TOURO COLLEGE
Lander College for Women
Syllabus
Department: Sociology
Course Title: Introduction to Sociological Methods
Course Number: SAS 201
Prerequisites: SAS 103
Credit Hours: 3
Developer: Abbott Katz
Date of Last Update: January, 2004
Course Description:
Basic concepts, principles, and the function of research in sociology. The scope and
variety of techniques in research design, data gathering, and analysis. The problems with
and validity of opinion surveys, participant and controlled observation, questionnaire
construction, interviewing, case studies, and elementary statistical analysis. The
relationship of research to theory.
Course/Developmental Objectives:
 To understand the variety of means of collecting and interpreting social-scientific
data.
 To appreciate the potential source of error in social-scientific studies, particular
surveys and opinion polls
 To appreciate the ethical challenges in studying human subjects
Course/Institutional Objectives:
To enhance critical thinking and foster communication skills; to promote development of
student’s analytical and quantitative competencies and to foster their ability to succeed in
a technological society.
Course Content:
 Chapter 1 – The Research Process
 Chapter 2 – Choosing the Research Problem
 Chapter 3 – Constructing Social Explanations
 Chapter 4 – Measurement
 Chapter 5 – Survey Sampling
 Chapter 6 – Questionnaire Construction
 Chapter 7 – Mailed Questionnaires
 Chapter 8 – Interview Studies
 Chapter 9 – Experiments
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Chapter 10 –Observation
Chapter 12 – Document Study
Chapter 13 – Simulations and Games
Chapter 14 – Coding and Data Reduction
Chapter 15 – Scaling
Chapter 16 – Analysis, Presentation, and Interpretation of Data
Hardware/Software/Materials Requirements: No additional requirements; video
materials available upon request.
Course Requirements
 Thorough reading of the text
 Regular, prompt attendance
 Class participation
 Three exams
Grading Guidelines
 Three exams, each equally weighted
 Class participation
Methodology
 Lecture and class discussion
 Essay exams
Course Text
Bailey, Kenneth, Methods of Social Research, fourth ed., The Free Press, 1994.
Bibliography
Alasuutari, Pertti Researching Culture: Qualitative Method and Cultural Studies, SAGE
Publications, 1995.
Bulmer, Martin,Sociological Research Methods : An Introduction,London : Macmillan,
1977.
Cohen, Bernard P., Developing Sociological Knowledge: Theory and Method,
Wadsworth, 1989.
Creswell, John W.,Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches, SAGE Publications, 2002
Denzin, Norman K,. The Research Act : A Theoretical Introduction To Sociological
Methods 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : rentice Hall, 1989.
Giddens, Anthony, New Rules of Sociological Method, Stanford University Press, 1993.
Hoonaard, Will. C. van den, Working With Sensitizing Concepts : Analytical Field
Research, Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, 1997
Jessen, Raymond James, Statistical Survey Techniques, New York : Wiley, 1978.
Karpinski, Jakub, Causality in Sociological Research, Kluwer Academic Publishers,
1990.
Merton, Robert K.M. O. Fiske, Patricia L. Kendall, The Focused Interview, New York:
The Free Press, 1956.
Moser, Claus Adolf, G. Kalton,. Survey methods in social investigation, 2d ed., New
York, Basic Books 1972, 1971.
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Namboodiri ,N. Krishnan.,Symposium on Survey Sampling,.(2nd :1977 :University of
North Carolina) New York : Academic Press, 1978.
Phillips, Bernard S,.Beyond Sociology's Tower of Babel: Reconstructing the Scientific
Method, de Gruyter, Aldine Incorporated, 2002.
Platt, Jennifer. A History Of Sociological Research Methods In America :1920-1960,1st
paperback ed. Cambridge [England] ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University
Press, 1998
Raftery, Adrian, (Ed.),Sociological Methodology, Vol. 26, Blackwell Publishers, 1996.
Schutt, Russell K., Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research,
SAGE Publications, 2001.
Webb, Eugene J. et al, Unobstrusive Measures; Nonreactive Research In The Social
Sciences Chicago, Rand McNally 1966
Weber, Max, The Methodology of the Social Sciences, translated by Edward A. Shils and
Henry Finch, New York: The Free Press.
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