Intro to Social Research

Catalog description

Introduction to the basic problems and nature of research. Emphasis is placed on the areas of design and the construction of instruments of measurement of social data. The student is encouraged to design a research project in an area of interest. This course is intended to provide a basic introduction to quantitative (e.g.: surveys and censuses) and qualitative (e.g.: interviews, observations, and ethnography) methodology used in sociological research. Major topics include the logic of scientific inquiry, problem formulation, research design, conceptualization and measurement, techniques of data analysis, and ethical issues involved in the study of social phenomena. Research methods that will be covered in this course include experiments, surveys, qualitative interviews, secondary data analysis, content analysis, observation, and ethnography.