Psychology/Sociology 3310 ADVANCED RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA ANALYSIS Fall 2014 MWF 9:00 - 9:50 a.m.
Dr. Laurie E. Smith Office Hours: Office: Marshall Hall, 1st Floor Mon. and Wed.: 11 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Behavioral Sciences Suite, Office H Tues. and Thurs.: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. and
Phone No.: 923-2090 11 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. e-mail: [email protected] *or by appointment text me at: 430-558-7671
COURSE PREREQUISITES MATH 1342 Elementary Statistics, MATH 2316 Data Analysis and PSYC/SOCI 2332 Introduction to Research Methods.
COURSE DESCRIPTION This course explores the intersection of research design with statistical techniques. Advanced methods of research are examined, with an emphasis on the application of appropriate statistical analysis. Interpreting results and writing research reports are also discussed.
COURSE OBJECTIVES This course is designed to enable students to understand advanced concepts of research methods. It will also help students develop skills in the application of appropriate statistical analysis to appropriate research data and competency in the use of computers and SPSS for the analysis of research data. Students acquire skills in the interpretation and presentation of research data.
COURSE COMPETENCIES AND RELATIONSHIP TO DEPARTMENTAL GOALS Understanding of advanced methods of data collection Goal: to give basic preparation to students who expect to attend graduate school in of the social or behavioral sciences Applying statistical analysis to data collection Goal: to give basic preparation to students who expect to attend graduate school in of the social or behavioral sciences Goal: to contribute to the development of the student’s ability for critical thinking and capacity for personal reflection
TEXTBOOKS Whitley, Jr., Bernard E. and Kite, Mary E .Principles of Research in Behavioral Science (3e). Routledge: New York, 2013. ISBN 978-0-415-87928-6.
Patten, Mildred L. Proposing Empirical Research: A Guide to the Fundamentals, 4th Edition. Pyrczak Publishing: Glendale, CA. 2010. ISBN 1-884585-89-2.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Chapter Questions. For each chapter in the text (with the exception of Chapter 17), you will answer 1 – 4 questions; due dates are listed on the course calendar. You grade will be based on the thoroughness and the quality of your answers to each set of assigned questions. No late questions will be accepted. Failure to turn in the questions on the day they are due will result in a 0 on that set of questions. The average of these assignments will be worth 40% of your grade. Assignments can be found under the “Assignments” tab on Blackboard, and your answers need to be submitted via Blackboard. 2. SPSS and Data Analysis Assignments. You will have 4 assignments in which you will run a statistical analysis of data using SPSS and answer questions about the tests you have run. The average of these assignments will be 15% of your grade. Failure to turn in the SPSS assignments on the day they are due will result in a 0 on that assignment. Due dates are listed on the course calendar.
3. Measurement Paper. You need to find 6-10 articles from professional journals that contain a measure(s) of your dependent variable. You will then evaluate the effectiveness of these various measures across several different dimensions. Finally, you will need to describe your research design, including how you intend to measure your dependent variable and what statistical analysis would be appropriate for your study. The assignment will be discussed in more detail after we cover Chapter 5, and complete instructions for this paper will be provided in a separate document that can be found in Blackboard. This paper will be 30% of your final grade.
4. Comments. For each class period that we focus on material from the text, you will need to participate in a discussion on Blackboard. Comments will be posted to the Class Blog. You are expected to make at least two comments on the material for the day. You can either start a thread and/or post your response to threads started by other students. Your posts need to be made by 8:00 a.m. on the day we are due to go over that material in class. The grade for this assignment will be “Pass” or “Fail”. Simply posting a comment and/or response does not guarantee credit for the day: Your comments need to demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the assigned material. Failure to post a comment and/or response by the assigned time will result in a 0 for the day: NO EXCEPTIONS. These comments will be 10% of your grade.
5. Final Exam. The final exam will consist of an essay that will reflect material learned during the semester. It will be given on December 17 and will be 5% of your final grade.
GRADING SCALE The following grading scale will be used: 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69=D. Any average below 60 is considered failing. If a student has a borderline average, class attendance and participation may affect his/her final grade.
CLASS MEETINGS As noted in the ETBU Catalog, students are expected to attend 75% of all class meetings. Failure to do so will result in no credit for the course. For more information on the ETBU attendance policy, see pp. 23-24 in the 2014-15 Catalog. It is the student’s responsibility to make the professor aware of university-approved absences.
SPECIAL POLICIES Any student who misses an exam and fails to make up the exam will receive a "0" for the examination. Incompletes will not be given in this course unless a student demonstrates compelling reasons, such as a severe illness. Sometimes the curriculum in this course concerns controversial issues. These will be discussed in a Christian atmosphere. It is intended that each student explore these issues using critical thinking skills, formulating his or her own beliefs about these issues. A note about cell phones: unless I specifically request that you use your cell phone for a class activity, it should be turned off and put away during class time. Put away means that it is not on the desk or in your lap or anywhere that I am able to see it or that you might be tempted to use it.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY “Students enrolled at East Texas Baptist University are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity avoiding all forms of cheating, illicit possession of examinations or examination materials, unwarranted access to instructor’s solutions’ manuals, plagiarism, forgery, collusion, and submissions of the same assignment to multiple courses.” For more on ETBU’s policy on academic integrity, see p. 20 in the 2013-14 Catalog.
