cs, Ds, and Fs. Those who rarely miss class tend to be the students who earned As and Bs. I offer this little observation as “food for thought” to each of you.
A NOTE ON CLASS PARTICIPATION
In terms of participation, I expect and encourage each of you to ask questions in class and offer relevant comments/criticisms if a topic is of particular interest to you. Each of you has unique insights that may aid your fellow classmates in coming to a greater understanding of a particular theory. So, please, do not hesitate to speak up in class. I have found that it is easier for students to participate in class discussions and that students get more out of the lectures when they have read the assigned reading material before class begins. This brings us to the next requirement: class readings and writing assignments.
A NOTE ON THE AMOUNT OF READING AND WRITING
Warning: This class will require intensive reading and writing!! As for the amount of reading, it will average about 100-200 pages a week. Some weeks will be more; others less. Nonetheless, you should set aside approximately 10-12 hours of reading a week. Naturally, class attendance will take up some of your time, as will the several assignments you are required to complete. As you will note in looking over the requirements, I emphasize writing in all of the assignments to be graded. I am a firm believer that students need to sharpen their writing skills while in college. Life after college is not a series of multiple choice exams or true-false quizzes. It makes no difference what career path you follow after undergrad, be it law school, business school, grad school, or straight into the job market. Professional schools and employers alike are looking for people who can communicate effectively, and writing is among the most important forms of communication. Thus, the heavy emphasis.
A NOTE ON WRITING AND PLAGIARISM
I expect that the papers/reviews/projects you turn in to me reflect college level writing skills. What does this mean? 1) There will be no spelling errors. For those of you with access to computers with fancy word processing programs and spell checker programs, there is absolutely no excuse to misspell a word. For those of you who still rely on typewriters, you will have to resort to old-fashioned proofreading. Even those with computers should proofread your papers before turning them in or have a friend proofread them for you. 2) There will be few grammatical errors. Again, I know of at least two grammar checker programs out there for computers. If you don’t have access to a computer with such programs, I suggest The Little, Brown Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style as grammar references. They are available at bookstores and in the library. 3) The papers/reviews/projects will be well-organized and cohesive. If you know your writing is not as good as it should be, please use one of the academic resource centers on campus. That is why they are there.
As for plagiarism or other forms of cheating, they will simply not be tolerated. Familiarize yourself with the policy here at C.C.S.U. I would rather you hand in a paper/review/project with too many footnotes and references than one in which you do not cite your sources. Any person guilty of plagiarism will immediately receive an F for the paper/review/project and the matter will be brought to the attention of the Dean of Student Academic Affairs for further action. So please, don’t even think it... I have caught several students before. It was not a pleasant experience for me, and you can be sure it was not pleasant for the students.
A NOTE ON DEADLINES AND EXCUSES
As for deadlines to turn in class assignments, I am rather inflexible and take a “hard line” stance regarding when assignments will be turned in to me. On the syllabus, you will note days marked when assignments are due. On those days, the assignments will be collected at the beginning of class. If a student turns in an assignment at the end of the day after I have left, it will be considered a day late. If a student turns in an assignment the next day, it will be considered a day late.
What are the penalties for turning in late assignments? For each day an assignment is late, a half a letter grade will be deducted. So, if you turn in a paper that was an “A” but it was a day late, you would receive an “A-”. If that same “A” paper was two days late, it would become a “B+”. Keep in mind that when I say a “day”, I mean a 24 hour period. A paper that is due on Thursday but turned in to me on Monday will be considered four days late, not one day late. Hence, a paper that was worth an “A” if turned in on time that Monday would be reduced to a “B-” if turned in on Monday. There will be no exceptions and this policy is non-negotiable!
Also, do not come to me with any verbal excuses; I do not want to hear them. In my years of teaching, I have noticed a propensity for grandmothers to die tragically right before papers are due. I have noticed a propensity for cars to break down the day of exams. I have noticed a propensity for students to become violently ill with a 24 hour “bug” the day projects are to be turned in. I have noticed a propensity for computer hard drives to “crash” just as students were finishing typing the references section of their 10 page papers. Please do not insult me... and show some self-respect and dignity! If you cannot get the papers in on time, quietly accept the reduction in grade and move on. I will not dwell on it, nor should you.
A NOTE TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES/ MEDICAL CONDITIONS
If you need course adaptations or accomodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please see me during my office hours as soon as possible.
PROFESSOR MITRANO, I LIKE SOCIOLOGY BUT....WHAT CAN I DO WITH A DEGREE IN IT?
Invariably, each semester I have students come up to me and say, “Professor Mitrano, I really like my sociology courses and I want to major in it. But, what can a person do with a sociology degree?” My answer, quite simply, is this: Sociology is a valuable liberal arts major. Students of sociology develop a real interest in and understanding of people in all walks of life. These insights and human relations skills give sociology students advantages that most other college students do not have. Sociology also teaches you to think analytically and critically, and thinking is a skill that can be utilized in most any profession. Thus, sociology is a great major for most any future profession. It provides an especially useful background, however, for those students planning to enter law, business, medicine, politics, public administration, social work, criminal justice, demography, and market research careers. If you want more information on careers for sociology majors, please see me or any of the other sociology faculty individually. We have pamphlets and booklets on careers for your perusal.
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE (To be handed out in class)