Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
10:762:395
HYBRID RESEARCH METHODS
Fall 2013 COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor: Debbie Borie-Holtz, PhD
CSB Room 545, 848-932-2968
856.906.6554 (cell)
33 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
Email: borieholtz@aol.com; dbholtz@rutgers.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday 10:30 pm to 12:00 noon pm and by appointment on Thursdays
(Use Sakai Sign-up Tool for weekly office hours)
TA: Lee Polonsky, PhD Candidate
Office Hours Monday & Thursday (3:00 to 4:30 pm)
CSB Room 566 or virtually if requested in advance
Email: lee.polonsky@rutgers.edu
Course Description and Teaching Style
In this course, you will begin your studies as students but finish the semester as researchers in your chosen
specialty of public health, planning, and public policy. Basically, this course introduces you 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. You will be amazed to see how differently you look at
the world by the end of the semester. During this journey, you will learn how to ask questions, how to probe for
answers, and how to evaluate the answers. 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. The goal of this
class is NOT to make you into expert statisticians or quantitative researchers, but into educated consumers and
often critics, of the research of others. Equally important, this class should give you a firm foundation upon
which to launch your capstone class for your major, your internship.
Our teaching assistant for this semester will be Lee Polonsky. Lee is a PhD candidate at the Bloustein School
and is excited about co-instructing this class this semester. Lee’s office hours are posted above but with some
advanced notice, we can arrange to schedule these posted office hours in an online mode to make it more
convenient for those who do not come to campus. In order to deploy this technology, we just request advance
notice by signing up for an appointment on the Sakai course site AND requesting that the meeting be held
virtually via a supplemental email. Lee will also be responsible for grading the lab assignments so if you have a
question regarding grading, please forward an email to her directly as your initial course of action. Please
always feel free to contact either one of us with your questions, but I ask that you do not send simultaneous
email to both of us. We will be sure to share our feedback with each other. Our preferred method of
communication is to send an email directed to one of us and to copy the other. This will assist us in responding
timely to your requests for assistance.
For many of you, this may be the first time you have enrolled in a hybrid course. As such, it is important to
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emphasize this course is offered in an asynchronous format, meaning you can log-in to view materials at any
time --- but there are specified deadlines for completing ALL assignments. So what are the expectations?
Here's the plan!
In general, you should expect to spend 3 hours on the lecture materials for each lecture assigned. I expect you
to skim the chapters prior to downloading the static slides AND viewing the narrated video slides. We also
meet in lab once a week and this is your chance to apply what you have learned earlier in the week by reviewing
the slides, reading the text and completing the Homework Assignments – the latter homework is due by
Tuesday at 9pm. No late homework submissions will be accepted.
The major assessments which will make up 60 percent of your grade will consist of 6 individual
assessments. Each will require 3-5 hours of work so please allow your self sufficient time to complete the
labs. Each lab is weighted at 10 percent (except labs 6 and 7 which are 5 pts each) and will measure your
ability to apply the concepts. If a lab is submitted late, there will be a grade deduction. No labs will be
accepted more than two weeks late.
There will also be timed quizzes that will consist of the remaining grading assessments. These quizzes are
intended to ensure that you are keeping pace with the readings and the lecture materials. No quizzes may be
submitted late. The lowest single grade of all quizzes will be dropped. There are no exceptions for late
submissions since feedback is automatically released within one hour of submission. Quizzes must be
completed by Monday at 9pm on the dates there are scheduled. Quizzes will also include material from prior
lectures – NOT the current week’s lecture.
There is no midterm. There IS a final paper.
While we will not restrict access to the course materials so that you may move at your own pace, we will not
respond to questions IF you have not viewed the Sakai lecture materials. We have a tool that allows us to
measure which resources you access, how often and when. Many of the questions we receive are contained in
the lecture materials so this must be your first source for information.
To access the syllabus, you can link to it on the left under the Syllabus tool. To view when assignments and
assessments are due, link to it on the left under the Semester Calendar tool. As for the text, I will be using the
following book which is available at the Rutgers bookstore and NJ Books: Investigating the Social World,
Russell K. Schutt (7th edition.) You may use the 6th edition and a concordance that compares the two chapters
is provided along with the early chapters of the text for those who are still awaiting the arrival of their text
book.