DISABILITY ACCOMODATION STATEMENT A student with a disability may request appropriate accommodations for this course by contacting the Office of Academic Success and Graduate Services, Marshall Hall, Room 301, and providing the required documentation. If accommodations are approved by the Disability Accommodations Committee, the Office of Academic Success and Graduate Services will notify you and your professor of the approved accommodations. You must then discuss these accommodations with your professor. TENTATIVE COURSE CALENDAR AND READING ASSIGNMENTS Please note: Assignments may be subject to change. C = Comment due; Q = Chapter Questions due
M, Aug. 25 Introduce Course
W, Aug. 27 Chapter 1: Behavioral Science pp. 4-17; C F, Aug. 29 pp. 17-28, C, Q (Ch. 1: Questions 1, 7, and 14)
Foundations of Research M, Sept. 1 Chapter 3: The Ethical Treatment of Research Participants pp. 62-75, C W, Sept. 3 pp. 75-87, C, Q (Ch. 3: Questions 7, 11, and 14)
F, Sept. 5 Chapter 4: The Professional and Social Responsibilities of Scientists pp. 92-99, C M, Sept. 8 pp. 99-109, C
W, Sept. 10 Chapter 6: Developing a Measurement Strategy pp. 146-164, C, Q (Ch. 4: Questions 1, 7, and 11) F, Sept. 12 pp. 164-180, C
M, Sept. 15 Chapter 7: The Internal Validity of Research pp. 186-196, C, Q (Ch. 6: Questions 3, 15, and 19) W Sept. 17 pp. 196-208, C
F, Sept. 19 Chapter 8: The External Validity of Research pp. 212-226, C, Q (Ch. 7: Question 9) M, Sept. 22 pp. 226-235, C
W, Sept. 24 Elements of a statistical test Q (Ch. 8: Questions 3, 9, and 10) F, Sept. 26 LAB: SPSS basics/enter data M, Sept. 29 LAB: Review statistical tests using SPSS W, Oct. 1 Turn in hypothesis(es) for your research project. F, Oct. 3 M, Oct. 6 LAB: SPSS Homework #1
Research Designs W, Oct. 8 Chapter 9: True Experiments pp. 243-259, C, SPSS Homework #1 F, Oct. 10 NO CLASS: FALL BREAK M, Oct. 13 pp. 259-276 W, Oct. 15 LAB: Statistical Tests for Experiments Q (Ch. 9: Questions 4, 7, and 9) F, Oct. 17 LAB: SPSS Homework #2
M, Oct. 20 Chapter 11: Correlational Designs pp. 312-336, C, SPSS Homework #2 W, Oct. 22 Chapter 12: Factor Analysis, Path Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling F, Oct. 24 LAB: Statistical Testing with Correlations and Factor Analysis Q (Ch. 11: Question 4) M, Oct. 27 LAB: SPSS Homework #3 W, Oct. 29 Chapter 13: The Single-Case Research Strategy pp. 363-375, C, SPSS Homework #3 F, Oct. 31 pp. 376-393, C
M, Nov. 3 Chapter 15: Survey Research pp. 437-458, C, Q (Ch. 13: Questions 11 and 15) W Nov. 5 pp. 458-475, C F, Nov. 7 LAB: Statistical Tests for Survey Research Q (Ch 15: Questions 3, 4, and 22) M, Nov. 10 LAB: SPSS Homework #4
W, Nov. 12 Chapter 10: Field Research pp. 282-296, C, SPSS Homework #4 F, Nov. 14 pp. 296-307, C LAST DAY TO DROP A CLASS
M, Nov. 17 Chapter 14: Content Analysis, Qualitative Research and Interviewing pp. 398-419, C, Q (Ch. 10: Question 12) W, Nov. 19 pp. 419-431, C F, Nov. 21 Q (Ch. 14: Questions 1, 11, and 18)
M, Nov. 24 Thanksgiving Holiday W, Nov. 26 Thanksgiving Holiday F, Nov. 28 Thanksgiving Holiday
Collecting and Interpreting Data M, Dec. 1 Chapter 16: Data Collection pp. 484-499, C W Dec. 3 pp. 499-523, C F, Dec. 5 Q (Ch. 16: Questions 4, 5, 18 and 19)
M, Dec. 8 Measurement Paper Due.
W, Dec. 10 Chapter 20: Writing Research Reports F, Dec.12 review for final W, Dec. 17 *FINAL EXAM, 8:00 – 9:50 a.m.
*It is a university policy that the Final Exam must be taken at the date and time it is listed, with three exceptions: 1) personal illness 2) a death in the immediate family 3) 4 finals scheduled on the same day. No other reason is acceptable for rescheduling a Final Exam.