Quantitative Methods of Sociological Research

Transcription

1 WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY Quantitative Methods of Sociological Research Spring Semester 2006 Meets Monday & Wednesday From 4:00-5:20 In Grise Hall Room 139 Instructor: Dr. Holli Drummond Office: Grise Phone: Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 11:30-12:30 & by appointment Website: Course Overview: This graduate class is designed to give each student advanced understanding in designing research in the field of Sociology. We will explore the foundations & purpose of research as well as the elements of research design and quantitative methods of sociological research. It is my hope that students will not leave this course with the idea that one method should be favored over another. Instead we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of several methodologies that provide a way of knowing social facts. Course Objectives: At the end of the term each student should excel at: Critiquing the quality of journal articles on the methodology chosen to answer the questions proposed. Identifying elements of research such as variables, hypotheses, sampling design, causal ordering, and many others. Applying knowledge learned by producing a research prospectus that contributes to our understanding of a particular element of social life. Presenting information to colleagues that demonstrates critical thinking and the ability to stimulate discussion of a particular topic. Text & Readings: Text: Schutt, R.K. (2004). Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research (4 th ed.). London: Pine Forge Press. Drummond 1

2 The book is currently available at the University Bookstore (DUC). Readings: Most readings can be found using the electronic databases at the Library (Specifically, JSTOR, EBSCO Host, & Proquest). If this is not the case, the reading will be located on the calendar page of my website. You should attempt to locate the assigned readings at least a week in advance to eliminate any failure in your ability to prepare for class. Abott, A. (1998). The causal devolution. Sociological methods and research, 27, Barro, R.J., & McCleary, R.M. (2003). Religion and economic growth across countries. Americn Sociological Review, 68, Bourgois, P. (2003). In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Daday, J. K., Broidy, L.M., Crandall, C., & Sklar, D. (2005). Individual, neighborhood and situational factors associated with violent victimization and offending. Criminal Justice Studies, 18, (2), Declan, B. T. (2001). Assessing culture via the internet: methods and techniques for psychological research. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 4, (1), Downey, L. (2005). The unintended significance of race: Environmental racial inequality in Detroit. Social Forces, 83, (3), Dugan, L., & Apel, R. (2005). The differential risk of retaliation by relational distance: A more general model of violent victimization. Criminology, 43, (3), Galvan, J.L. (2006). Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 rd Ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak. Guetzkow, J., & Lamont, M. (2004). What is originality in the humanities and the social sciences? American Sociological Review,69, Johnson, T.P., & Bowman, P.J. (2003). Cross-cultural sources of measurement error in substance use surveys. Substance Use & Misuse, 38, (1), Kaufman, J.G., & Widom, C.S. (1999). Childhood victimization, running away, & delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 36, Kleck, G., Sever, B., Li, S., & Gertz, M. (2005). The missing link in general deterrence research. Criminology, 43, (3), Drummond 2

3 Lafree, G. (1999). Declining violent crime rates in the 1990s: Predicting crime booms and busts. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, Lieberson, S., & Lynn, F. (2002). Barking up the wrong branch: Scientific alternatives to the current model of sociological science. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, Link, B., & Phelan, J. (2001). Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, Moller, S., Bradley, D., Huber, E., Nielsen, F., & Stephens, J. D. (2003). Determinates of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies. American Sociological Review, 68, Molm, L.D., Takahashi, N., & Peterson, G. (2003). In the eye of the beholder: Procedural justice in social exchange. American Sociological Review, 68, Musalia, J. (2003). Extra-conjugal determinates of spousal communication about family planning in Kenya. Sex Roles, 49 (11/12). Newby, P., & Krull, A. (2005). What s in a name? An examination of sociology of aging versus social gerontology course content. Educational Gerontology, 31, Okamoto, D.G. (2003). Toward a theory of panethnicity: Explaining Asian American collective action. American Sociological Review, 68, Pearce, L.D. (2002). Integrating survey and ethnographic methods for systematic anomalous case analysis. Sociological Methodology, 32, Piquero, A. R., Macintosh, R., & Hichman, M. (2002). The validity of a selfreported delinquency scale. Sociological Methods and Research, 30, Pruitt, M. V Online Boys: Male-for-male Internet Escorts. Sociological Focus 38(3): Ream, R.K. (2005). Toward understanding how social capital mediates the impact of mobility on Mexican American achievement. Social Forces, 84, (1), Reardon, S.F., & Firebaugh, G. (2002). Measures of multigroup segregation. Sociological Methodology, 32, Rojek, D. E., Coverdill, J.E., & Fors, S.W. (2003) The effect of victim impact panels on DUI rearrest rates: A five-year follow-up. Criminology, 41,(4), Drummond 3

