Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
10:762:395:03/04
RESEARCH METHODS
Spring 2013 COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
Email:
Office Hours:
Debbie Borie-Holtz, Ph.D.
CSB Room 545, 33 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
848-932-2968; 856.906.6554 (cell)
borieholtz@aol.com; dbholtz@rutgers.edu
Thursdays 10:30pm to 12:30pm; Tuesdays & Thursdays by appointment
(Check Sakai Sign-up Tool for additional weekly hours)
TA:
Office:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Akira Drake, Ph.D. Candidate
Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, Room 566
akirad@eden.rutgers.edu
Thursdays 2:30 – 4:00pm; Virtual Mondays 11am – 12:30pm
TA:
Office:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Amanda Ragnauth, MA, MPP Candidate
Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, Room 565
aar137@eden.rutgers.edu
Mondays 1:00 – 2:30pm; Virtual Tuesdays 4:00 -5:30pm
Lecture:
Tuesday, 10:55 – 1:55pm, Loree 115
Lab Session Section 3: Thursday, 10:55– 12:15pm, Loree PC Lab 023
Lab Session Section 4: Thursday, 12:35– 1:55pm, Loree PC Lab 023
Course Description and Teaching Style
This course is designed to introduce students to research methods for public health, planning, and public
policy majors. Basically, the course is an introduction to the fundamentals of social science research.
The main goal is for you to learn to design and interpret research so you can solve problems and make
informed decisions. During this semester, you will learn how to ask questions, how to probe for
answers, and how to evaluate the answers we get as a result of research. The emphasis of the class is on
gaining the ability to think logically and critically about social science research. We will cover both
quantitative and qualitative methodologies, but more time will be spent on the former. I do not assume
any previous work in methodology and there are no prerequisites for this class. The goal of this class is
NOT to make you into expert statisticians or quantitative researchers, but into educated consumers and
critics of the research of others. Equally important, this class should give you a firm foundation upon
which to stand as you complete your capstone class for your major.
The class meetings are comprised of one weekly class lecture period and one weekly in-lab session;
however, a mixture of lecture and lab work may be incorporated into each session. The format for the
class lecture period will be mostly lecture and some facilitated discussion. I am a firm believer of active
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learning; thus, I will attempt to use discussion in place of traditional lectures whenever possible and
encourage questions and expect class participation. Readings should be completed prior to the lecture. I
ask that you be physically and mentally present at every class session. The lab session will provide you
with another opportunity to ask additional questions and gain some hands-on practice with the concepts
we learn in lecture. Thus, the lab will be structured around cases, discussions, and homework
preparation.
For longer term assessments, such as lab assignments, you have about a two-week submission period
which enables you to manage your time over a longer period these more heavily weighted assessments.
Similarly, quizzes are announced in advance and cover materials through the lecture week.
From time-to-time, it may be necessary to make adjustments to the schedule. In general, that means I
may extend a deadline. Please use the Sakai Semester Calendar Tool as the final authoritative source
on all due dates. We will have the semester schedule populated on the class site by the second week. All
updates will be made to the Semester Calendar Tool - of course, any changes will also be indicated via
an announcement.
Our teaching assistants for this semester will be Akira Drake and Amanda Ragnauth. Akira is a
Doctoral Candidate in the Bloustein School. Amanda holds her MA in Sociology and is a MPP
Candidate at Bloustein. Both are experienced instructors for Research Methods. Feel free to contact
any of us with questions, but I ask that you only direct your queries to only one of us at a time. We will
be sure to share our feedback with each other.
We will also hold in-person office hours as noted on the syllabus. Akira and Amanda will also hold
weekly online sessions. I am also available for meetings by appointment, in-person or online, with
advance notice in addition to my scheduled hours on Thursdays. For all office hours held online, you
can connect with us by clicking the Meeting Link on the Sakai course site. If you have a webcam and/or
built-in mic, you will be able to communicate with us in this web format. Alternatively, you can use the
chat room to type your questions and if you have an internet connection with speakers, you will be able
to listen to our response. It is highly recommended that you use the Sign-up Tool in Sakai to schedule
ALL office time and to limit wait times for your questions.
If you desire a more immediate response, you can always send us an email or send me a text. Although
Sakai will be utilized for all official notices, we will use text alerts for sending messages. It is
IMPORTANT to sign-up for this tool ASAP. During the Final Paper Project phase, we will introduce
you to a project management tool called Basecamp – this will allow us to see a continual thread of your
work, our responses AND more importantly, to expedite our responses to you in a coordinated fashion.
