Welcome to Sociology 302

1. Welcome to Sociology 302 Claude Oscar Monet: Water Lilies (1906)

2. Changing the World for the Better • Approaches to Reducing Social Problems • Give money. • Volunteer. • Public sociology: Working on the front lines. • The Scientific Approach • Discover cause and effect. • Suggest programs and policies to direct public sociology. • Help implement programs and policies. • Evaluate programs and policies.

3. Changing the World for the Better • Elements of the Scientific Approach • Theory. • Method. • The Goal of Sociology 302 • Learn how to discover cause and effect. • Translate our passion for making the world a better place into effective action, by learning how to discover how society really works.

4. Outline of the Course • An Introduction to Inquiry • The scientific method. • Hypothesis construction. • Standard error and research methods. • Science and intelligent design. • Measurement of Abstract Concepts • Measurement of abstract concepts. • Indexes, scales, and typologies. • Validity and reliability.

5. Outline of the Course • Observation, Sampling • Experiments. • Survey research. • Question wording. • The logic of sampling. • Evaluation research. • Quantitative Design and Analysis • The elaboration model. • Research design. • Social statistics. • Quantitative data analysis.

6. Outline of the Course • Qualitative Design and Analysis • Qualitative methods. • Qualitative data analysis. • The ethics and politics of social research. • Reading and writing sociological research.

7. Sociology and Common Sense • Cause and Common Sense • All human behavior can be explained with a common sense explanation. • Common Sense and Reality • Not all common sense explanations are correct. • Reality and Interpretation • Sociology is the science of discovering which common sense explanation happens to be the correct one. • Or maybe we just make it up (postmodernism).

8. The Structure of Sociology 302 • The Course • http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/soc302.html • Recommended textbook. • Course packet at ISU Bookstore. • Dr. Sapp’s office hours. • Exams • Five exams. • Two short-answer questions each. • Help sheets are provided on the web site.

9. The Structure of Sociology 302 • Quizzes • Ten quizzes at 10 points each. • 5 multiple-choice questions at 2 points each. • Instructions are posted on the web site. • Papers • Three papers at 20 points each. • Instructions are posted on the web site. • Attendance • Four points deduction for each unexcused absence after three.

10. The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp • Has Experience In… • Laboratory experiments. • Field experiments. • Survey research. • Case studies. • In-depth interviewing. • Focus groups. • Content analysis. • Unobtrusive research.

11. The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp • Does Not Have Experience In… • Ethnographies. • Participatory action research. • Evaluation research.

12. The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp • Office Hours • MWF, 9-10. • When you arrive at my door. • Best to make an appointment. • Help Sessions • At 5:00 p.m. prior to each exam. • Grading • Standard curve. • Extra Credit • Nope.

13. The Instructor: Dr. Steve Sapp • Class Decorum • On time. • Newspapers, laptops, cell-phones. • Studying, napping, texting.