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SOCI331 - Research Methods for Sociology
Course Details
Course Code: SOCI331 Course ID: 4200 Credit Hours: 3 Level: Undergraduate
This course introduces students to the purpose and techniques in social research: problem definition, research design, sampling and data collection methods including observation, interviewing, questionnaire construction and the use of documents and other unobtrusive data sources. The basic goal of all social research is to gather evidence in order to answer questions about the nature of relationships between individuals, groups, institutions, and societies. This course is designed to give the student a broad overview of the logic of social research, of the process of research design, and of the major types of data collection techniques and methods of data analysis.
Course Schedule
| Registration Dates | Course Dates | Session | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/25/19 - 05/01/20 | 05/04/20 - 06/28/20 | Spring 2020 Session I | 8 Week session |
| 12/30/19 - 05/29/20 | 06/01/20 - 07/26/20 | Spring 2020 Session D | 8 Week session |
| 01/27/20 - 07/03/20 | 07/06/20 - 08/30/20 | Summer 2020 Session B | 8 Week session |
Current Syllabi
Upon completion of this course students will be able to:
CO1: Illustrate basic knowledge of research methods and theory construction to systematically study the social world
CO2: Examine the basics of quantitative and qualitative research design
CO3: Compare and contrast the different types and methods of data collection
CO4: Apply knowledge of basic methodological and ethical issues current in the social sciences
CO5: Describe patterns in quantitative data
CO6: Build and/or test theories.
CO7: Develop a research project from conceptualizing a research problem to developing a number of complementary design, measurement, and data collection approaches to bring evidence to bear on the problem.
CO8: Evaluate the quality of research design and evidence in published social research.
Forums:
Participation in classroom dialogue on threaded Forums is required. Forums are scheduled weekly and found in the Forums tab in the classroom. Initial Forum posts are due Thursdays, peer responses are due Sundays. Specific instructions and the grading rubric are located on each Forum.
Assignments
This course includes Assignments. Instructions and specific grading rubrics are found under the Assignments tab in our classroom.
Extra Credit:
Extra credit is not offered in this course.
| Name | Grade % |
|---|---|
| Discussion Forums | 55.00 % |
| Week 1 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Week 2 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Week 3 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Week 4 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Week 5 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Week 6 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Week 7 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Week 8 Forum | 6.88 % |
| Survey Design | 22.50 % |
| Assignment 1: Survey Design - Week 4 | 22.50 % |
| Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Variables | 22.50 % |
| Assignment 2: Conceptualizing and Operationalizing Variables - Week 6 | 22.50 % |
All course materials are free and provided in our Library. Link to our eReserve page in the Library and select this course to access your materials.
| Book Title: | Introducing Social Research Methods: Essentials for Getting the Edge - e-book available in the APUS Online Library. Please visit http://apus.libguides.com/er.php to locate the course eReserve. |
| ISBN: | 9781118874257 |
| Publication Info: | Wiley Lib |
| Author: | Ruane, Janet |
| Unit Cost: | $70.07 |
| Book Title: | Various resources from the APUS Library & the Open Web are used. Please visit http://apus.libguides.com/er.php to locate the course eReserve.* |
| ISBN: | ERESERVE NOTE |
Previous Syllabi
Not current for future courses.