4 Saint-Arnaud, S., & Bernard, P. (2003). Convergence or resilience? A hierarchical analysis of the welfare regimes in advanced countries. Current Sociology, 51, (5), Schaeffer, N.C., & Presser, S. (2003). The science of asking questions. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, Scott, E.K., London, A.S., & Hurst, A. (2005). Instability in patchworks of child care when moving from welfare to work. Journal of Marriage & Family, 67, (2), Simons, L.G., Simons, R.L., & Conger, R.D. (2004). Identifying the mechanisms whereby family religiosity influences the probability of adolescent antisocial behavior. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 35, (4), Simons, R.L., Johnson, C., & Conger, R.D. (1994). Harsh corporal punishment versus quality of parental involvement as an explanation of adult maladjustment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, Smith, D.C. (2005). Appalachia and rural student performance differentials on Kentucky s Educational assessment: fourth grade assessment. Research in Schools (12), Snow, D.A., Soule, S.A., & Cress, D.M. (2005). Identifying the precipitants of homeless protest across 17 U.S. cities, Social Forces, 83, (3), Xie, Y., & Schaumann, K.A. (1998). Sex difference in research productivity: New evidence about an old puzzle. American sociological Review 63, Zhou, X., Zhao, W., Li, Qiang, & Cai, H. (2003). Embeddedness and contractual relationship in China s transitional economy. American Sociological Review, 68, Requirements: Attendance and Class Participation: 100 points. As this is a graduate class, I expect you each to attend every class session and be prepared to participate. Article Critiques: 100 points. During our discussion of the Methods of Sociological Research, you should select 2 days, from the 5 indicated to prepare a thorough critique of one of the articles assigned for that day. Specific guidelines will be provided as we progress. Group Presentations: 100 points. At the end of the semester, I have reserved four days for group presentations. The topics I have selected address professional issues related to pursuing an advanced degree in a social science field. You will be allowed to state your preference of topic and based on those preferences, I will determine which group you will Drummond 4

5 present with. Each group must provide information to the class but you should also construct the presentation in a manner that stimulates discussion. You might assign a reading or exercise to be completed before class in order an effort to convey understanding about your topic and give your audience some experience with what you will be talking about. Please use me and other professors as resources for this assignment. Research Prospectus: 100 points. This is a research methods class. As such it is my opinion that you should have the opportunity to apply what you read about and we discuss in class in a formal research prospectus. You will be asked to submit pieces of your prospectus throughout the semester and a final revised product near the end of the term. Final Exam: 100 points. As a test of your mastery of quantitative methods, each student will be asked to evaluate the quality of an article using a set of guidelines that closely resemble those sent to reviewers by journal editors. The final will be take-home and is due by 5:45 on May 8 th. Course Calendar Date Topic Reading Assignment Assignments Due Jan 23 Introduction: What are our expectations? Why study methods? Schutt Chapter Jan 25 Accurately Knowing the Social world Schutt Finish Chapt 1; Bourgois Especially Guetzkow & Lamont; Lieberson & Lynn Jan 30 Strategies Schutt Chapt ; Ream ; Scott, London & Hurst Feb 1 Strategies Daday, Broidy; Pruitt Feb 6 Research Proposals: Asking Questions Schutt Chapt & ; Schutt Chapt ; Review Ream & Scott, London, & Hurst Order your preference of the topics available for group presentations at the end of class. For Ream & Scott et al: Is there an hypothesis(es), DV(s), IV(s), is the research Inductive or Deductive? Bring 3 methodological questions each (typed) from the Daday et al & Pruitt articles. 1) After reading Schutt, prepare an introduction for your Prospectus that includes a research question. 2) Find one EMPHIRICAL article that could be used in support of your research. Drummond 5

6 Feb 8 Strategies of Searching for Meet in the library Literature Feb 13 Literature Reviews Galvan Chapt 1-3 Bring the name of at least 5 of the KEY authors or researchers who have contributed in the area of your research. Why these? Feb 15 Literature Reviews Cont Galvan Chapt 4. pg ; Smith; Musalia Bring 3 methodological questions each (typed) from the Smith and Musalia articles Feb 20 President s Day Enjoy the Holiday! Take a break! Feb 22 Lit Reviews Wrap up Smith & Musalia Cont. Turn in a 3-5 page introduction (revised from comments) & literature review Feb 27 Conceptualization & Measurement Schutt Chapt 4; Link & Phelan; Reardon & Firebaugh. 1 C & M Cont LaFree; Simons, Johnson, & Conger; Shaeffer & Presser; 6 Reliability & Validity Schutt 4 pg. 112-end; Review Simons, Johnson, & Conger Johnson & Bowman Reliability & Validity cont. Piquero et al; Declan Sampling Schutt 5; Zhou, Zhao, Li, & Cai; Snow, Soule, & Cress Causation & Research Design Spring Break Schutt 6; Abbott; Kaufman & Widom Enjoy the Break! What is Conceptualization? How is it different from Operationalization? For LaFree & Simons et al, what are the variables of interest? How are they measured? Revise your front end and add conceptualization and the operationalization of your variables to your prospectus. Understand the role of reliability & validity and some types of each. Bring a sketch of the causal model in the Kaufman & Widom article. Drummond 6

7 27 29 April 3 April 5 Experiments Schutt 6; Rojek, Coverdill, & Fors; Molm, Takahashi, & Peterson Survey Research Schutt 8 Simons & Simons et al; Survey Research: Available data Unobtrusive Research: Historical, Comparative, Official Data Kleck et al Schutt Xie & Schaumann; Dugan & Apel Moller et al; Barro & McCleary; Downey Critique for one article, using the criteria discussed in class. April 10 Content Analysis Okamoto; Newby & Krull April 12 Multiple Methods Saint-Arnaud & Bernad; Pearce Add your methods section (including a section on sampling) to the final draft of your prospectus no more than 20 pages total. April 17 Ethics Group Presentations April 19 Visual and audible Group Presentations presentation of Research April 24 Journal Submissions Group Presentations April 26 Constructing a Curriculum Group Presentations Vitae May 1 Catch up day Final day for Group Presentations if Needed May 3 Wrapping up! What are topics you would like to learn (more) about? May 8 Final Exam 3:45-5:45 Revise and Resubmit proposals for the final time (optional) Drummond 7