home course info aug/sept october nov/dec news...download lecture notes a a pdf of the powerpoint...
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Home Course Info Aug/Sept October Nov/Dec News
On-LineInforma.onThiswebsite,h0p://www.danilo.macmate.me/Research/Home.html,containsextensiveinforma4onaboutthiscourse,includingclassschedule,readings,exercises,assignments,lecturenotes,gradingpolicyandlinkstoavarietyofresearchrelatedInternetsites.Studentsshouldbookmarkandconsultthiscoursewebsitefrequentlyforthelatestinforma4onaboutthecourse.
CourseScope&LearningObjec.vesGiventheeconomic,social,environmentalandculturalchallengesfacingourcommuni4estoday,itisvitallyimportantforpolicymakers,planners,administratorsandotherdecisionmakersinthepublicandnonprofitsectorstohaveaccesstoaccuratedataandinforma4on.Withoutthat,theneeds,condi4onsandpoten4alsofourcommuni4esandorganiza4onswillbemisjudged,andeffortstodesignandimplementhighlyeffec4veprogramsandpolicieswillbecompromised.Highquality,accuratedata,informa4onandanalysisareabsolutenecessi4esformoderndecisionmakers.
Thiscoursewillexposestudentstohowhighqualityresearchinthefieldofurbanaffairsandpublicpolicyisdesignedandconducted,andhowitcanbeu4lizedformakingimportantdecisionsaboutthedesign,implementa4onandevalua4onofprojects,programsandpolicies.Uponthesuccessfulcomple4onofthiscoursestudentswillbeableto:
1.Recognizeandconductresearchthatfollowstheprinciplesofthescien4ficmethod2.Formulateresearchques4onsthatareunbiasedandresearchable;3. Determinetheappropriateuseofdifferentresearchdesigns;
DaniloYanichSchoolofPubicPolicy&Administra.onCenterforCommunityResearch&[email protected]
ClassMee.ng&Loca.onTuesdays/Thursdays,9:30-10:45aRobinsonHall,Room203
4.Judgewhenandhowtouseprimaryandsecondarydata,andcross-sec4onalandlongitudinaldata;5.Findsourcesofsecondarydatainlibraries,administra4vefiles,andontheInternet;6.Designques4onnairesandotherprimarydatacollec4onstrategies;7.Iden4fyqualita4ve&quan4ta4veanaly4calmethodstoanswerdifferenttypesofresearchques4ons;8.Cri4callyevaluatetheaccuracyandusefulnessofresearchconductedbyothers.
CourseFormatClassmeetsfor75minutestwiceaweekaccordingtothescheduleprovidedinthissyllabus.TheweeklyclasssessionsonTuesdaysandThursdayswilltypicallyconsistofacombina4onof:lecture,discussion,demonstra4onoftheuseofdifferentresearchanddataanalysistechniques,"handson"exercisesandrealworldexamples.Occasionally,specialguestswilllectureononeormoresocialresearchtopics.
AcademicIntegrityAllstudentsmustbehonestandforthrightintheiracademicstudies.Tofalsifytheresultsofone’sresearch,tostealthewordsorideasofanother,tocheatonanexamorassignment,ortoalloworassistanothertocommittheseactscorruptstheeduca4onalprocess.Studentsareexpectedtodotheirownworkandneithergivenorreceiveunauthorizedassistance.IvigorouslysupportandaggressivelyenforcetheUniversity’sCodeofConductasitpertainstoacademicdishonesty,andstronglyrecommendthateachstudentreviewtheUniversity'sReferenceGuidetoAcademicIntegritywhichcanbefoundath0p://www.udel.edu/studentconduct/ai.html
Home Course Info Aug/Sept October Nov/Dec News
ReadingAssignmentsThereadingassignmentforeachclassisindicatedforeachmee2ngandmustbecompletedbeforethatclassmeets.Readingtheassignedmaterialbeforeclassiscrucialtoyourlearningbecauseclasspresenta2ons,discussionsandwri;enassignmentswillrequirefamiliaritywiththeassignedreadingmaterial.
