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Instructor: Craig T. Robertson, Ph.D. Office: 558 Stevens Hall Office Phone: 765-4530 Office
Hours: Monday:
11:00-Noon and 3:00-4:00 E-mail:
Always
use the Blackboard (Bb) e-mail system for this class. Under
"Browse for Recipients..." select me as "All Section
Instructors". This symbol Dept. of Sociology Website: http://www2.una.edu/sociology Check out the website to learn more about the department, the major, the faculty, our courses, careers, etc. This course exposes students to the processes and techniques necessary to conduct social scientific research. Students will learn how to frame a research question, assess methods best suited to research questions, measure concepts, apply sampling procedures, understand data collection strategies, and analyze data. I hope you will leave this class with a level of understanding allowing you to conduct quality research and assessments. Specifically, I hope you will meet the following goals:
Babbie, E.
(2008). The basics of social research. Belmont, CA:
Thomson Wadsworth.
Course Preparation: To reach our class goals, everyone is expected to attend class prepared to participate in discussions related to the course subject matter. Participation hinges on your completion of all assigned readings prior to attending class. To encourage reading, I will give open notebook in-class ten point quizzes at my discretion. Attendance: UNA's attendance policy is adopted in this class. Course credit cannot be earned if your excused or unexcused absences exceed four weeks of scheduled class time. I will call roll each day. See me after class to ensure an accurate class roll was taken if you come to class late. Do not make a habit of coming to class late or leaving early. Assignments: Written assignments are to be prepared in a manner consistent with directions as they appear on each assignment and the APA format. A PowerPoint presentation detailing the basic rules of the APA format is provided on Bb. Please use it. Failure to submit assignments on time will result in a maximum 80% grade before grading begins. Late assignments must be submitted before the next regularly scheduled class meeting. Late work will not be accepted after that point. Always submit assignments with a cover sheet indicating your name, a title for the work, the due date, my name, and the name of this course. Written work, unless otherwise stated, must be double-spaced typed (always use a top, left, right, and bottom margin of 1"), grammatically sound, paginated, and stapled on the left upper corner. Your work will be graded on the basis of content, grammar and adherence to the specified format. There are two types of assignments: 1) Process Assignments. These assignments, which count 10 points, are optional since they are extra-credit. Process assignments will be accessible from Bb's "Assignments" feature only and will be graded. I will be available to help students succeed on these assignments. The late work policy articulated above applies to process assignments. I anticipate that students will have three or four opportunities to complete process assignments throughout the semester. 2) Term Assignment. Students will write a 125 point research proposal on topics of their choosing (click HERE to access the term assignment). All topics must be formally approved by me during my office hours and before 11:00am. on January 29, '08. This 15 page minimum proposal (prescribed length excludes mandatory cover sheet, table of contents, summary, reference page/s, and assumes 1" margins, a standard 12 character font, and double-spacing) will be due in its finalized form on April 21, '08 before class begins. Students are encouraged to view this assignment as an opportunity to produce creative work. There are multiple due dates for parts of this assignment (late policy applies to all due dates) so you will be earning credit as we move through the semester. I will be happy to help students with the various stages of this work throughout the semester. Students who fail to submit a final proposal cannot pass this course. Exams:
Examination dates are noted on the tentative
course itinerary. If we deviate from that schedule I will always give
you at least one week notice before rescheduling an exam. Examination 1 will
count 100 points. Examination 2 will count 100 points.
Examination 3 (comprehensive), given during exam week, will count
150 points. Make-up
Policy: Make-up quizzes and exams are given at my
discretion. Illnesses and deaths in the family are the only
non-university approved reasons that will justify make-up quizzes or
exams. All make-up requests must be accompanied by official
written notice and make-up work must be completed on the date defined by
the instructor. Instructors are not responsible
for informing you of missed work. Learning Disabilities Policy: In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the University offers reasonable accommodations to students with eligible documented learning, physical and/or psychological disabilities. Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities as compared to an average person in the population. It is the responsibility of the student to contact Developmental Services prior to the beginning of the semester to initiate the accommodation process and to notify instructors within the first three class meetings to develop an accommodation plan. Appropriate, reasonable accommodations will be made to allow each student to meet course requirements, but no fundamental or substantial alteration of academic standards will be made. Students needing assistance should contact Developmental Services (RM. 111 in the GUC or 765-4214). Any information drawn from works published by others must be appropriately cited within the written work and on the reference page/s (prepared in the format specified for this class). Direct quotes, longer than three lines of typed text in your paper, are to be indented an additional inch on the left and right margins and single-spaced typed. You must never string together one direct quote after another and you must never begin a quote and finish it one/two paragraph(s) or pages later. It is also unethical to block and move text from websites to your own work. Students who engage in the above mentioned activities are merely typing a paper rather than writing a paper. Such activities will not be tolerated in this course and students will receive a zero on assignments where such activities are present. To prepare ethical work you must neither copy work produced by other students or plagiarize (review this link: http://www2.una.edu/library/plagiarismstudentguide.htm). Any information drawn from works published by others must be appropriately cited within the body of your work and then referenced as part of a bibliography page using the APA style. The following grade point scale (A=90-100%, B=80-89%, C=70-79%, D=60-69%, and below 60%=F) is employed. No grades are dropped and there is no extra-credit work beyond process assignments. Your average may be calculated at any point in the semester by summating the total number of points you earned divided by the total number of points that could possibly have been earned. For example, if a student made 8 out of 10 on a quiz and 45 out of 50 on an exam, the student's grade would be 53 out of 60 or 88.3%. You, or any other person interested in your grades, may check your grades through Bb's "My Grades" feature. Where do my course points come from? 1st.
Examination = 100 pts. Date and Event/Subject
(Dates for examinations and due dates for proposal elements are
tentative) 1/9
- Classes begin It
is my goal to make this course worth your time and effort.
Therefore, I will do all within my power to ensure that you learn
and succeed. If you are
concerned with any aspect of this course please contact me.
You owe it to yourself to talk with me since I can only help you if
I know there is a problem. |
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