Research proposal: Culmination of 6540

The mini proposal culminates your learning in 6540.  The proposal writing process can be a model for a thesis proposal or simply an article sized research project.   There are three relevant links on the syllabus for this assignment, but here I would like to spell out the key steps.

Assignment timing clarification:  

Nov 20:   Due: a brief description of your preferred proposal topic.  Create this as a google doc that slightly expands on the topic that you chose from those posted in #1 below.  We will discuss these in class.  See the updated course schedule.

Nov 27:   Due:  draft 1 of your proposal + in-class 5 min presentation.  Write this in the same google doc from last week. Presentation #1 of your proposal.

Dec 4:  Due:  draft 2 of your proposal.   Final presentation for 1/2 of proposals.

Finals week:   Due final draft of your proposal.    Final presentation for other 1/2 of proposals.

1. Propose three options (feel free to indicate your preferred option, and to develop that option more).  Those proposals should be about 1 paragraph, and are informal, but should be as informative as possible so I can help you chart a good initial path. Where do you submit these, and what should they look like?  
1. What do I mean by three different options?  Some people might have three different topics of interest.  But most folks will likely have one main research area of interest.  For these folks the strategy should be to articulate three different ways to approach the topic, or to frame the sample, or to employ alternative methods.  This would let me give you better feedback on those alternatives.
2. Go to the google spreadsheet and see examples from earlier years, and to compose and enter your proposal ideas. Here is the link to do that: Describe possible topic ideas
2. Compose draft 1 of your research proposal.  After settling on one topic (and getting feedback from me, posted to that same spreadsheet) you should begin crafting a research proposal.  I have described the basic sections and provided a link to a successful example from an earlier year.  The example is the final draft, so it is a bit longer and a bit more developed than your first draft is likely to be.  Nonetheless is demonstrates style and quality that I expect to see in your work.  
1.  Draft one assignment description;  example of final draft
2. Once you have settled on the version of your topic that you prefer, you need to start writing your proposal right away.   I want you to use google docs to write the proposal so that two of your peers can give you feedback on it.   These peers should have edit and comment access to your document.  
3. Help each other write better.   We will discuss this in greater detail on Tuesday, but you should work to read and understand the work of your peers and help them make it better.   Here are three easy ways:
1. Every paragraph should have a thesis, and every thesis should be expressed in a thesis sentence.  Usually, when we write we are creating some new ideas, and we do not initially know our thesis until after writing the paragraph.  So, for a friend, you can help them by trying to distill a thesis sentence from their paragraph.   
2. Reflect on the goals of academic writing and help your friends write more directly and clearly.  One way to do this is to simply the construction of sentences.  Another is to make the organization of the paragraphs better reflect the organization of their thesis.  In the first case, you can offer a rewritten version of a sentence.  In the second you can suggest a renumbering of the order of the paragraphs.
3. Refine single sentences for clarity.  Find a sentence where you think you understand the intended goal of the sentence and help it accomplish that goal with greater clarity.  Oftentimes this means employing a simpler construction and using a more active voice. 

Homework #3 and Homework #4

Instructions:

How to turn it in:  Type up your answers on a word doc or on google docs. Then go to crowdgrader and copy and paste your answers into the corresponding question spaces for homeworks #3, and, about a week later, for homework #4.

How to study:   Please discuss the questions, ideas and answers in person, via google hangouts and online via a google doc class study guide.

The questions:

Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis
Many times people who analyze quantitative data are not the same people who collected it.   The secondary analysis of survey data is very common, and results from the fact that good data is costly and difficult to collect, and, good research projects will allow for many questions to be asked with the same overall dataset.  

1a.   Use chapters 10, 11, 12 (from Neuman) to discuss some important attributes (include both advantages and challenges/disadvantages) of the secondary use of quantitative data to construct research projects.   

1b.  Illustrate your points using examples from at least two of Derek Kreager’s research papers discussed during weeks 9 and 10.

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Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis

Qualitative data collection and analysis presents researchers with wonderful opportunities to do innovative research.  Ethnographic field research in particular has proven to be one of the primary strategies that our MA students have used for their projects.   

2a.   Describe all of the most important attributes of a successful field research study and the things that you would do to make sure that a MA thesis that you might write would be of high quality.  Be sure to reference Neuman chapters 13, 15 and work discussed in class or posted to Gooogle+.

2b.  Illustrate attributes of successful ethnographic field research by referencing concrete examples (quote sections of text, and interpret them) found in any of the ethnographic dissertations we read or published ethnographic books.

2c.  Describe the advantages and disadvantages to starting your research career with an ethnographic MA thesis.

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Crash Course in Statistics for Sociological Research
Course materials

Review chapter 5 of Agresti and Finlay.   Pay special attention to section 5.4.

3a.  Suppose that you want to use survey methods in a thesis sized research project (choose any topic that interests you).  Use the concepts discussed on pages 135 to 141 to explain what sample size you will aim for.   Do not neglect the issues raised on page 141.   

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Crash Course in Statistics for Sociological Research

Review chapter 9 of Agresti and Finlay and take a look at this plot.


4a.   Provide an accurate but non-technical explanation of what correlation and linear regression are and what they are used to estimate.

4b.   Explain how the point in the upper right influences the estimates (in a general way) and explain the type of problem that outliers present for these types of quantitative analyses.   Describe how two different strategies can be used to address this problem.  One involves the sampling frame, and the other should involve the use of multiple regression.  Explain your logic.  