We will always respond to emails within 24 hours. If you do not receive a response from us during this
time frame, please resend your message or contact another member of the team. We care deeply about
prompt and accurate responses – when you do not hear from us within 24 hours, assume we did not
receive your message rather than we are ignoring it!
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Course Objectives
The goal of this course is to provide students with
1) An understanding of the logic of scientific inquiry and how to measure concepts
2) An ability to develop a research hypothesis and a complementary research design
3) An awareness of different types of data collection and analyses – both qualitative and
quantitative
4) An introduction to analyzing quantitative data to test your own ideas about relationships between
concepts
Required Text
Schutt, Russell. 2012. Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research. 7th
Edition. Available at the main Rutgers bookstore, in downtown New Brunswick.
(Please note the 6th edition of the book is acceptable. We have prepared a concordance comparing the
two editions which appears on Sakai at Resources > Syllabus & Text. It is your responsibility to ensure
you have read the appropriate material if you choose to read a different edition.)
Supplemental readings will be distributed in class or posted to the class website on Sakai.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You will also need to have access to SPSS to complete the final paper. SPSS, a
statistical software package, is available in all Rutgers labs (not the library computers); as an alternative,
you may choose to purchase a student copy with the text book. You can also obtain a trial version of the
software for a limited period OR access it for FREE online through Scarlet Apps. We will provide more
information regarding SPSS as the semester progresses.
Grading
The totality of your grade is 100 percent. The components and weights are:
40% - Lab Assignments (10% each)
20% - Timed Quizzes (equally weighted)
10% - Homework Assignments (due at the start of lab; equally weighted)
30% - Final Paper Exam
Lab Part 1 (5%)
Lab Part 2 (5%)
Final Paper (20%)
Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
A = 90 - 100; Excellent or Superior
B+ = 86 - 89; Very Good
B = 80 - 85; Good
C+ = 76 - 79; Solid Overall, but some flaws
C = 70 - 75; Average
D = 60 - 69; Significant problems in the work in terms of understanding, effort or writing
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F = 59 or below; Failing
Expectations
Collegial and respectful conduct is expected in class. Class members should consider themselves
colleagues who will collaborate to help each other develop a solid understanding of materials and
concepts. To facilitate this process and your learning, we will adhere to some basic rules:
Attendance at all classes is expected. If you expect to miss a class, please use the University absence
reporting website (https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra /) to indicate the date and reason for your
absence. An email is automatically sent to me. A link appears on our Sakai home page.
My policy for missed classes is very restrictive since we do not have many in-person meetings. Quizzes
cannot be made up - so if you are not in class on-time, you cannot take the quiz. One homework
assignment may be submitted after the class ONLY if you advised of your absence in advance and/or
register your absence through the online reporting system.
Class will start and end on time. Although I understand emergencies occur, timely arrivals and
departures should be the norm. Regular and frequent lateness will be treated as an absence.
Please turn off your cell phones and other electronic devices during class. You may only use a laptop if
you are taking notes for this class.
Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his
or her abilities should contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss accommodations necessary to
ensure full participation and to facilitate your educational opportunities.
Academic Integrity
Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. For further
information about academic misconduct and a full explanation of the University’s policies,
Please see the University’s Policy on Academic Integrity for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
located on the web at http://ctaar.rutgers.edu/integrity/policy.html.
Exam and Assignment Schedule
All lab assignments must be completed on time. Assignments delivery will vary: some may be due in
hard copy BUT all assignments will be submitted as an electronic submission as designated. The
electronic version will be used to time-stamp your submission. All assignments should be typed in 12point font and submitted in hard copy. Late work will be penalized. One letter grade per week will be
deducted from the final grade for lateness. Assignments will not be accepted any later than two class
periods after the due date; missed assignments will receive a “0”.
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Late submissions for the final paper are not permitted. If an unanticipated emergency occurs and a
student is unable to complete the exam, you will be asked to submit all work completed on your exam
(from the date of distribution through the date of the emergency) to determine if an exception is
warranted.
A Few Words to the Wise
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Come to class prepared! Complete readings prior to lecture.
Seek help early! Don’t wait till the last minute if you are having difficulties.
Get missed notes from a classmate! We will not hold individual meetings to provide summaries
or repeat class material.
Lecture, Quiz, Homework Exercise and Reading Schedule
Please review to the Semester Calendar link on the home page for all assignments and reading schedule.
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