Office Hours: Monday – Thursday 9am – 10am, and 1pm – 2pm

Course Description: This course provides an introduction to the critical thinking and research skills necessary to conduct and interpret empirical investigations in the field of Human Development and Family Studies. Students will become acquainted with a variety of research techniques and learn the basic issues concerning data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Because of the "W" designation, considerable emphasis will be placed on developing writing skills. Students will learn to write in a more scientific style using APA guidelines.

Purpose/Goals of Course/Course Objectives:

1. Students will develop a better understanding of social science research.

2. Students will acquire the preliminary skills needed to perform data manipulation and basic quantitative analyses using SPSS.

3. Students will interpret and report the results of statistical operations conducted with SPSS and develop and test their own research hypothesis.

4. Students will write an APA-style research paper that includes a literature review, a methods section, a results section, a conclusion/application section, and a reference section.

5. Students will relate course material and concepts to real life situations, practical applications, and current issues.

Required Text:

Babbie, E. (2000). The Practice of Social Research, 10^th edition.

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

You are required to have a memory stick and a basic calculator.

Suggested additional text:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Addition

Assignments:

Chapter questions. 120 points

For each of the 10 chapters covered in this course you must answer an assigned question that is listed at the end of that week’s chapter. These papers must be typed in Times New Roman, 12 font, double spaced. First, type the question at the top of the page. Then type your answer using complete sentences. The chapter questions are due at the beginning of class and are worth 10 points each. There is also a chi-square question that will be worth 20 points.

*NOTE: Chapter questions turned in late will only be accepted up to one week after the due date and will be penalized 5 points for being late.

SPSS assignments. 70 points

There will be 7 SPSS assignments during the course. Most of the SPSS computer work will be done during class time. However, the actual writing of the SPSS assignment will require homework time. Each SPSS assignment is worth 10 points. Due dates for the SPSS assignments are listed on the Tentative Course Agenda.

*NOTE: SPSS assignments turned in late will only be accepted up to one week after the due date and will be penalized 5 points for being late.

Two Examinations. 200 points (100 points each)

Two non-cumulative in-class examinations will be given during the semester on material covered in lectures, class discussions, and the required textbook readings. Exams will not cover SPSS techniques. Each exam will consist primarily of multiple-choice questions. If you know that you can not be present on the date of the exam you must make arrangements to take the exam at an earlier date. There will be no late or make-up exams given after the scheduled exam date.

Term paper 160 points (60 points for draft of literature review, 100 points for the final paper)

The majority of your grade for this class will be determined by the points you earn on your term paper. You will type a minimum 8 page double spaced paper, using Times New Roman 12 font, in APA format with the following sections:

· Introduction

· Literature review

· Methods section with professional tables

· Results section with professional tables

· Conclusion section

(may include application and study limitations sections)

· Reference section

Data for your term paper will come from the dataset provided for use in the SPSS portion of this class. While the majority of class time at the end of this course will be devoted to the term paper, you should begin the literature review portion of the term paper right away. The draft of the literature review is worth 60 points and is due in class on March 30.

Additional guidelines for the term paper will be provided during the course.

In addition to the course requirements described above, you are required to complete an on-line, formal training session on the ethics of studying human subjects. The training session is provided by the Penn State University Office of Regulatory Compliance, at http://www.research.psu.edu/orp/hum/train/contents.html Failure to provide evidence to the professor that you have successfully completed the on-line training session will result in a drop in your final course grade. For example, an A will drop to an A-, an A- will drop to a B+, etc….

Attendance/Participation. Regular attendance and meaningful, cooperative participation in class discussions are required to pass this class. You will be expected to attend all classes and to arrive on time. If you find it impossible to do so, please discuss this with your professor. Students may receive a lower grade if several classes are missed. If for any reason you are having a problem with the course, please take it upon yourself to contact your professor.