ClassPar1cipa1onAllstudentsareencouragedandexpectedtoac2velypar2cipateinclassroomdiscussions.Suchpar2cipa2onisimpossibleifthestudentisabsentfromclass,hence,absencescanaffectastudent’sfinalcoursegrade.
Wri6enAssignmentsTherewillbeaseriesofout-of-classwri;enassignmentswithstrictlyenforcedduedatesand2mes.Oneoftheseassignmentsisagroupassignment.Assignmentssubmi;edlatewillreceivealowergrade.ItwouldbeprudenttobegineachassignmentwithinadayortwoaGeritisassigned.Youwillfindthattryingtodotheassignmentsatthelastminutewillbeverydifficultbecauseofunan2cipatedproblemswithconceptualiza2on,datacollec2onoranalysis.
FinalExamThecoursewillculminatewithanin-classfinalexam.Itwillcontainbothshortandlongansweressayques2onsdrawnfromanyofthematerialcoveredduringthecourse.
GradingAssignmentswillbegradedonascaleof1-5,with5represen2ngsuperiorqualitywork.Agradeof4representssa2sfactorywork;agradeof3orlowerisunsa2sfactorywork.Cau$on:assignmentssubmi0edlatewillreceivealowergrade.Astudent'sfinalgradeforthecoursewillbedeterminedbythefollowingelementsweightedasindicated:
Individual(non-group)assignments(collec2vely)--40%Thegroupassignment--20%In-classfinalexam--35%Classpar2cipa2on--5%
RequiredTexts(E-versionsofthesetextsareavailable.)Babbie,Earl(2010).ThePrac$ceofSocialResearch.Twel>hEdi$on.Belmont,CA:Wadsworth,CengageLearning
Course Info
Best,Joel(2012).DammedLiesandSta$s$cs:UntanglingNumbersfromtheMedia,Poli$ciansandAc$vists:UpdatedEdi$on.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.
OtherLearningResourcesWebCenterforSocialResearchMethods.Thiswebsiteisforpeopleinvolvedinappliedsocialresearchandevalua2on.You'llfindlotsofresourcesandlinkstootherloca2onsontheWebthatdealinappliedsocialresearchmethods.Ofpar2cularinterestistheResearchMethodsKnowledgeBasewhichisacomprehensiveweb-basedtextbookthataddressesallofthetopicsinatypicalintroductoryundergraduateorgraduatecourseinsocialresearchmethods.
Babbie,Earl(2009).GuidedAc$vi$estoAccompanyThePrac$ceofSocialResearch,12thEdi$on.Belmont,CA:Wadsworth/ThomsonLearning,Inc.
Animportantpartofgoodresearchisexpressingyourideas,methodsandconclusionsclearly.NeedsomehelpwithyourEnglishwri2ngskills?Ifso,checkouttheUniversityofDelawareWri1ngCenter.
Gohereforlinkstoavarietyofsecondarydatasets.
Qualita1veToolsforMul1methodResearchForanoverviewofsurveyresearch,gotowww.wha1sasurvey.info
Gohereforalistofresourcespertainingtoevalua2onresearch(courtesyofDr.LeslieCooksy).
Home Course Info Aug/Sept October Nov/Dec News
Aug.30:CourseOverview,Requirements&Logis:csDownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere
Goheretoseeavideoforresearchthatsuggestssocialmediamen9onsofbaconorkalerevealpoli9calsplitsintheU.S.
Sept1:TheResearchProcessReading:Babbie,Chapters1&2DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere.
Sept.6&8:TheUbiquityofResearch&DevelopingResearchQues:onsReading:JoelBest.DamnedLiesandSta9s9cs:UntanglingNumbersfromtheMedia,Poli9ciansandAc9vists:Updatedversion.En9rebook
Reading:Babbie,AppendixG,"TwentyQues9onsaJournalistShouldAskaboutPollResults",pp.A28-A33.Isthetruthbeingtold?Thefileishere.
DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere
Assignment1:Formula9ngResearchQues9ons(dueinclasson9/15)
Goheretoseethevideoregardingpercep%on.Hereisasecondvideo.
