Sociological Analysis (226-0-20)

Instructors

Karrie A Snyder
847/467-0517
1808 Chicago, Room 106
Dr. Snyder is a qualitative researcher and specializes in the areas of health, family, gender, youth studies and education.

Meeting Info

University Hall 121: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

How do sociologists do their work? How do they make discoveries and draw conclusions about the social world around us? This course is an introduction to sociological research methods. We will learn how to design a research study - everything from choosing a topic and formulating a research question to developing a research plan. We will explore a range of research methods from surveys, interviewing, observational methods and content analysis to "big" data approaches. We will also think about the strengths and weaknesses of various sociological methods and what these methods can contribute to our understanding of the social world. We will also debate and discuss the role of the researcher in the research process along with thinking about ethical concerns and IRB protections for research subjects. We will also critically examine how social science research is presented to us in our everyday lives (including news reporting, political polls and social media postings). The goal of this course is for students to be able to design an appropriate methods plan to investigate a sociological research question they are interested in, but also to become more critical when learning about the latest social science study from media and social media outlets.

Teaching Method

Lecture, small group work, in-class exercises and activities

Evaluation Method

Exams/Essay, Participation/Attendance, Final Research Proposal

Class Materials (Required)

All materials for this course will be made available on Canvas - no purchase necessary.