GRADES

*Assignment*	Points
Chapter questions (plus chi-square assignment)	120
SPSS assignments	70
Two exams (100 pts. Each)	200
Term paper Draft of literature review portion Final term paper	60 100
Total…	550

Percentage of total points possible:

94 – 100 A 90 – 93 A- 87 – 89 B+ 84 – 86 B 80 – 83 B-

77 – 79 C+ 70 – 76 C 60 – 69 D < 60 F

Disability Statement
Penn State is committed to providing access to a quality education for all students, including those with documented disabilities. If a student has a disability and wishes an accommodation for a course, it is the student's responsibility to obtain a University letter confirming the disability and suggesting appropriate accommodation. This letter can be requested from the Campus Disability Contact Liaison. The contact at Shenango is Dr. Jane Williams, Director of Student and Enrollment Services in SH201. Students are encouraged to request accommodation early in the semester so that, once identified, reasonable accommodation can be implemented in a timely manner.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is defined as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner and is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabrication of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Penalties for academic dishonesty are outlined in Policies and Rules: A Handbook for Students, and may lead to disciplinary sanctions including a failing grade for the course.

Tentative Course Agenda

Date		Topics	Assignments
August	25	Course introduction (The Danger of Success in Math)	Page 441 Anonymous Quiz
	27	Ch. 1 – Human Inquiry and Science	Read Ch. 1 (Ch. 1 question # 2, p. 28, is due)
September	3	Ch. 2 – Paradigms, Theory and Social Research	Read Ch. 2 (Ch. 2 question #3, p. 58, is due)
	8	Ch. – 4 Research Design	Read Ch. 4 (Ch. 4 questions #2 & #3, p. 117, due) Bring your flash stick (memory stick)
	10	SPSS Lab 1
	15	Ch. 5 – Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement	Read Ch. 5 (Ch. 5 – question #2, p. 150, is due)
	17	SPSS Lab 2	SPSS Assignment 1 is due
	22	Ch. 6 – Indexes, Scales and Typologies	Read Ch. 6 (Ch. 6 question #1 & #2, p. 177, are due)
	24	SPSS Lab 3	SPSS Assignment 2 is due
	29	Ch. 7 – The Logic of Sampling	Read Ch. 7 (Ch. 7 question #3, p. 216, is due)
October	1	SPSS Lab 4	SPSS Assignment 3 is due
	6	Finish lab 4, finish any lecture material
	8	Review for exam # 1	SPSS Assignment 4 is due
	13	Exam # 1
	15	SPSS Lab 5
	20	Ch. 14 – Quantitative Analysis SPSS Assignment 5 is due	Read Ch. 14 (Ch. 14 question #3, p. 428, is due)
	22	SPSS Lab 6	SPSS lab 5 is due
	27	Chi-square (review Ch. 16 contingency tables)	Read pages 466-468, in Ch. 16
	29	More on Chi-square tests and t-tests
November	3	SPSS Lab 7	SPSS Assignment 6 due
	5	Ch. 16 – Social Statistics Draft of your literature review is due	Read rest of Ch. 16 (Chi-square assignment due) (Ch. 16 question #1, p. 486, is due)
	10	Ch. 3 – Ethics and politics of social research	SPSS Assignment 7 due Read Ch. 3 (Ch. 3 question #2, p. 82, due)
	12	Review for exam 2
	17	Exam # 2	Bring your calculator!
	19	Work on term paper	I will be available during class time, office hours, and by appointment to help you with your term paper.
	24 -26	Thanksgiving Break
December	1	Work on term paper
	3	Work on term paper
	8	Work on term paper
	10	Term paper due in my office by 5pm	Term paper due

Office Hours: Monday – Thursday 9am – 10am, and 1pm – 2pm

Purpose/Goals of Course/Course Objectives:

Required Text:

Assignments:

Points

Chapter questions (plus chi-square assignment)

SPSS assignments

Two exams (100 pts. Each)

Term paper

Tentative Course Agenda

Assignments

Course introduction

Ch. 3 – Ethics and politics of social research

Read Ch. 3 (Ch. 3 question #2, p. 82, due)

Bring your calculator!

I will be available during class time, office hours, and by appointment to help you with your term paper.