In addition to the text, you will need a statistical software package called SPSS which is available in all the
computer labs on campus and through Scarlet Apps. You will be provided with a tutorial that shows you how
to access the app remotely. Again, if you prefer to purchase the text online which may delay your receipt, the
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publisher has made the early chapters of the text available in a pdf format (albeit in the 6th edition). You may
access these chapters under the Resources > Syllabus & Text folder.
Please take note that ALL official course communication will be generated through Sakai -- that means
announcements and emails will go to your Rutgers student email account. It is imperative that you check your
student email account once per day, unless you have your student email forwarded to a personal email
account. When time sensitive materials are sent, a group text alert will also be sent --- but you must subscribe
to this service! Instructions are provided shortly through a Sakai Announcement.
As noted above, we will also send you an invitation to enroll in Text Alerts which may be sent to your phone,
your personal email or both. We will generally use text alerts to alert you to new materials posted to Sakai or
pending deadlines.
In order to respond more quickly to your emails, you will be invited to join a project management site called
Basecamp. All you need to do is respond to the email link. This is our private online discussion forum for the
Research Methods Online course. We ask that you send us your preferred email address and we will use this to
communicate will you regarding assignment and lecture questions. It will appear as a threaded email discussion
on your end. For use, we will be able to respond more quickly to your requests as you will be readily identified
as a Winter Session student. Also, it is a private form of communication - only you and your professor and TA
will see the messages in this email thread.
Throughout the course, I will hold weekly office hours at my on-campus office located in the Bloustein School.
Both Lee and I will also hold office hours as noted above. If you are not on campus and wish to schedule an
online meeting with Lee, you can connect with her 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. You should always use the Sign-up Tool in Sakai to
schedule office time and to limit wait times for your questions.
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. You can also obtain a trial version of the software
for a limited period or access it online through Scarlet Apps. The trial version is only available for 14 days so
you do not want to download it now. I would strongly advise setting up your Scarlet Apps account.
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
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4) An introduction to analyzing quantitative data to test your own ideas about relationships between
concepts
Required Text
Schutt, Russell. 2009. Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research. 7th Edition.
Available at the main Rutgers bookstore, in downtown New Brunswick and at NJ Books on Easton Avenue. You
may also order the book online --- the early chapters are posted on Sakai under Resources > Text folder for
those who wish to order online.
Any additional readings will be distributed in class or posted to the class website on Sakai.
You are expected to have read the text material before accessing the class lectures. As such, I have not
assigned any quizzes until after the first week. Please note that quizzes must be completed by 9pm on the day
of a lecture. Again, there is a rigorous pacing for this Research Methods course during a 14-week semester. If
you fall behind in the readings or viewing the slides, you will significantly impede your ability to do well in the
course.
Grading
The totality of your grade is 100 percent. Your progress in the course will be measured in several ways. The
assessment is intended to test your ability to apply your knowledge, rather than test your memorization skills.
Quizzes will be used to help assess your comprehension of the text and slide material each week. Additionally,
the lab assignments also replicate the traditional labs but because they are individually submitted, they also
serve as a form of assessment.
Detailed instructions will be provided for each assessment; however, the components and weights are
highlighted below. As in the traditional classroom setting for this course, you will also complete a Final
Analysis Paper.
In order to successfully complete this course, you should plan to commit between 15 to 20 hours per week.
This is the time you will need to review the lectures, do the readings, complete the quizzes and lab assignments.
If you do not have this time to allot to this course, you may want to reconsider taking this class during the
Summer Session.
Here are the grading criteria:
10 percent – Quizzes assigned with most lectures (equally weighted)
10 percent – Homework assignments (usually held on our Facebook Group
60 percent - Assessments (all assignments weighted at 10 points each, except Lab 6 & 7 are 5 pts)
20 percent – Final Analysis Paper
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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
F = 59 or below; Failing
Ground Rules
Collegial and respectful conduct is expected during all online class discussions. Class members should consider
themselves colleagues who will collaborate to help each other develop a solid understanding of materials and
concepts. This includes online discussions.
To facilitate the learning, we will adhere to some basic rules:
Participation in all online sessions is expected.
All assignments must be completed on time. Submissions will be submitted in a manner to be specified.
Assignments should be typed in 12-point font. No credit will be given for quizzes since timely submission is a
critical component of an online course. If you expect to miss an assignment, you must make prior arrangements
to have the submission date extended. Lab assignments will not be accepted more than one week late; in such
cases, a full letter grade deduction will be made.
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.
If any questions or concerns arise, please come email me or make an appointment. Any student in this course
who has a disability that may prevent her 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.
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