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Crash Course in Statistics for Sociological Research

Review Chapter 10 from Agresti and Finlay.   Understanding Chapter 10 is really important for making sense of the multiple regression analysis, like the analysis that you read in Kreager’s research.

5a.   Identify and briefly describe the most important findings from the Kreager study that you reviewed.   

5b.  Now, use the discussion of association, causation, and statistical control to explain how Derek eliminated alternative explanations and demonstrated evidence of causal relationships.  In other words, make explicit use of the general rules and ideas from chapter 10 to explain how Kreager analysed his results and therefore demonstrated his primary findings.  

How to turn abstracts in

I don't think I had this spelled out in enough detail before.  But here is how you should turn in your Abstract #1 aka Article Summary #1.

1. Create your summary as a google doc. 
2. Copy and paste the text from the example template
1. overwrite the content with your content
2. keep the formatting
3. Name your file, 1.Abstract.YourName
4. Drag and drop your article summary into the folder for "Abstract #1" located in the 6540 folder. 

Quiz #1 6540

Instructions:  

1. Go to the collaborative study notes page.
2. Contribute to the shared notes:  choose a question and find resources in the book or online that will help you and others answer the following questions.  
3. Paste the helpful info into the study guide.
4. Feel free to discuss questions and other issues in the document, via comments or in a google hangout
5. After you feel you have a good understanding of the issues related to ALL OF the questions, write up your own answers on a word document or a google doc. 
6. NOTE:    Quiz #2 is defined as the last 4 questions they are mult-part, and require extra thought (they should take a couple of paragraphs to fully address).  These should likely be your longest answers.  The earlier questions can be answered in between a few sentences and a decent sized paragraph.  
7. When you are done, open this link and post your answers to crowd grader.
8.  See due date and details on crowdgrader description

Quiz #1

1.  How are the steps of quantitative research process similar to those of the qualitative research process?

2.  Where do the approaches differ?  Explain why those differences exist.  

3.  What are the main differences between basic and applied research?

4.   What are the major types of data collection techniques?

5.  Time point of data collection is a dimension on which research studies vary. Briefly describe the three main types of longitudinal research.

6.  Explain what a cohort is and give an example of your own (not from class or the book).

7.  Why does social research need theory?

8.  Go to page 74 and read the section on causal explanation through the first full paragraph of page 78.  Using concepts introduced in that section and elsewhere in the book, explain why the politicians plan in example 3.3 (3.5 in sixth edition) is faulty.

9.  Describe the defining aspects of positivist, interpretive and critical approaches to social science.   (chapter 4)

10.  What is the most important reason to perform a literature review?

11.  Neuman discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet for social research (p. 140).   Here is a description of google scholar-- including some criticisms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_scholar  What do you think are the most important advantages and disadvantages of using google scholar to find research?

12.  Use Google scholar to find a research paper for each of three faculty members from our department.  Use google scholar to then find 1 article that cited each of those articles.

13.   What are the most important ethical considerations for social science researchers?

Quiz #2

1.  Thinking about why and how you sample
Suppose that you want to do a survey.  Your target population is currently enrolled US college students, and you plan on performing a standard regression analysis to test your hypotheses.  What is the number of complete cases that you anticipate needing to allow you to perform your analyses?  Why this number?  How many potential respondents should you solicit to achieve sufficient N?  What factors diminish the usable sample between location and completion of the entire instrument?   What can you do to mitigate the challenges?   Suppose that you decide to use OU students enrolled in Intro classes this spring.  What are some possible problems with using them to represent US college students?   Suggest a better sampling strategy and sampling frame that would be feasible and realistic for an MA student to complete.

2.  Conceptualization and measurement
Suppose that you are an administrator at a public university.  Your Job is to identify senior students who will make promising sociological researchers.  What are the key conceptual dimensions that make someone a promising researcher?  How would you propose to measure those concepts?  What are some difficulties in this task?

3.  Operationalizing deliberation
Based on Black et al 2011, describe how to operationalize deliberation.  In your description define, and apply to this research the following terms:  content analysis, coding scheme, exploratory research, small groups, descriptive statistics, and network visualization.   What are the most important findings?  What sort of research should be done to extend, refine or improve upon the current study?

4.  Interpreting quantitative results:
Based on Yuan et al 2009, what can we learn about diffusion from studying interactions in online community?    Provide a detailed explanation of how each important concept was operationalized and measured.  Make sure you pay special attention to the attributes and measurement of key independent variables, and the dependent variable.  Then, using the results reported in tables 1,2, and 3 explain what the results are, how they should be interpreted, and what they mean.

That is it!

Week 5 Quantitative Research

Organizing thoughts for readings examples etc. this week.

1. Meet with Brandon via google hangout at start of class. 
1. Bring questions and thoughts from our discussion of his thesis last week.  
2. Bring questions about research and thesis work in general
3. Other questions for student in PhD program
2. Prepare for discussion of readings
1. We will use the two readings as examples to think about illustrations of steps in the research process, of decisions about what to do with data, how to ask questions.  
2. Do  your best to understand the research cycle steps as they apply to both studies
1. wonder, conceptualize, theorize, operationalize, etc.
3. Consider that both studies are quantitative but differ in their focus in terms of description and explanation.
4. Discuss issues from chapters of Neuman book on their own and as they relate to the example research.
3. Look ahead to quiz coming up for this weekend.  Example questions from last year are posted online. 
1. Quiz 1 from last year
2. Quiz 2 from last year
3. This year will be parts of 1 combined with parts of 2, with something new. . .