Sept.13,15&20:ResearchDesign,Conceptualiza:on,Opera:onaliza:on&MeasurementReading:Babbie,Chapters4&5DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehereAssignment1dueon9/15.
Sept.22:Indices&ScalesReading:Babbie,Chapter6DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere
Assignment2:IndicesandScales(dueinclasson9/29)
Aug/Sept
Exampleofacompositeindicator:MeasuringResiden9alDiscrimina9oninNewCastleCounty,DE
Sept.27&29:TypesofExperiments&ResearchDesignsReading:Babbie,Chapter8DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere
Assignment2dueinclasson9/29.
Assignment3:ResearchQues9onandExperimentalDesign(dueinclasson10/13)
GroupAssignment:Developmentofa"detailedoutlineofafullempiricalresearchproposal."
Classpresenta9onandhardcopydueinclasson12/6.
Home Course Info Aug/Sept October Nov/Dec News
Oct.4&6:SamplingReadings:Babbie,Chapter7DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere.
Assignment4:SamplingIssues(dueinclassonOct.18)GoherefortheexampleofcalculaIngsamplesizesusedinclass.PewResearch’sdefiniIonofalikelyvoterishere.
Oct.11&13:SurveyResearchReadings:Babbie,Chapter9DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere.
Assignment3dueinclassonOctober15
Assignment5:DevelopingQuesIons/ConducIngaStructuredSurvey(hardcopydueinclassNov.10)Foranoverviewofsurveyresearch,gotowww.wha?sasurvey.infoCheckthisout:Na?onalSurveydonebytheNaIonalParksandConservaIonAssociaIon
Oct.18:EthicsandPoli?csofSocialResearchReadings:Babbie,Chapter3
DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere.
GohereformediascholarJayRosen’scommentsregardingFacebook’smoodmanipulaIonresearchconducInginJan.2012.
GohereforastoryregardingthestatementofconcernfromthejournalthatpublishedtheFacebookresearch.
Assignment4dueinclasstoday
GohereforUniversityofDelawareGuidelinesforHuman
October
SubjectReview
Oct.20:StatusReportsfromProjectGroups&Mid-TermCourseReviewComewithyourquesIons!
Oct.25&27:Qualita?veandUnobtrusiveResearchReadings:Babbie,Chapters10&11DownloadlectureslidesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere
Home Course Info Aug/Sept October Nov/Dec News
Nov1:Evalua+onResearchReadings:Babbie,Chapter12DownloadlecturenotesasaPDFfileofthePowerPointfilehere.Gohereforthe"PlanningProcessFlowDiagram".Assignment6:DesigninganOutcomeEvaluaFon(dueinclassonNov.17)
Nov.3:Univariate,Bivariate&Mul+variateDataAnalysisReadings:Babbie,Chapters13,14,and16DownloadlecturenotesasaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere.CheckouttheElectronicSta+s+csTextbook.It'sagreatreferenceonavarietyofstaFsFcaltechniques.
Assignment5dueinclassNov.10
Nov.8:Noclass,Elec+onDay
Nov:10:Univariate,Bivariate&Mul+variateDataAnalysis(cont)
Nov.15&17:TypesandSourcesofDataDownloadaPDFfileofthePowerPointfilehere.Gohereforsomeofthemajorsourcesofsecondarydataontheweb.Assignment6dueinclasstoday
Nov.22&24:Thanksgivingbreak,noclasses
Nov29:Policyanalysis/PolicyresearchReadings:D.Yanich(2008).DoingPolicyResearch-CamelotorOz.SocialScienceResearchCouncilJ.Lomas(2000).Connec+ngResearch&Policy,Spring,Printemps.
Nov/Dec
SeethesetwoarFclesintheNewYorkTimesthatexaminetherelaFonshipsbetweenthinktanks,corporaFonsandpolicy.ThefirstisenFtled:ThinkTankScholarorCorporateConsultant?ItDependsontheDay.
Thesecondis:HowThinkTanksAmplifyCorporateAmerica’sInfluence.
