COM 700 Quantitative Research Methods Spring 2016 Instructor: Dr. Sang-Yeon Kim, Email: sangyeon@uwm.edu Classroom/Hour: TR 3:30-6:10, MER 244 Office Hours: TR 1:00-3:00, JOH 223 Description: This course provides an overview of (a) the nature of scientific inquiry, (b) measurements and measurement validity, (c) research designing (e.g., experimental or survey design), and (d) basic statistical techniques for communication research including descriptive/inferential statistics, χ 2 test, t-test, covariance/correlation, ANOVA, and simple regression. Discussion on statistical techniques will remain on uni- or bi-variate analyses as understanding multivariate analyses (e.g., factor analysis, path analysis, multiple regression, etc.) necessitates advanced knowledge in linear algebra. Instead, this course intends to establish a firm ground in basic statistics so that students can learn advanced statistics independently. Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students should be able to (a) perform classical statistical analysis for null hypothesis testing and parameter estimation, (b) draw valid statistical conclusions from quantitative analysis, (c) understand and critically evaluate quantitative research, and (b) design and perform social scientific research independently. Evaluations: Student performance will be evaluated based on two exams and short take-home problems. (1) The midterm and (2) the final exam will consist short answer items and statistical problems. Course readings, notes, or other sources are NOT allowed during the exam. Formulas or tables will be provided if necessary to answer questions. Test results will be curved such that the student who obtained the highest score receives 100 percent. (3) At-home problem sets will be assigned after each class on statistics. Depending on the speed of the progress, students would solve 5-7 problem sets during the semester. Regardless of the number of assigned problem sets, the total scores will be adjusted to account for 30 percent of the final grade. Assignments submitted overdue may be ignored. Participation: Students are expected to attend each and every class. All required reading assignments must be read prior to the class date when they are assigned in order to facilitate thoughtful and informed class discussions. The instructor neither checks attendance nor assigns grades for participation. However, the exam questions mainly refer to the topics discussed in class and not attending the class and not participating in discussions will most likely reflect in a poor exam grade. Past teaching experiences also indicate that there is a clear positive correlation between attendance, participation, and the exams scores. Course Materials Required Material: All required course materials will be posted in a designated online dropbox. Recommended Textbook: Agresti, A., & Finlay, B. (1997). Statistical methods for the social sciences (3 rd ed.), Prentice Hall. 1
Credit Hour Policy. In accordance with UWM policy, at least 144 hours should be allotted over the course of the term for your work in order to achieve the learning goals of the course. A suggested breakdown of these 144 hours might include a minimum of: 45 hrs: In-class activities (class discussions, lectures, exams) 45 hrs: Reading course materials and preparing for class discussions 24 hrs: Completing quizzes 30 hrs: Preparing for exams Point Breakdown Grading Scheme Course Policies Item Percent of Grade Problem Sets 30 Oral Exam 30 Final Exam 40 Total 100 A 93% and above C 73%~76.9% A- 90%~92.9% C- 70%~72.9% B+ 87%~89.9% D+ 67%~69.9% B 83%~86.9% D 63%~66.9% B- 80%~82.9% D- 60%~62.9% C+ 77%~79.9% F 59.9% and below 1. Uniform course policies regarding academic misconduct, accommodation for religious observances, attendance, change of grades, drop policy, equal treatment, financial obligation, grade appeal and complaint procedures, incompletes, participation by students with disabilities, sexual and racial harassment, record-keeping, and responsibility for evaluating academic progress may be found on the bulletin board outside the administrative offices of the Department of Communication, in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee library, and at the student services office. 2. The current course observes the university policies on students with disabilities, religious observances, students called to active military duty, incompletes, discriminatory conduct, academic misconduct, complaint procedures, and grade appeal procedures. The complete document is available at http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/news_events/upload/1895r3-uniform-syllabus-policy.pdf 2
Tentative Course Schedule Week 1 (Jan. 28) Course Overview Theory, Reality, and Science Why Statistics? Week 2 (Feb. 04) Scientific Inquiry/Scientific Theory Popper, K. R. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. NY: Routledge. CH. 1. Okasha, S. (2002). Philosophy of science: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press. CH. 1-2. Kerlinger, F. N., & Lee, H. B. (2000). Foundations of behavioral research. CH. 1, 3, 5. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. CH. 1. Boster, F. Some basic vocabulary. Festinger, L. & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 29, 703-709. Week 3 (Feb. 11) Research Design Strategies Kirk, R. E. (1995). Experimental Design. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks Cole. (pp. 1-47). Visser, P. S., Krosnick, J. A., Lavrakas, P. J. (2000). Survey research. In H. T. Reis & C. M. Judd (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in personality and social psychology (pp. 223-252). Cambridge University Press. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. CH. 4, 5, 7. Week 4 (Feb. 18) Internal & External Validity NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. CH. 2, 6. Sears, D. O. (1986). College sophomores in the laboratory: Influences of a narrow data base on social psychology s view of human nature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 515-530. Mook, D. G. (1983). In defense of external invalidity. American Psychologist, 38, 379-387. Shapiro, M. A. (2002). Generalizability in communication research. Human Communication Research, 28, 491-500. Week 5 (Feb. 25) Introduction to Statistics Sampling Descriptive Statistics Agresti & Finlay. CH. 1-3. Mendenhall. CH. 3. Week 6 (Mar. 03) Probability & Probability Distributions Inferential Statistics (CLT) 3
Estimation Agresti & Finlay. CH. 4-5. Kim. Logic of inferential statistics. Williams. CH-4. Problem Set 1 Due Week 7 (Mar. 10) Significance Testing Statistical Power Agresti & Finlay. CH. 6. Problem Set 2 Due Week 8 (Mar. 17) Midterm Week 9 (Mar. 24) Spring Recess. No Class Week 10 (Mar. 31) Methods of Significance Testing Burleson. CH-6B Williams. CH-6. Review: Logic of significance testing 2 χ test t-test (independent/paired) Problem Set 3 Due Week 11 (Apr. 07) Methods of Significance Testing (Cont d) Burleson. CH-6A. Kerlinger. CH-13. Williams. CH-8. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Problem Set 4 Due Week 12 (Apr. 14) Methods of Significance Testing (Cont d) Burleson. CH-7. Correlation and Simple Regression Problem Set 5 Due Week 13 (Apr. 21) Validity & Reliability NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. CH. 3. 4
Himmelfarb, S. (1993). The measurement of attitudes. In A. H. Eagly & S. Chaiken, The psychology of attitudes. Fort Worth, TX: HBJ. (pp. 64-83) Kerlinger, F. N., & Lee, H. B. (2000). Foundations of behavioral research. CH. 26. Problem Set 6 Due Week 14 (Apr. 28) Measurements Boster, F. Measurement NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. CH. 14-15. Himmelfarb, S. (1993). The measurement of attitudes. In A. H. Eagly & S. Chaiken, The psychology of attitudes. Fort Worth, TX: HBJ. (pp. 23-64) John, O. P., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2000). Measurement: Reliability, construct validation, and scale construction. In H. T. Reis & C. M. Judd (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in personality and social psychology. Cambridge University Press. (pp. 339-351). Week 15 (May. 05) Research Ethics Kerr, N. L. (1998) HARKing: Hypothesizing after the results are known. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 196-217. Boster, F. J. (2002). On making progress in communication science. Human Communication Research, 28, 473-490. Cohen, J. (1990). Things I have learned (so far). American Psychologist, 45, 1304-1312. Rozin, P. (2001). Social psychology and science: Some lessons from Solomon Asch. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5, 2-14. Week 16 (May. 12) Final Exam 5