DownloadlecturenotesasaPDFfileofthePowerPointfilehere.
Formoreinfo:see,E.Bardach(2011).APrac1calGuidetoPolicyAnalysisDec.1:Policyanalysis/PolicyresearchGuestpresenter:Dr.AndreaSarzynski,SPPA
Readings:Weimer,D.&Vining,A.(2010).PolicyAnalysis:ConceptsandPracFce(5thEdiFon).Chs.1&2.ReadingmaterialwillbedistributedpriortotheclassmeeFng.DownloadlecturenotesaaPDFofthePowerPointfilehere.Dec.6:GroupPresenta+onsEachgroupmustsubmitanelectroniccopyoftheirpresentaFonmaterials.InaddiFon,eachstudentistosubmitahardcopyoftheir2-3page"reflecFon"inclass.
Dec.8:ReviewSession
Home Course Info Aug/Sept October Nov/Dec News
Newinfoaboutthecoursewillappearasneededonthispageduringthesemester.Makesurethatyoucheckitregularly.
Thequotebelowiso%ena)ributedtoAlbertEinstein,butmyowninves7ga7onindicatesthatitshouldbea)ributedtoSociologistWilliamBruceCameron.Einsteinapparentlywasfondofusingthequote,orparaphrasingit,withoutgivinga)ribu7ontoCameron.Noteverythingthatcanbecountedcounts,andnoteverythingthatcountscanbecounted.--SociologistWilliamBruceCameron,1963
HereisareportbythePewResearchCenteronpolling.Thisisespeciallyimportantfortheupcoming2016Presiden7alelec7on.
Seethistreatmentofalargedatabaseandwhatinforma>onitcanreveal.WhenHarvardMetSally:N-gramAnalysisofTheNewYorkTimesWeddingsSec7onTheNewYorkTimesweddingsec7onisaperfectnaturalexperimentdesignedtoanswertheques7on:Whatdotheworld'smostself-importantpeoplethinkisimportant?IntroducingWeddingCrunchers.com,asearchabledatabaseofnearly60,000NYTweddingannouncementsfrom1981through2013.Plotn-gramfrequencyandvisualizetrendsacross30+yearsofyuppienup7als.Thelinkishere.
ReadthisopinionpieceintheNewYorkTimesregardingthecollabora7venatureofscienceandtheNobelPrize.Thelinkishere.
Hereisanovelwaytolookathowcita7onsbecomecita7ons---theprocessiscalled“citogenesis”accordingtothecartoonsite,xkcd.com.TakealookatthecartooninlightofJoelBest’sbookandthinkofnumberlaundering:h)p://xkcd.com/978/
Hereisanar>cleintheNewYorkTimesregardingtheU.S.SupremeCourt’suseofthedatainamicusbriefs.Thestudyshowedthat,o%en,thedataareli)lemorethanguesses.Clickhere.forthear7cle.
News
HereisastoryonNPRregardingresearchofmurderasaninfec7ousdisease:linkhere.Clickonthelinktothear7cleitselfwithintheNPRstory.Itoffersaveryinteres7ngwaytoconceptualizeasocialissue.
ThePewResearchCenterisanenormouslyimportantsourceofinforma7onaboutthepublicissues.Hereisalinktotheirmethodspagethattheysenttothesubscribers.Takealook.
HereisthepdffileofthecodebookthatIusedforthePoli7calAdMediastudy.CodingInstruc>ons
Finalexam:HereisapreviousEXAMtouseasastudyguide.
Hereisaveryinteres>ngar>cleintheNewYorkerregardingpolls.
Hereisaveryrevealingar>cleabouthowpollscanbeinterpreteddifferentlyastheauthorsaskedseparatepollsterstoexaminetheexactsamedata.
WealthinAmerica:avideographicrepresenta7onshowingthedistribu7onofwealthintheUnitedStates.Aneye-openingpieceofinforma7on.
Theperilsofweigh>nginsampling:Hereisagreatar7clethatshowshowweigh7nginsurveyresearchaffectsresults,par7cularlyinthePresiden7alrace.